Layers of Opportunity

Yesterday, we took our 5th and 6th graders (100 of them!), and as many parents as wanted to go, to the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky. We had both school buses full and several cars following. Field tips can be amazing, or they can be so bad that we vow never to try one again (as my husband did our first year in Singapore when he took all of his high school social studies students to Little India!). 

There are several key factors to making a field trip a success like organization and parent volunteers, but that is not the topic of this blog post. What continually ran through my mind yesterday is that the Lord had given me many layers of opportunity with this day. Here are some of them: 

1. Going to the Ark Encounter and inviting parents along introduced our families to this wonderful resource just 2.5 hours from us. Several parents told me they had never been and were so happy to discover it. One told me, "We're coming back!" What a joy to have little treasures like this when so many field trip options result in us having to undo or clarify biblical truth to something a presenter said. This is a great biblical worldview resource parents now have! 

2. This is a simple one, but we all prayed together before boarding the bus. We pray often as a family as we travel and even as we just start the car for the next school day. This modeling for young Christian families might have an impact for a new habit they can begin. 

3. As soon as we got there, we gathered for a group photo. Of course, we want the ark photo! But beyond that, we are able to post this on social media and our website. This shows those interested in our school the kinds of activities we plan for our kids. This allows others to see what we value and how we fulfill our mission. 

4. As soon as each kiddo had a ticket in hand and each parent leader had our day's schedule, I headed straight for the coffee shop! Half of my job was done: getting 161 people safely to the exhibit with tickets and meal vouchers in hand. (Getting them home would be the other half!) I invited our two sixth grade teachers to go with me, as we each left ourselves free from a group responsibility that day in case we were needed to troubleshoot. As we sipped our coffee to ward off the chill that set in that morning, we talked a bit about how things are going. This opportunity to ask them how they are doing and this chat was such a privilege to me. I want to support teachers, and sometimes a cup of coffee and time to ask is needed. 

5. One of the opportunities available to us was an animal encounter. This young gal who presented was so knowledgable and taught several basic concepts of God's design as she presented. She continued into a Gospel presentation. She was so articulate and confident and genuine! I kept thinking as she presented that it was a wonderful example to our kids of a youth who is being used by God. 

6. After a big day and an even bigger buffet lunch, it was time to load up and head home. The kids did great on the buses, and as we neared home they began to sing. One would begin a song, and the others would join. I knew they would eventually get to our theme song, "The Fear of the Lord," written by our head of school for this 2023-24 school year. Singing this together and seeing happy faces behind bus benches reminded me that these are the kinds of things the kids will remember. These are days that help them know they are part of this big family God has joined together. 

(And one more! 7. Did you thank our bus driver for giving us his entire day to do this for us? This was a great opportunity for student training!) 

I did fall asleep really fast when my head hit the pillow, but it is worth the exhaustion. Have you ever thought about the layers of opportunity that different experiences and lessons within your own classroom or school give you? They are there for the taking, as God desires that we join Him as He completes His work until His return! (John 5:17) 

A Strong Tower

 

I took this castle picture in 2016 when my husband and I were traipsing through the highlands of Scotland. He introduced me to all things Campbell and Scotland, and I've loved it ever since. Recently, I was thinking of the many castles or "strong towers" we saw there as a mental picture while reading Proverbs 18. Verse 10 tells us that the "name of the Lord is a strong tower" and that "the righteous run to it and are safe." The commentary in my Bible mentioned that cities usually had an inner fortress that could be seen from anywhere. They knew that if the outer walls were besieged, they could run to the inner tower for safety. 

On our staff right now, many of us have heartaches and trials that are deep and feel unrelenting. One teacher has walked through her high school son's cancer treatments for a year. One lost her parents within months of each other. I am watching my own mom in her final stages of Alzheimers. The struggles and pain abound. We need a strong tower, and the Lord is the only One we have to rely upon for the strength we need. Many days lately I have felt the need to run to that Tower for safety. 

As Christian school leaders, our job is not to pretend that we have finally arrived at a point in our lives where we are strong in our own strength, power, and experiences. Our job is to lean heavily on the Lord and to show our students that we need Him deeply. It's ok to say, "I'm afraid sometimes too. This is when we go to the Lord for help." For our students, it may be small problems (like a sick dog or the fear of an upcoming spelling test) or big problems (like mom and dad separating). We must continually point our kids to The Strong Tower, the Lord Jesus. 

School Culture and Domino-Pushes

An interesting dynamic that I have noted since living in middle Indiana and working at my current school is the way that school culture can be affected by many things, even small ones. It's as if culture is a set of dominoes all lined up. One small push in a direction can have an effect on many things. It is important as school leaders to be ever-mindful of school culture and the direction that even small decisions can take us. One of our primary responsibilities as Christian school leaders is to navigate the culture within our schools carefully, ever mindful of the larger cultural pieces outside of our schools that dishonor the Lord. Romans 12:2 tells us, "Do not be conformed to this world...." We are commanded in this to renew our minds and thus experience the transformation God desires in us. If we as a corporate church and we as individual believers in Jesus Christ should not be conformed to this world, neither should our Christian schools. In order to be "other-than" the culture outside, we must be proactive. We must create cultural "domino-pushes" to move our schools in directions that please the Lord and create a place that honors Him. 

At BCS, we are known for being a "family," meaning our students and parents feel a sense of belonging there. It means new students quickly feel accepted. We don't hit the 100% A+ on this always, but "family" is a word we hear often when our constituents describe us. I've tried to place myself on the outside at times and peek in. Why is it this way? One such support for this that I see each day is a cross-pollination of upper and lower campus students. Our upperclass students commit study hall time to serve as cadets, where they work in classrooms as teacher support. This connects them with elementary students. In turn, I see elementary students participating in fund raisers to help them raise money for projects, such as their mission trips. I see the mix of all ages of students in the Red Zone, which is our end zone student cheering section for basketball and volleyball. Those little guys are living the dream, down there cheering with the big kids! Some of these examples are organic happenings. We did not force the Red Zone connection; it just happened. Other examples were intentional domino-pushes to create the culture we want. 

One intentional school-wide connection is scheduling a photo of all of the students in the entire school in our school's theme class t-shirts. We all traipse into the back of the school. Our head of school climbs to the roof with a megaphone to direct the grade levels. It's a time of wondering when the picture will be taken, moving and shifting, giggling, and getting out of class. In this small way, we want to show them that they are part of this place. We are a family. From the little gal in K3 whose t-shirt comes to her knees to the 6'4" basketball player new to our senior class this year, each student belongs. We want every single student in our yearly picture.

What are some ways that you cultivate your school culture? Have you had intentional domino-pushes? What has happened on its own without that? 

And just to prove that we truly got all 560 students, teachers, support staff, administration in it, here it is! 

Seeing Through His Glasses

This week at school, I greeted a young boy with whom I am very familiar. He has been in my office more than once. I've gone into his classroom to check on the progress of some behavior goals we set together. During the second week of school when I entered his room (for a reason unrelated to him), he scrambled behind his desk, concerned that he was the reason I was coming in. He's absolutely adorable and has no idea how to manage his behavior in a school setting yet. So, we are working with him. He has good days, and he has bad days. But maybe, just maybe, we are seeing the good days more and more. 

So, one day this week, as I walked down the hall to greet students in the morning, I spotted him. He looked up at me through dirty glasses. His little frames had fingerprint smears, dried on food, and even what looked to be a booger. I clean my own glasses every morning, sometimes more than that. I like clean glasses! So I asked the little guy, "Would you like me to clean your glasses?" He nodded. I took the spectacles into the restroom, gave them a good squirt of soap (one pump, we teach the kids), and got them transparent again. When I returned them to him, he immediately put them on, then looked into my eyes and paused. I told him that his eyes are beautiful, and I can see them even better now. Jesus prompted me to do this, of course. All of the good ideas are His. But since that encounter, I have begun to receive smiles and backward glances as he has walked by me in the hallway. He has greeted me of his own accord more. Friday morning he hopped out of his car, waved, and yelled "Hey Mrs. Campbell!" 

Each and every one of these little people put into our care for their educational minutes, hours, days, and years are made in the image of God. They don't always please Him; nor do we. But as we think about how to connect and to tie heart strings, even with the students who struggle to obey, we must interact with love. Interacting with love takes time. And as educators we have precious little time. 

It reminded me of a strategy I read about while doing some research work in the ASCD website this past summer. The plan is called the 2x10 Strategy. In summary, teachers identify students who would be considered at risk, particularly for behavior concerns. They commit to spend 2 minutes per day interacting with the child, not about behavior or academics...but just life. To read in depth more, go here. Time is a constraint, no doubt. But carving out time to show our students that they are loved and prioritized might just save us a lot more time during regular instruction. 

As Christians, our mandate goes deeper. We are to love others because we are loved by God. Have you ever tried the 2x10 Strategy or something similar? What did this look like in your setting?  What results have you found? What ideas do you have to share about your experience as a Christian educator and the challenge of connecting with students who can be difficult at times? 

For me, cleaning his glasses was an act prompted by the Lord. But the reward for me has been great. I'm planning to look into his eyes again on Monday, and if his glasses need cleaning, I'll do it again.