Category: Educational Leadership
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Back to School: 3 Principles for Returning to School Amidst the Pandemic
Our world has been turned upside down in the last five months, or so it feels, and a course-correct doesn’t seem likely soon. While educational leaders across the country have sought to stay positive and assure families of an in-person return to school in August, some are having to pivot back to remote and hybrid…
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“Teach Like a Champion” for the Classical Classroom, Part 2: Teacher-Driven Professional Development
There are two general approaches to professional development in education, one that is supervisor-driven and the other that is teacher-driven. In the supervisor-driven approach, the principal or dean is the primary driver for teacher development. The principal sets the goals, schedules observations, provides feedback, and identifies future growth areas. The strength of this approach is…
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The Problem of Technicism in Conventional Education
Technicism is not simply an over-fascination with technology as a means of stimulating learning out of students, though that problem plagues conventional education as well. Instead, I use the term ‘technicism’ to refer to a broader ideological approach to education that has become captivated by quantitative measurements and the economic evaluation of success. In technicism…
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The Importance of Courage and Curiosity for School Leaders Today
If you were to make a short list of some of the most important traits for school leaders, what would you include? You might start with confidence. Confidence affords leaders the ability to stay calm under pressure and remain focused on a course of action when the going gets tough. Or perhaps humility comes to…
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Cultivating a Community: Wisdom for Parents Educating at Home Amidst the Present Crisis
In the last few weeks, life has changed dramatically for families across the globe. For families living in some parts of the United States, the most predictable elements of their busy schedules—the nine-to-five work day, daily school routine, church commitments, soccer practice, piano lessons—have vanished from the calendar. For perhaps the first time since the…
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Marketing, Manipulations and True Classroom Leadership
Earlier this fall I finished reading Simon Sinek’s Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. Besides being inspired and challenged in my own leadership, I was deeply taken with his vision for effective marketing or branding: the idea that starting with why the organization exists is the most effective way to…
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Liberating Education from the Success Syndrome
The quest for success in education is a familiar narrative for students, teachers and home educators alike. Schools especially can often get caught up in the elusive search for success. As Christian schools, the desire to reach as many students as possible in order to make as big a kingdom impact as possible is laudable.…
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Strategic Instruction: Optimizing Classroom Performance for Small and Large Classes
It is often assumed among administrators, teachers, and parents alike that the smaller the class size, the better the instruction, and consequently, the greater the academic achievement. After all, each teacher possesses a finite amount of time, focus, and energy, so it would seem that smaller class sizes would be ideal for preventing teachers from…
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So Your Middle Schooler Wants to Go to a Different School ? 3 Strategies for High School Retention
It’s an incontrovertible rule of life: every middle schooler will express a desire to go to a different school than the one they are currently in – any school – just as long is it is different. For small, private schools, this can be a worrisome proposition. Enrollment attrition is to be expected at key…
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New to School: 5 Principles for Starting the Year Well
Have you ever been new to a school? Often there are awkward days trying to find new friends. You feel like there’s an opportunity to turn over a new leaf. Every school has its own culture that needs to be learned and navigated. Whatever succeeded at your previous school might not work here. The temptation…