Evaluations Everywhere We Turn

What an amazing day. It is awesome to see so many students working diligently at their studies in groups as well as individual lessons. There is nothing like the pressure of exams and evaluations to bring out the serious nature of education; especially for the teachers.

This year has been another saga in the unfolding story of the school's evolution from what we were to what the Spirit is transforming us into. However transformation is not without its pain. For weeks we were getting daily updates as to what last minute changes were being made by the government. Remember that this is all new to them as well; they have never had to deal with schools like ours. This caused a great deal of frustrations as we had to keep making adjustments to our plans and timetables. So why even bother with all this?

Evaluations are required because we have insisted on keeping our own curriculum. The government needs to do these evaluations to ensure that our students are keeping up with other students in the province. The evaluations allow us to see what gaps there may exist in our curriculum so we can make our adjustments. The government has no desire to close us but instead wants to work with us to make our schools stronger, for the sake of our students.

There are many more evaluations this year than we had expected which has been a large workload for Mrs. Roy as she scrambles to make sure that we have enough preparation classes and supervisors to cover the various exams. She has worked hard to insure that each student is prepared as much as possible. Keep in mind though that these evaluations are not for the purpose of determining pass and fail for our students but instead to evaluate our curriculum.

There are many frustrations that are involved in this process. The government is frustrated, our schools are frustrated and I am sure that many parents are frustrated. However we are in the midst of a process that the province has been going through for some years now. We are looking at covering this process in a much shorter period of time. Meanwhile the government is making adjustments to be fair to our students. In some cases in our Secondary III and IV's the years mark is allowed to take greater priority over the MEQ exam. This is excellent news for our older students.

So we keep moving forward and we keep learning. We have no doubt that our incredible God has opened wide the doors of opportunity. You as parents are able to participate in Christian Education at a fraction of the cost of other schools because of a dedicated staff who believe in the value of this ministry. At the same time your children are earning government diplomas that will allow them to move forward into the future God has planned for them.

I am sure that all of this has caused some questions for you. Please do not keep those questions to yourself. Contact us and ask those questions so we can relieve any fear that you may have at this time. So often the enemy loves to play on our fear of the unknown. Do not stay in the dark. Let's give chase to the enemy simply by being willing to ask those questions. Keep us in prayer as we continue to pray for you.

Conformity or Reality

There are a number of issues floating around at the Academy these days, all of them relating to the development of our Secondary students. However, these issues have little to do with academic development and much more to do with character and maturity. These are difficult issues at any age but even more so as children make that emotional evolution from children to adults.

One of the issues we have been facing is whether it is better to have these developing young adults conform to our system or to give them the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them. What is the role of the school? Of the staff? The easiest one for me is to have them conform because then I am only dealing with rules and rules are easy to deal with. The other way is messy and requires a lot of time and investment in each youth.

Lately I find myself confessing to my own failings as a youth which went a long way to contributing to how I deal with things as an adult. There were not a lot of people I trusted in my youth. It was my own fault. I was more interested in books, to the delight of my mom. I invested my money and time in stories that stayed within two covers and that did not demand very much from me as a person. I had friends but I certainly did not invest myself in them. I dealt with everything alone and it led to some disasters in my youth because I was not willing to allow people to invest in me. I have not changed all that much. I remain a very private person, or so I thought.

I discovered last week that just because a person is private does not mean people can't know them. I was having an heart-to-heart talk with the Secondary trying to resolve some things. I told them that I had been angry with them for the last two weeks because of their constant disregard of the school rules for computer use. I then stated that they could not tell I was angry because I do not allow my emotions to effect how I respond to people. A hand went up and a student said, "We knew Pastor Paul. We always know." I was dumpfounded. I asked them how they knew. So they started describing my behaviour, how I change things, the tone of my voice and so on. One student said, "You are very easy to read Pastor Paul", and they chuckled. Here I associated shouting as a sign of anger, which I do not do but the students associated it with a series of actions and tone that I use. It seemed they knew more about me than I knew about them. It was not the only lesson God had prepared for me.

Yesterday it was Pastor Roy's turn to preach at our church. He said something related to this that made me sit up and take notice. He was referring to how we do not get involved with each other. He stated that this was not a sign of respect but instead an attitude of not caring. "You go do your thing and I will do mine. I won't bother you and you don't bother me, because I don't care and don't want to be involved." Let's face it, life is messy; friendships are messy. Do we want a school that tells the youth we don't want to be involved, we don't care? Or do we want a school that invests in our youth? If it is the latter then we need to be prepared to get messy and to pay the price of time and energy.

What it comes down to is do we want our kids to hide their sins from us so we don't have to deal with it? Or do we want them to be honest even if it hurts us so that we can deal with it? In order for there to be honesty there has to be trust. In order for there to be trust there has to be love. And in order for there to be love there has to be tolerance. This is the fine line where we love the individual even when they do things that we cannot and will not accept. Love is helping them navigate these things without ever giving up on them. Our youth need this even if they don't realize it right now. Conformity or reality? Which is important to us?

I think we all need to get messy.

The Art Of Complaining

The other day I was out doing my usual Saturday chores, trying to get a week’s worth of work done in a day. I was at my usual choice of stores for groceries but I had a shorter list of items than usual. I am moving in a couple of weeks so we are eating a lot of the odds and ends before we go to make the move easier. This is the reason why, when I arrived at the checkout line, I only had one cart instead of the usual two or three. Of course being a Saturday there was a lengthy line but not all that bad. After a short time it was my turn and I began to load the items onto the conveyor belt.

It was while I was loading the items that it happened. A man came out of nowhere with a cart, passed everyone in the line, including me, and went directly to the cashier. My jaw dropped as he started holding up his items to be scanned by the cashier. I could not believe what I was seeing. Who was this guy that he considered his time to be more valuable than mine?

I should inject here that there are not a lot of things that bother me but if you ever want to see my blood boil then jump the cue. No one likes standing in line. Everyone is busy. What makes some people think their time is more valuable than anyone else’s? You know these guys; they are the ones who duck under the chains at the amusement parks, the guys who try to squeeze in at the last minute on the highways, the ones who force their way in at grocery store lines. Polite society says everyone takes their turn.

So here I was watching this arrogant guy forcing himself on the cashier, getting ahead of me in the grocery line up. Somebody needed to tell this guy that this was not acceptable. Then I noticed that he was having trouble understanding the cashier. Was he an immigrant? Did that change things? After all, things are different in other countries. People have to be pushy to get anything. Then again this was not another country and we have certain social rules here. If I let him get away with it then he will never learn that we don`t do this kind of thing in this country.

This was the argument going on in my head. The thing was, by the time I finished arguing with myself the moment had passed. Now it was too awkward to say anything. So I stood there feeling indignant that my time was devalued in this manner. Is that a proper Christian attitude? After all, are we not supposed to turn the other cheek? Is it wrong to complain?

Now let’s not lie to ourselves; we complain all the time. We may not do it in a manner that others hear but we still complain. Personally I am beginning to accept that it can be good and even healthy for us to complain if we complain in a proper manner. These are the points I consider to be important for healthy complaining:

1. Complain to the right person. There is no sense venting to a person who is powerless to make changes to policy. I feel bad for the employees who work the cash. They are the face of the store but they have no say over policy. Speak to the manager. Be nice to the cashier.

2. Be polite and respectful. We never get very far with disrespect. Even if we are correct with our complaint, disrespect will only create barriers. The same is true for that guy in the grocery line or your annoying neighbour.

3. Don’t expect things to change. Complaining is really only about one thing; making our opinion known and feeling better for it. If we actually expect something to change we will just be disappointing ourselves. Sometimes the thing that changes is us. In speaking of our dissatisfaction we open a dialogue that allows the other person to explain.

Is this biblical? According to the psalms it is. Who better to vent to than our Father? Sometimes we take out our complaints about the circumstances of our lives on the people around us, but they have no power over these things. Only our Father can do something about these circumstances. It is not offensive to complain to him, we just need to do it with respect. The psalmists did it and they did not pull any punches. Psalm 44 is a good example. The writer records all the things that God did for their fathers, but then complains that they are facing hardships even though they are living to honour God. This is the complaint:

All this happened to us,
though we had not forgotten you
or been false to your covenant. (v17)

Why do I bring this up? Because I believe it is better for parents and students to tell us how they are feeling about things then to keep it to themselves or complain to other people. An example: I have heard recently that one parent found some of my general letters condescending. I was really surprised by this. My suggestion was that this parent take one of these letters and highlight the wording they found to be offensive. I had no idea that my letters were coming across like this because it was not the heart behind them. By putting this complaint forward to me, the one who has the power to evoke change, this parent was able to feel better and I was able to address an issue that I did not know was an issue.

However, if it had been something that I would not have been able to change, such as the number of PEDs in the school year, it would have at least opened a dialogue. It is in dialogue that we are able to understand each other. In the case of PEDs I would have gained the knowledge that parents are frustrated and the parent would have gained the knowledge that PEDs are a requirement of the government. It is for these reasons that I find complaining to be a healthy exercise and one that I am learning. I am not a vocal complainer but I am a complainer nonetheless.

Complaints are unhealthy when we keep them to ourselves. They are unhealthy when we voice them to people who have no power to do anything about it. They are unhealthy when we deal with them out of anger and disrespect. They are unhealthy if we have false expectations for the results. So let’s do something constructive with our complaints. Let us build a community out of respect and understanding. Let’s talk.

Facing The Facts

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This week I want to discuss our use of technology. There is no getting away from it. It is everywhere you look. You may not use a lot of it, you may not like it but you still have to face it whether you like it or not. In fact, if you listen to Bill Buxton, who recently spoke on an episode of Spark (episode 66) we have been using technology for a long time. What are the preset buttons on your car radio? Are they not bookmarks? Is not the radio the earliest form of streaming music? He goes on to say that the computer is only a different package for what we have been using for years. If you would like, an evolved pencil, and so much more. The big difference is that we now use one tool in place of the hundreds of tools we use to use. We use it instead of the pencil, DVD player, TV, radio, record player, game consol, finance books, tax forms, recipe book, telephone, type writer, etc. Is it any wonder that we spend so much time on it?

Now what we are doing in our schools is training our students to use this multiple tool called technology in a manner that honours our Lord and brings balance to their lives. This is done by training teachers, students and parents not only how to use the technology but how to apply the character of Christ in its usage. Considering the almost single minded usage of this technology by our students and the technology challenged parents they have, it ends up being a very tall order; but not impossible.

Imagine if we started a Social Studies group comprised of teachers, parents and students who took on the challenge of sharing information about one new country every two weeks. In a year we would be well versed in 26 countries. In the five years of Secondary we would have learned about 120 countries and their cultures. Through technology it is possible to follow blogs from each country over the two weeks, watch videos, listen to its music, discover the news, learn new recipes, learn a bit of language. This is only one simple form in which technology can be used in a way to bring us closer to other people and their cultures.

There are too many ideas and possibilities to list them all here but we do need to understand that the Father has allowed weeds to grow among the wheat. There is evil amongst the good. We need to understand this and learn how to help our children walk through this mine field without destroying themselves. This requires training. This requires vigilance. This requires diligence. Parents must be involved in all their children's online activities. There is no other way to protect them. Remember that the Father has lent us these children and expects us to raise them according to his ways, and to keep them safe.

We will be conducting training in all the schools over the next couple of months. We are making this training mandatory for all parents. Without it we will not accept your child's application to our school. If we are going to be training the students in this area of technology we need to make sure the homefront is covered as well. So when the dates are announced please make every effort to be in attendance. Together we are forming a team that will surround these children in love, accountability and mentoring.

Our children cannot afford for us to stick our heads in the sand. We need to face the fact we must learn this stuff. Their future, and maybe their eternity depends on it.

An Amazing Journey, With Good Company

It is amazing where we can find ourselves when we allow the Spirit to lead us. Here I am writing on my laptop going down a twisting highway at 90 km/h as we head back home from our most recent trip to the Cree Nation of Mistissini. What were we doing there, you may ask? The Christian Academy there, known as Dabwetamun Academy, asked my son and me to come and help them with introducing technology to their school. An easier task said than done. Nonetheless we both felt this was a door that was opened for us by the Spirit and having walked through we are amazed where it has lead us.

While we were there this week I was asked to give an one hour presentation to the community on Internet Safety. The Internet is something everyone has but few understand, especially when it comes to what the children are doing with it. It was so well received that one of the churches wants us back to do some workshops in their church and the community has also asked us back to do a week of workshops for the parents. This is an incredible opportunity to remind parents of their God given responsibilities to train up their children in the Father’s ways. We have no idea where this is all going but we are glad to go as long as the Spirit is leading.

We are all fortunate to be part of this incredible thing the Spirit is doing in all of our schools. By “we” I mean parents, teachers and students. We are fortunate that the Father saw fit to raise up a number of Christian schools to form an incredible team of people who are seeking his will in everything we are doing, and it is taking us to incredible places. We are glad you have joined us in the journey.

This brings me to the reminder it is renewal season, the season of rumours, doubts and fears. Although we know this is the Father’s work we often take it on as our own and we wonder how we will make it each day. That is where we are, wondering if we will have enough families to be viable. Each year we hear rumours of who will not be coming back and every year we wonder. Yet every year the Father gives us just what we need, students, families and money. We always see ourselves as partners with parents but due to the busyness of life parents do not always see themselves in the same way. What we are doing requires a great deal of faith from both parents and staff, and together we grow in the Lord. The sooner you are able to let us know what you are doing for next year the better it is for us, both in planning and budgeting.

As Ian drives and I write the highway stretches out ahead of us. Forest to either side of us, high snow banks ensuring that we remain straight and a road ahead filled with twists and turns. We cannot see very far ahead on this highway, only as far as the next turn. We have no idea what lay around the corner but we keep going ahead regardless because we know this is the road that leads to home. It is no different with the Christian Education we are involved in. We have no idea what lay around the corner but we know this is the King’s Highway and we are glad to travel it. The “forests” remind us of the lost condition of the world and the Holy Spirit is like these snow makes, keeping us on the correct path. What lay around the corner is no surprise to the Father and he has already laid down his provision for us. The most pleasant thing about this journey is that we are not travelling it alone. Let us keep journeying, growing and exploring together. As we say every year, next year will be the best one yet.