Author: Patrick Egan

Goal Setting and Habits: Starting the New Year SMARTer

It is the start of 2024 and I return once more to the topic of habits. There is an ancient tradition associating habits with virtues. It was Aristotle, for instance, who wrote that “moral virtue comes about as a result of habit” (Nichomachean Ethics 2:1 or 1103a15-b25, trans. W. D. Ross). At the beginning of each new year it is worthwhile to take stock of the virtues we would most like to cultivate and then set out a course of action for how we plan to grow in that virtue. It takes a certain amount of creativity and advance planning

Continue reading

The Incarnation of Jesus and Incarnational Ministry in the Classroom

During a recent podcast recording session, I developed a theological argument about the incarnation that I think it worth unpacking in greater detail. The episode will be released during Advent, so be on the lookout for our next podcast, coming December 10 at 4:00 p.m. It’s at this time of year that we cultivate a sense of the incarnation with the buildup to the Christmas holiday. We see lots of decorations. There are school performances and church pageants. Our routines change to accommodate a plethora of Christmas parties. Despite the celebrating and decorating, there’s a deep concern about the commercialization

Continue reading

Miss Stacy and Miss Shirley: Three Characteristics of an Effective Teacher

Set amidst the idyllic scenes of Prince Edward Island, one of Canada’s eastern most provinces, the story of Anne Shirley serves up excellent reading for Middle Schoolers. The first in a series of short novels written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables tells the story of an orphan girl, Anne Shirley, who is adopted by the aging brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Through Anne, we are introduced to the community of the fictional town of Avonlea. Anne’s coming of age story is shaped by the people and countryside of this small community. And yet her arrival

Continue reading

Guiding a New Generation: Six Alternatives to College

In this series on college guidance, we have worked within the framework that most if not all students are destined to attend a four-year college. I began by questioning the current state of affairs in higher education. There is a massive educational-industrial complex that serves as the gateway to the industrial economy. However, many recent developments have seriously impacted the role higher education plays across the economy. Despite the rising costs of higher education, the value of such an education remains high. Thus, college likely remains the normal outcome for high school graduates. Yet, a growing number of alternatives have

Continue reading

Funding the Dream: An Honest Look at College Financial Aid

One of the biggest investments you can make in life is in the education of children. With the rising cost of higher education, many are questioning this proposition. Has the traditional four-year college remained a good investment? Or has it saddled the next generation with a debt burden too great to bear? In this article, we will do a little bit of cost analysis to determine whether students, parents and schools should continue to aim for college placements. We will also look at how financial aid works with some guidance on how to navigate a fairly complex set of factors

Continue reading

Playing the Game: The Typical Rules for College Entry

Let’s be honest, there’s a game being played here. College entry has traditionally been about a very few factors that tell so much about a high school student’s ability to play this game, and not so much about the individual qualities that make that student an interesting person with the potential to be a great addition to the academic atmosphere as well as student life. Now COVID went a long way towards changing the game in radical ways. And we will get to some of the new currents in admissions such as student interviews. For some students, they adeptly navigate

Continue reading

The State of Affairs: Higher Education as an Educational-industrial Complex

As I begin this series on college guidance, my aim is to take seriously our mission to cultivate lifelong learning and flourishing. We must begin with the current state of affairs. We really cannot guide students into the higher education of today without taking stock of the long backstory of colleges and universities. Industrialization has had a massive impact on higher education, transforming these institutions into destinations for most high school graduates as a pipeline to the job market the industrialized economy created. As we go into this historical review, we will keep in mind that much of what our

Continue reading

Practicing Happiness: Ancient Wisdom for Our Modern World

The pursuit of happiness is one of three rights originally drafted by Thomas Jefferson in the “Declaration of Independence.” These “unalienable rights” are “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It is an odd turn of phrase, but one that has a profound backdrop to it, one which we have perhaps lost today. It is likely that Jefferson borrowed the three rights from John Locke. Almost a century prior to the American declaration, the English philosopher had written in Two Treatises on Government that government existed to protect a person’s “life, liberty and estate.” By estate, Locke surely meant property

Continue reading

Building Culture: The Architecture of a Successful Classroom

Previously I explored how we can create culture in our classrooms to foster growth in habits through the installation of rich values that inspire students to reach for personal excellence. Since then, I have had many opportunities to further my thinking and interact with even more perspectives to equip teachers to lead their students towards success. In this article, we will develop a framework for the classroom centered around the idea that each class is a team. This framework revolves around two general concepts: strong relationships and strategic routines. These might seem either obvious or overly general. But we shall

Continue reading

Reading for Meaning: Tapping into the Collective Unconsciousness

The story of Saint George and the Dragon is a classic tale of courage and faith. It tells the story of a brave knight, George, who saves a princess from being sacrificed to a dragon that has been terrorizing a small town. After slaying the dragon, George is celebrated as a hero and his bravery is rewarded with the hand of the princess in marriage. The story has been adapted into many different versions throughout history, but its core message remains the same: courage and faith can overcome any obstacle. There’s a lovely edition of Saint George and the Dragon

Continue reading