Viewpoints
Bringing you thought-provoking views on current issues in education. Some are written to challenge current thinking. Others are written to prompt action.
Stories We Believe Posted on 20 March 2009
By Mrs Jennifer Spies
About this time last year I was taking a year seven devotions time. In the lead up to Easter I asked students to share how they celebrated Easter. High on the list was eating LOTS of chocolate and hot cross buns, going camping and going to the show, hanging out with cousins and generally spending time with family. As this was a Christian school, I asked if anyone would be going to church. Many students said yes and some even said they would be going more than once. I was surprised that not one had mentioned this earlier. Full Article >>
You Too, Can recruit! Posted on 3 March 2009
By Mr Ian Keast
It was at the end of a Year 12 Chapel service. I had been speaking to the students, along with a good number of teachers, about the importance of having Christians as teachers in our schools. How teaching is a valuable profession, unique for the opportunities it offers Christian teachers to speak about, and also show, the Lordship of Christ to a new generation. One of the teachers came up to speak as the students were leaving.
Full Article >>
Reflections Posted on 17 February 2009
By Mrs Jennifer Spies
Now that the frantic pace of the start of a new year is passing, are you wondering just how settled your students are? How are they coping? What are they learning? Do they have friends? Perhaps your school requires you to write a settling in or progress report. As a teacher of secondary mathematics, I was interested in knowing just how well my students were learning, but just as importantly, how engaged they were in the classroom and all it had to offer. Asking students to reflect on and evaluate their own learning can be very helpful for both the teacher and learner. Full Article >>
Inferno in Victoria Posted on 11 February 2009
By Mr George Glanville
Our hearts go out to the many people in Victoria who have been devastated by the loss of loved ones, unimaginable trauma and horrific injuries. And the bushfires are not yet contained.
What do we say to our students who think or who ask How come? Where is God in all this?
Do we talk about the cruel unpredictability of Mother Nature? Do we focus on human responsibility - the failure to manage bushfires by controlled burning? (We might even talk politics - pandering to the green vote by locking up our bush and leaving it to burn.) Or the malevolence of arsonists?
Full Article >>
Teachers are a Gift Posted on 3 February 2009
By Mrs Alison Wheldon
A few days after school resumed this year, I was driving along a busy road in my local area when I noticed a signpost outside a church. On the notice board was written the following: TEACHERS ARE A GIFT.
BLESS THEM! Although I’m no longer involved in a school, I personally felt hugely encouraged by this notice. I would hasten to add that a teacher reading this sign, whether Christian or not, would likewise feel greatly encouraged.
Full Article >>
Tips 4 Teachers Posted on 16 January 2009
By Mrs Alison Wheldon
A student once gave me a gift on which was inscribed the following: 'Time spent teaching is never lost.' This hangs in my study and I see it every time I open the cupboard door. Teachers know that more and more is being expected of them and there never seems to be enough time to fit everything into the teaching day. Take just a tiny bit of your time to complete this sentence: “If I had more time I would...” Full Article >>
Ambassadors, Gatekeepers & Gardeners Posted on 25 November 2008
By Mr Ian Keast
I was reading an article recently which mentioned several different images of teaching. It was a helpful list and the article got me thinking about some key images we could use to describe our work as Christian teachers.
Three images - the ambassador, the gatekeeper, the gardener - help to describe the vocation of teaching. Full Article >>
Quietly, One of the Few Posted on 3 November 2008
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By Mr Ian Keast
I was talking with a Rector, who several years before had been one of my teaching colleagues. The subject of Christians in teaching had come up and how valuable his experience of training in education and then teaching had been for this new area of ministry for him. “I think the great value of Christians being in teaching,” he said, “is above all else that students are able to see, first-hand and often for the first time, a Christian life lived out in the busyness and pressure of relationships. They see the defining nature of a person’s character, living out the Lordship of Christ, often in difficult situations.”
Full Article >>
4 Key Questions Posted on 3 November 2008
By Mr Ian Keast
When I became a Christian in Year 8 at High School I was encouraged and mentored by several different people: leaders in my church youth group and bible study, and also in the ISCF (Inter School Christian Fellowship) group at school. We had about ten teachers who assisted with this group. It was, from memory, quite large, about 40-50 boys attended each week for bible talks and prayer. It was very helpful for a young Christian wanting to be a witness for Christ where he was at that time- at school. Leadership training, larger rallies and so on were added to the variety of activities of ISCF, but the focus was clearly expressed in its motto: to know Christ and make Him known. Full Article >>
Building Wisely Posted on 16 October 2008
By Mr Ian Keast
Jesus told one of his familiar stories about different builders. One was a foolish builder, who heard Jesus’ words but did nothing about following and obeying them. His house, in the story, had a foundation built on sand, so that when tested, it collapsed. By contrast, the wise builder listened to Jesus’ words and obeyed them. His house, whose foundation was built on rock, was able to stand. Full Article >>
Showing 21 - 30 of 34 Viewpoint Articles
Posted 20 Aug 2010
Fourth Annual Celebration of Anglican Schooling
Posted 19 Aug 2010
Bigger than the Rudd Revolution
Posted 4 Jun 2010
Posted 4 Jun 2010
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