Monday, December 24, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Heard it from a friend
"Heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend who heard it from another you've been messing around." "I heard it through the grapevine." Hopefully you recognize these lyrics from REO Speedwagon and Marvin Gaye. I also wish I was just writing this blog post about great songs.
In the past few weeks I have heard many rumors/gossiping in the hallways and have even been asked if this or that rumor was true. I personally feel that our need to gossip is a power thing. In this case this power is knowledge. Knowing something that someone may not know and being able to be "the one" who knows more than someone else. But what are we really doing?
If we look at the eighth commandment and Luther's meaning, we can see we are breaking this commandment. (Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, nor defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.)
In many cases, gossiping is making untrue statements about someone. God forbids this (Proverbs 19:5, Ephesians 4:25, James 4:11). But, what if what you heard is true, should you tell others? NO! We are not to betray our neighbors either. If you have an issue with someone, you need to address them yourself and alone (Matthew 18:15).
We are part of CTK as a whole. Each person is a very important part of the whole. None more important than the other. The school needs: Parents, Teachers, Office Staff, Other Staff, Volunteers, and most importantly Students. We need to work together and work past the rumors we hear. As parents, you need to work with each other also, just like teachers need to work with each other. As parents you pick CTK because the type of education we give your child(ren).
What to do when you hear gossiping?
There are two appropriate actions that can be taken. 1) Walk away or 2) Tell the people who are gossiping to stop.
Is "getting it off your chest" or having someone to hear you out considered gossiping?
That is a big question that has a very shady line of where too much is too much. Sometimes, it just takes letting one other confidant know what is going on and bounce thoughts off of them. I have mentors that I talk with about issues, to hopefully help shine some light on solutions. At CTK we have the Principal Advisory Committee for this purpose, to help me make decisions. The crossing of the line comes into play when spreading information, true or not, and whether it will cause harm to someone or not.
In the past few weeks I have heard many rumors/gossiping in the hallways and have even been asked if this or that rumor was true. I personally feel that our need to gossip is a power thing. In this case this power is knowledge. Knowing something that someone may not know and being able to be "the one" who knows more than someone else. But what are we really doing?
If we look at the eighth commandment and Luther's meaning, we can see we are breaking this commandment. (Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, nor defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.)
In many cases, gossiping is making untrue statements about someone. God forbids this (Proverbs 19:5, Ephesians 4:25, James 4:11). But, what if what you heard is true, should you tell others? NO! We are not to betray our neighbors either. If you have an issue with someone, you need to address them yourself and alone (Matthew 18:15).
We are part of CTK as a whole. Each person is a very important part of the whole. None more important than the other. The school needs: Parents, Teachers, Office Staff, Other Staff, Volunteers, and most importantly Students. We need to work together and work past the rumors we hear. As parents, you need to work with each other also, just like teachers need to work with each other. As parents you pick CTK because the type of education we give your child(ren).
What to do when you hear gossiping?
There are two appropriate actions that can be taken. 1) Walk away or 2) Tell the people who are gossiping to stop.
Is "getting it off your chest" or having someone to hear you out considered gossiping?
That is a big question that has a very shady line of where too much is too much. Sometimes, it just takes letting one other confidant know what is going on and bounce thoughts off of them. I have mentors that I talk with about issues, to hopefully help shine some light on solutions. At CTK we have the Principal Advisory Committee for this purpose, to help me make decisions. The crossing of the line comes into play when spreading information, true or not, and whether it will cause harm to someone or not.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
CTK Security
I want everyone to know that since I first came here, I have been assessing the safety and security of CTK. While I was at Holt Lutheran, I revamped our security procedures to coincide with local agency. Even on Thursday night, I told the voters at CTK that security was one of the top 3 items I want to work on this year (technology upgrade and math curriculum being the other two).
I met with the security team about a month ago to talk about some immediate changes that need to be done. Though it may not be much, or enough to stop someone who breaches into our school with a gun, it has helped a little. Part of not using the church doors in the morning was to help the Church office workers, but the other half was for security reasons. We also replaced a lock by the daycare room and added a light so those who are working can see out. I also talked with our corespondent to the local police agency.
Some of the things on the security team current to-do-list is: 1) add 16 cameras, hooked up to a DVR around the school /church. Each door will have a camera, as well as each major area. We will be able to record anyone coming in or coming out any door. 2) adding a mag lock to the school doors. This will make the inner doors lock, with needing to be buzzed in. Some of the other objectives is to have the police into our building to run some drills and a mock emergency.
What else?
I am working on reviewing our Crisis Management Manual. I want to update it to be in-line with other schools in the downriver area. By law we have at least two lock down drills during the school year. Although we have not had one yet, they are planned for the near future. We have had a few tornado and fire drills, which we need many drills for. After we update our crisis management manual, the teachers will need to be trained on current tactics for school safety.
Some of our difficulties?
The biggest difficulty we have is being a big building. We have a lot of entry points with doors and windows. We are also connected to the Church. As a church and a school we want to be welcoming to visitors, but we also want to be safe. Lastly, we have many groups that use the school and church. A lot of times the other groups consist of people who are not a part of our Church and school, ie. Boy Scouts.
How can you help?
Even with the Cameras, mag lock doors, and lock down drills, we can't plan or prevent every possible outcome. But, with all of that, we need your help also. If you see someone in the hallways or on school property that you don't recognize, ask them how you can help. If they seem off or won't answer, ask them to leave. Let the office know and if need be, call the police. Please don't ever put yourself in harms way. We are fortunate that we do have many parents that are in the line of law enforcement. We have individuals that do check throughout the day and have a lock up committee to make sure all doors are locked at the end of the day. Also, if you see anything that concerns you, please let me know.
If you are wondering how to talk to your child, I have seen this article going around on Facebook http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/resources_for_families/talking_to_children_about_community_violence
My prayers and the CTK staff prayers go out to the families involved in this tragedy. Please continue to pray for those involved and let them find their focus on the salvation in Christ.
I met with the security team about a month ago to talk about some immediate changes that need to be done. Though it may not be much, or enough to stop someone who breaches into our school with a gun, it has helped a little. Part of not using the church doors in the morning was to help the Church office workers, but the other half was for security reasons. We also replaced a lock by the daycare room and added a light so those who are working can see out. I also talked with our corespondent to the local police agency.
Some of the things on the security team current to-do-list is: 1) add 16 cameras, hooked up to a DVR around the school /church. Each door will have a camera, as well as each major area. We will be able to record anyone coming in or coming out any door. 2) adding a mag lock to the school doors. This will make the inner doors lock, with needing to be buzzed in. Some of the other objectives is to have the police into our building to run some drills and a mock emergency.
What else?
I am working on reviewing our Crisis Management Manual. I want to update it to be in-line with other schools in the downriver area. By law we have at least two lock down drills during the school year. Although we have not had one yet, they are planned for the near future. We have had a few tornado and fire drills, which we need many drills for. After we update our crisis management manual, the teachers will need to be trained on current tactics for school safety.
Some of our difficulties?
The biggest difficulty we have is being a big building. We have a lot of entry points with doors and windows. We are also connected to the Church. As a church and a school we want to be welcoming to visitors, but we also want to be safe. Lastly, we have many groups that use the school and church. A lot of times the other groups consist of people who are not a part of our Church and school, ie. Boy Scouts.
How can you help?
Even with the Cameras, mag lock doors, and lock down drills, we can't plan or prevent every possible outcome. But, with all of that, we need your help also. If you see someone in the hallways or on school property that you don't recognize, ask them how you can help. If they seem off or won't answer, ask them to leave. Let the office know and if need be, call the police. Please don't ever put yourself in harms way. We are fortunate that we do have many parents that are in the line of law enforcement. We have individuals that do check throughout the day and have a lock up committee to make sure all doors are locked at the end of the day. Also, if you see anything that concerns you, please let me know.
If you are wondering how to talk to your child, I have seen this article going around on Facebook http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/resources_for_families/talking_to_children_about_community_violence
My prayers and the CTK staff prayers go out to the families involved in this tragedy. Please continue to pray for those involved and let them find their focus on the salvation in Christ.
Monday, December 10, 2012
No Classrooms Building Plan?
If I said CTK was going to an Educational Model where there were no classrooms and students work on their own, you might think I was crazy. One of the newest schools in Sweden is just like that. Dr. Bernard Bull of Concordia University Wisconsin, a personal friend and mentor, shared this article on his Facebook page.
This school was built to foster "curiosity and creativity." They use collaboration zones and small conference areas (called houses) to help the student become an independent learner and life-long learners. To top off not having any classrooms there are no letter grades and students are grouped by level not age. You would think this is a type of private education with high tuition costs, guess again. Students attend for free as long as parents pay taxes to Sweden.
This school uses Project Based Learning, here is a short post about Shift to PBL (I will write more about PBL at a later date), to make sure students are meeting the standards put in place. Sweden is looking to their neighbors, Finland, to see what is working. Finland is rated as having the best schools according to the PISA studies. PISA, Programme for International Student Assessment, compares 15-year-olds' reading, mathematics and science abilities. What Finland does and Sweden is copying is more teacher training, and lots of special-needs teaching. But, as a whole, Sweden is not there yet. Sweden's orthodoxy for education has been, since the 1970's, competition and grades destroyed a child's motivation. Kids are just passed along. Sweden's independent schools (like charter schools here is the US) are changing the look of education. A Burger King "Have it Your Way" type of education.
What does this mean for CTK?
No we are not knocking walls down. We are, however, knocking down the belief that students only learn in the classroom. Inside the 4 walled rooms which we call classrooms, we are starting to use social media and technology as a tool to engage students and help them understand the importance of learning and help them become life-long learners.
PS. I will be keeping track on how this school works and what the outcomes are.
Here are a few photos from the new school in Sweden (see article for more pictures)
This school was built to foster "curiosity and creativity." They use collaboration zones and small conference areas (called houses) to help the student become an independent learner and life-long learners. To top off not having any classrooms there are no letter grades and students are grouped by level not age. You would think this is a type of private education with high tuition costs, guess again. Students attend for free as long as parents pay taxes to Sweden.
This school uses Project Based Learning, here is a short post about Shift to PBL (I will write more about PBL at a later date), to make sure students are meeting the standards put in place. Sweden is looking to their neighbors, Finland, to see what is working. Finland is rated as having the best schools according to the PISA studies. PISA, Programme for International Student Assessment, compares 15-year-olds' reading, mathematics and science abilities. What Finland does and Sweden is copying is more teacher training, and lots of special-needs teaching. But, as a whole, Sweden is not there yet. Sweden's orthodoxy for education has been, since the 1970's, competition and grades destroyed a child's motivation. Kids are just passed along. Sweden's independent schools (like charter schools here is the US) are changing the look of education. A Burger King "Have it Your Way" type of education.
What does this mean for CTK?
PS. I will be keeping track on how this school works and what the outcomes are.
Here are a few photos from the new school in Sweden (see article for more pictures)
Friday, December 7, 2012
Read this Blog Post
A college friend of mine wrote a great article about raising kids in a World that will Hate them. Just because they are a Christian. http://www.thevillagechurch.net/the-village-blog/raising-kids-the-world-will-hate/ You may get a pop up about choosing your campus. That is part of the Church's website as they have more than one campus in Texas. You can just x out of it.
Private Schools Good for Students
Are you wondering why families choose private schools like CTK? Are you a CTK family looking for a way to explain why you've chosen to invest in private education? This video provides some insight into why private schools, like our school here at CTK, are a a great choice for children.
From the Council for American Private Education
From the Council for American Private Education
Monday, December 3, 2012
Bloom's Taxonomy
In Battle of the Homework post I mentioned Bloom's New Taxonomy. Knowing that may not mean anything to some people, I wanted to plot out some of the original thoughts behind this Critical Thinking Pedagogy.
Benjamin Bloom was the chair of a think tank committee in 1956. They sought out to look at learning objectives and how to improve curricula. The committee concluded that there were three domains to objectives set by the teachers. These were Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor. In common terms: Cognitive - Knowing / Head; Affective - Feeling / Heart; and Psychomotor - Doing / Hands.
When dealing with students, we want to touch on each domain in order to give the students a holistic view on education. As each domain is important in its own right, usually the domain mostly focused on is the cognitive domain. This domain deals with critical thinking and knowledge, which is also the first level.
Within the 6 Levels of Critical Thinking, the higher the level, the harder it is to actually teach, but richer are the rewards.
Level - 1 Knowledge - Recall facts, terms and basic concepts.
Key Words: show, tell, who, select, find, what, list, how, why, define, quote, where, describe, label, which.
Level - 2 Comprehension -Understand information by organizing, comparing, interpreting, and describing.
Key Words: compare, contrast, demonstrate, interpret, explain, extend, illustrate, infer, outline, relate, rephrase, give examples of, summarize, show, classify.
Level - 3 Application - Apply knowledge, facts, techniques, and rules in new situations.
Key Words: apply, build, relate, change, develop, solve, organize, predict, plan, produce.
Level - 4 Analysis - Break information into parts, looking for patterns. Understand difference in facts and inference.
Key Words: analyze, discover, list, simplify, categorize, infer, theme, survey, classify, divide, relate, take part in, compare, examine, function, explain, contrast, inspect, motive, distinguish.
Level - 5 Synthesis - Combine given information in different ways to create new meaning.
Key Words: elaborate, formulate, prepare, suppose, theorize, create, imagine, predict, discuss, choose, design, invent, propose, modify, combine, develop, adapt, solve, change, compile, estimate, originate, solution, test, compose.
Level - 6 Evaluation -Make judgments about information and ideas based on a set of criteria, recognizing subjectivity.
Key Words: appraise, determine, interpret, measure, prove, conclude, dispute, explain, compare, select, criticize, evaluate, support, assess, agree, decide, judge, convince, relate, prioritize, defend, justify, critique, recommend, opinion.
So what does this mean for CTK?
As teachers, we are striving to be ask Level 6 questions of the students. As parents, you can help by doing the same. Getting students to think about what is important and why it is important and then be able to explain the rationale or problem to someone else will help aide in their Success.
Level - 1 Knowledge - Recall facts, terms and basic concepts.
Key Words: show, tell, who, select, find, what, list, how, why, define, quote, where, describe, label, which.
Level - 2 Comprehension -Understand information by organizing, comparing, interpreting, and describing.
Key Words: compare, contrast, demonstrate, interpret, explain, extend, illustrate, infer, outline, relate, rephrase, give examples of, summarize, show, classify.
Level - 3 Application - Apply knowledge, facts, techniques, and rules in new situations.
Key Words: apply, build, relate, change, develop, solve, organize, predict, plan, produce.
Level - 4 Analysis - Break information into parts, looking for patterns. Understand difference in facts and inference.
Key Words: analyze, discover, list, simplify, categorize, infer, theme, survey, classify, divide, relate, take part in, compare, examine, function, explain, contrast, inspect, motive, distinguish.
Level - 5 Synthesis - Combine given information in different ways to create new meaning.
Key Words: elaborate, formulate, prepare, suppose, theorize, create, imagine, predict, discuss, choose, design, invent, propose, modify, combine, develop, adapt, solve, change, compile, estimate, originate, solution, test, compose.
Level - 6 Evaluation -Make judgments about information and ideas based on a set of criteria, recognizing subjectivity.
Key Words: appraise, determine, interpret, measure, prove, conclude, dispute, explain, compare, select, criticize, evaluate, support, assess, agree, decide, judge, convince, relate, prioritize, defend, justify, critique, recommend, opinion.
So what does this mean for CTK?
As teachers, we are striving to be ask Level 6 questions of the students. As parents, you can help by doing the same. Getting students to think about what is important and why it is important and then be able to explain the rationale or problem to someone else will help aide in their Success.
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