Written by Paul Koelpin
Does Lutheran education in the 21st century need a reformation? Lutherans often wonder just what Luther would say about the practice of the church that bears his name today. Would Luther approve of what they teach? Does the 21st-century church rightfully bear the name “Lutheran”? Does the mystical concept of “Luther’s spirit” live on? Continue reading
Written by Duane Vance
Administrative release time (ART) and its importance has been a key issue discussed heavily within our circles for the past decade or so. Greg Schmill (2009) identified some alarming statistics about WELS principals that could be leading to burnout and ineffective practices. In response, the Commission on Lutheran Schools created a guideline for appropriate administrative release time. Each school should provide its principal with one hour per week for every 7.5 students enrolled. The synod convention adopted this recommendation in 2013. Dr. John Meyer (2014) has identified five ways that proper release time will help principals improve their schools. They are as follows: Continue reading
Written by Larry Czer
Opening Gambit
If you look at most goals and outcomes for language arts programs, you will see a strong emphasis on reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. The Minnesota language arts standards included both viewing and media literacy outcomes to prepare students for the future job market. These six skills comprise our endgame for teaching in the language arts. These skills should also influence both the way we teach and the way we prepare teachers for today’s language arts classrooms. Continue reading
Written by Amanda M. Lewig
As I walk around the classroom, four separate groups of six 6-year-olds are working at various, rather complex tasks. I overhear a group that has been assigned an engineering task communicating and problem solving as they realize their original design is not holding up. They work together, solve the problem, and at the end of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) class, come to me with a two-and-a-half foot tall self-supporting, paper snowman. This is a typical Friday STEM class in my kindergarten. Continue reading
Written by Miles Wurster
It is no small secret that of all the scholarly pursuits, Luther held music as one of the crown jewels of learning, second only to that of Scripture. “Music is a fair, glorious gift of God; and it lies very near to theology. I would not part with my small faculty of music for vast possessions. We should practice the young continually in this art, for it will make able and polished men of them” (Eby & Luther, 1931, p.71). This short sentence implies much—the importance Luther placed on music in the church and in the education curriculum, the emphasis on training highly qualified music and classroom teachers, and how music has a profound and beneficial impact on those who study and surround themselves with it. Continue reading
Written by Adam Glodowski
I started thinking about boys in school when my first son was entering kindergarten. He was a very active child who preferred running around outside to sitting and coloring. He would rather play with his Hot Wheels® than sit still and write on paper. It seemed he would rather do anything than sit still! Sound like any young boys you know?
The following figures (Gurian & Stevens, 2004) do not tell an encouraging story for the boys in American schools: Continue reading
Written by Dr. Jeff Wiechman
Where are we?
Evaluations are stressful…for the one being evaluated and for the one doing the evaluating! What’s more, we struggle in our circles to do something useful with the data we collect. And yet these don’t have to be a waste of time. Educators and researchers have lots to say on the topic.
The role of the principal as supervisor of instruction can at times be understood in a very narrow sense: an educational leader observing another teacher’s lessons and meeting with the teacher to discuss observations and offer suggestions for improvement. I’d like us to build this definition upon a much broader understanding of supervision of instruction. Continue reading
Written by Professor Mark Tacke
One of the best research-based workshops I have ever attended took place at Seattle Pacific University in July of 2010. The audience contained both educators and business people. The lunch was an amazing buffet that included Pacific Northwest salmon. The presenter was the author of Brain Rules, John Medina.
John Medina’s Brain Rules is a book that outlines and expands on 12 rules for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. (A second edition has come out since I attended this workshop.) I am not going to write about all 12 rules, but I’m going to cherry-pick and write about those rules especially apropos for educators. Continue reading
Written by Lynn M. Jungen
ECE directors and congregations may not think of parents as customers for their schools, but in reality they are. We can identify characteristics similar to those of any customer to learn what parents want and when they look for it. Continue reading
Written by Richard Muchka
For decades, WELS teachers have used the same general grading scale (A, B, C, D, and F). But what do these letters exactly mean? According to traditional grading, an A designates a superior understanding of subject matter, a B correlates with above average, a C is average, a D is below average, and an F denotes a failure to understand the particular subject matter. But how are parents to know exactly what their son or daughter knows or doesn’t know? Is there a more accurate model? Many supporters of standards-based grading would suggest this new model can provide a more accurate assessment of student learning. Continue reading