By John Walker, Ed.D. While there are many ways to define what a “waypoint” is, I love how the National Geographic (2023) defines a waypoint: “a waypoint is a reference point that helps us know where we are and where we’re going. Whether we’re driving, sailing, or flying, waypoints help us find our way.” If you are like me, you love working with a diverse group of people whom the Lord has placed in your […]
Tag: Bear fruit
A F.E.W. Just Words
By Bing Parks A RAP LESSON My students’ favorite music genre is rap. We will analyze the messages in rap lyrics and discuss the impact of the rapper’s diction. Sometimes the students wonder why we are spending so much time on the lyrics and ask if they could just listen to the song and move on. They argue that they are just words, after all. So, one day I told them I was the best […]
Starting with the Finish Line in Mind
By Jenny Brady How to help your community prepare for endings at the beginning “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under Heaven.”1 Whether you recognize those words from the Byrds hit song or King Solomon’s original statement in Ecclesiastes, you have likely heard them thrown around in times of change. The truth in these words can be hard for many of us to swallow. As humans, we are not always […]
Tov and Joy in the Classroom
By: Laura Barringer This is adapted from a speech Laura gave at the “Leading a Culture of JOY” event in Chicago. In October 2020, my father and I published what became a bestselling book called A Church Called Tov. It is not a story I could have ever planned to write. After all, I am a school teacher and have spent two decades of my career teaching primary-grade children. Writing a book at all and […]
Chocolate Milkshakes. Four Ways to Better Understand Love in Education
By: Dr. Chris Hobbs It’s the last day of February! The month of Valentine’s Day, and as Charles Schultz, creator of Charlie Brown, famously quipped – ‘all you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.’ My wife and I have developed a new dating tradition of jumping in the car after dinner during a busy week, and burying our stress at a local Freddy’s where I have discovered an amazing […]