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Episode 68: Aligning Learning Philosophy with Practice (On Learning, Part 2)
It's certainly a necessary step to create a school philosophy of learning that aligns with the school mission. But, having that in place, we have other make sure that this philosophy is actually supported by the school's practice (with its policies, procedures, and programs). Host Noah Brink uses Professor Lou Voskuil's Culture Box as an organizer and tool to help us ensure that there is consistency between our school artifacts and our beliefs. Unfortunately, we continue to underestimate the impact of well over a hundred years' commitment to a secular system and approach to education. But, if we're going to make progress, we have to start with honest reflection on our alignment.
Episode 67: RenewRec of The Anxious Generation and Hidden Potential
The Anxious Generation and Hidden Potential
Though not books about Christian education (or even education, specifically), both The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt and Hidden Potential by Adam Grant are fabulous resources to help teachers and Christian educators in their roles. Host Noah Brink provides brief recommendations of each book, in hopes that teachers can find these books as useful tools for their jobs and ministries.
Episode 66: On Learning (part 1)
Whether we realize it not, Christian schools are affected by a secular approach to education more deeply than we'd like to admit. This most shows up in our approach to learning which speaks volumes to what we believe about the purpose of education (and thus our schools) and what we fundamentally believe about our students. As the first in a multi-part series on learning, Host Noah Brink begins the conversation on learning by addressing the differences (and implications) between a secular approach to learning (instituted on the heals of the Industrial Revolution) and a spiritual approach, which focuses not on what a student knows, but on who a student becomes. That's the goal.
Episode 65: Stewarding A.I. Under the Lordship of Christ
A Conversation with Paul Matthews
Paul Matthews joins our show to talk about his new book, A Time to Lead, his software to help teachers us A.I. to improve their practice (MyTeacherAide), and how teachers can develop a posture that enables them to embrace changes which help them become better teachers. Even though the bulk of our conversation connect revolves around the topic of A.I., the main goal is helping teachers fulfill the great commission by more faithfully fulfilling their roles (without fear) so that our students can thrive. Paul is a wonderful resource for today's Christian school teachers, and it is our great joy to celebrate and recommend the great work he's doing.
Episode 64: Rhythms of Reflection and Growth
Every healthy school has a culture of faculty growth, where the school provides and encourages opportunities for teachers to grow in their philosophy and practice. And, these programs are often most effective when they're dependent upon internal leadership, rather than upon external programs. Even more healthy is a culture that nurtures growth in such a way that it's organically ongoing, because it's part of the habits, rhythms, and rituals of the school. Host Noah Brink offers two practical models to nurture a culture of regular reflection improvement among teachers and discusses a theological foundation for why schools should always be committed to professional development.
Episode 63: A Practical God-Centered Starting Point for Spiritual Formation
Brother Lawrence's Classic work The Practice of the Presence of God provides a helpful, practical starting point for beginning to experience the presence of God. And, this is something we need if we're going to see any progress in the area of Spiritual Formation, which has to be one of the greatest priorities in the life of the Christian School.
Host Noah Brink discusses what it could look like for the Christian school or individual Christian school teacher to begin to use this teaching from Brother Lawrence and how to begin to put these into the habits and rhythms of the school and/or classroom.
Episode 62: Lessons from the Parable of the Prodigal Son
Luke 15's parable of the two brothers (often referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son) has profound lessons for all Christians, but especially for those of us who work with Kids. Host Noah Brink discusses how this parable can help us think about our students and children in light of both brothers and the response of the Father. We aren't merely trying to nurture students toward conformity, but we want to see lasting change. That's central to Spiritual Formation, which is central to the mission of Christian education and parenting.
Episode 61: (RenewRec 8) Two Anthologies for Every Christian School Leader
Schools as Communities and Building a Better School
Sometimes, it's hard to make it through an entire book and find the Most poignant, practical nuggets to take away. But, both of these books are anthologies or compilations of essays and articles to provide Christian School with helpful resources on a wide variety of topics, ranging from school culture and philosophy to finance and governance. Because they are both compiled from essays written by experts in specific, both books provide easy to digest wisdom for the various dimensions of Christian school leadership.
Episode 60: Every Thought Captive
A Conversation with Bible Teacher, Mark Brink
Join us for a reflective conversation with Mark Brink, 12th-grade Bible Teacher at Evangelical Christian School in Memphis, TN. Over his forty-nine years of teacher more than 5,000 high school students (most of them seniors), Mr. Brink’s life and career were marked by an unmistakable commitment to the gospel of Jesus. Our conversation ranged from topics about curriculum (both for his class, but also for an entire Bible department) and the importance of a clear philosophy to the relationship between academics and faith formation.
More than anything else, Mr. Brink’s faithfulness to the supremacy of the gospel and to his students is unmistakeable in our conversation, and that is the legacy that we hope can shape future Bible teachers for years to come.
Episode 59: Education as Storytelling
The best teachers are storytellers. Students need stories; it's how they best connect with the things they're learning. It's part of the reason why Jesus often chose to teach through stories. As a result, teachers need to see themselves as storytellers, and work to get better at seeing their task specifically through the lens of telling stories.
Host Noah Brink discusses the importance of storytelling through focussing on its ability to connect with that which is uniquely human in our students.
Episode 58: (RenewRec) Two “Ism” Books
The Universe Next Door and The Best Things in Life
Regardless of the grades we teach and Even if the words themselves don't show up in our regular practice, Christian teachers must be aware of the worldviews competing not only for our students' attention, but for our own as well. This not only helps us better connect with and shepherd our students, but it also helps us to properly diagnose inconsistencies in our own practice so we can be more aligned with foundational Christian commitments. Host Noah Brink recommends two books to help Christian school teachers understand the most significant, contemporary worldviews (the "isms). The first of which (*The Universe Next Door* by James W. Sire) does a wonderful job of defining and offering a response to these worldviews, and the second book (*The Best Things in Life* by Peter Kreeft) helps us understand these worldviews through a contemporary dialogue.
Episode 57: (RenewRec) Two Book Series for Kids and their Teachers Too
The Green Ember Series and The WingFeather Saga
Good teachers are Storytellers; it's part of what helps to the students - not just to their minds, but to who they are as persons. So, if we work with kids in any capacity (from birth through teenage years), it's important for us to read stories, so our own capacities to become lovers and tellers of stories are improved. Yes, it's good to read stories written on adult levels, but it's also good for us to read children's and young adult stories, because not only do they help us connect with the things they are reading, but sometimes the simplicity of these stories helps us to connect with the simplest and greatest of truths. Host Noah Brink highlights The Green Ember Series and The Wingfeather Saga – two, contemporary Christian book series, written for children and young adults, but incredibly meaningful for adults to read as well.
Episode 56: A Gospel Framework for Teaching World Languages
Christian Schools' World Language departments are often the most overlooked when it comes to developing a framework for teaching Christianly. But, our philosophy of Christian education must be as well developed and implemented there as with any other part of the School. In fact, the World Languages Department has advantages that other departments don't.
Host Noah Brink discusses how the questions and categories of the RenewEd Worldview Grid can shape our approach to thinking about teaching within the World Languages - in a way that's not merely looking for verses or biblical analogies, but focusing on biblical themes throughout the department.
Episode 55: (RenewRec) Books to Guide an Approach to Teaching
The Novice Advantage and Teaching from Rest
While it's always important to have a strong foundation for a Christian education philosophy (and constantly lean on resources to strengthen that foundation), we also need resources to go to that next level and help to shape our teachers' approach to teaching in a way that's consistent with that philosophy. Jon Eckert's The Novice Advantage and Sarah Mackenzie's Teaching from Rest and incredibly helpful resources to shape the posture teachers need as they approach the task of teaching. While the two authors are writing toward different audiences, both books are highly practical and applicable. And, our teachers, regardless of their experience level, can use resources like these to continue to learn, risk, and reflect (Eckert) and bring with them a grounding of rest and security (Mackenzie).
Episode 54: Raising Kids Toward Belonging
Kids need to belong.
From the earliest age, all the way through their teenage years, they need to know that they're a part of something. It grounds them; it rescues them from the anxiousness that results from trying to find meaning on their own terms. Quite possibly, "Belonging" could be what kids need more than anything else if they're going to grow to become healthy people.
Host Noah Brink offers three words (Boundaries, Bravery, and Belovedness) to help frame how we can aim our kids toward belonging, regardless of our roles with kids – whether it's as parents, teachers, or coaches.
Episode 53: A Gospel Framework for Teaching History
As with every academic discipline, teachers need a framework for teaching history that requires more than merely finding a verse or biblical analogy. Rather, teaching History from a Christian perspective requires an understanding of the key categories of a biblical worldview and applying them to the discipline. Host Noah Brink reintroduces the categories and questions of the RenewEd Worldview Grid to provide both a perspective toward teaching History Christianly and to nurture the sort of posture and longings we want to see in our students - because of their History studies.
Episode 52: (RenewRec) Two “AHa!” Books
The Two books that most grabbed my attention and shaped my approach to Christian education have very different arguments, but were equally formative for me as I began to grow greater understanding of the life of faith in relation to the task of Christian Schooling. Mark Noll's book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (1994) was formative for me in the area of deep thought, intellectual pursuits, and the life of the mind. James K.A. Smith's book Desiring the Kingdom was equally formative, but in the area of desires, affections, and how our habits shape our loves.
Episode 51: Teaching Christianly in a Secular Context
While Christian education and secular education are quite different (and should be even more different than many of the models we have), a Christian who teachers in a secular context can still teach "Christianly" within that context ... because teaching Christianly is far more than merely adding a verse or Christian lingo to an otherwise secular content. Host Noah Brink unpacks the ways that RenewEd's Worldview Grid can provide a framework for what it would look like to teach Christianly in a not Christian context. But, not only is this conversation intended for secular school teachers, it should also be helpful to any Christian teacher - to understand and apply the big categories that are critical to a truly Christian education.
Episode 50: (RenewRec) Two from G.K. Chesterton
Maybe one of the most important skills teachers need to have in their tool belt is the ability to help students understand the "bigness" of God and the beauty and wonder that result from living in a world He has created. And, there may be no author to help develop that skill than G.K. Chesterton. His writing continues to shape so much of what we believe it means to live faithfully, sensibly, and joyfully in God's world. Though he's written extensively on all sorts of topics, the two books we recommend first are Orthodoxy and The Ballad of the White Horse
Episode 49: Why we Need the Fine Arts
It shouldn't even be a question in Christian schools, but we live in a world where the Fine Arts are the first to fall victim to budget cuts and the last to receive the funding and institutional support they need to flourish. This reveals a common flaw in the way we think about school in general. Host Noah Brink uses the oft-overlooked and underfunded Fine Arts programs in our schools to both reemphasize the ultimate purpose for Christian education and revise a theological foundation for what it means to be human.