Youth In Government - A Hands-on Experience in Democracy

I recently had the privilege of attending the 2012 YMCA Youth In Government Conference (YIG) in Columbia with a group of outstanding high school students from Shannon Forest.  For those of you who are not familiar with YIG, it is a program geared towards creating a generation of responsible citizens. Students participate in a mock state legislature system, where they serve as state senators or representatives. Students are presented with a hands-on experience in democracy as they write bills, present them in committee, and if passed, present them on the House and Senate floor.  Middle school students participate in a similar experience with their group of peers.

Why is YIG such an outstanding opportunity for our students?  Besides the really cool things, like sitting at a Senator's desk on the actual Senate floor in the State House, using terms like "gavel", "docket", "Madam Chair", and "non-debatable technical questions" in your daily vocabulary, or having pizza delivered to your hotel room nightly by the YIG resource staff, YIG provides an opportunity for a students to experience government in action, understand their role in their community and in public policy making, and to embrace the role of servant leadership.

As I sat on the sidelines of the Senate floor and watched our students debate bills by presenting the pro or con side of legislation (often of serious issues such as welfare reform, small business tax relief and requirements for adoptive parents), follow parliamentary procedures, and align themselves with political party leaders, I realized that YIG was about much more than just developing responsible, active citizens. The skills acquired, developed and practiced during YIG are skills all students will need to be successful in the global 21st Century economy they will soon be entering. Skills such as:

- Collaboration - working with team members to write a bill

- Critical thinking - researching the merits of a bill and finding ways to support or disavow it based on sound reasoning

- Communication - clearly articulating your presentation of your bill or your support or objection to a colleague's bill

- Influencing - networking to find students from other schools to support your bill or swaying party leaders to align with your cause

These 21st Century Skills are areas we at Shannon Forest are working to develop in your student, as we desire to equip them with a comprehensive education and prepare them for college and the world beyond.  These skills are not tied to any particular career path, yet mastery of these disciplines will be required for any vocation our students will choose in future.

If your student was able to participate in Youth In Government, you can be assured the experience was something unable to be duplicated in the classroom and provided your student with an amazing opportunity to be part of a student led democracy. If your student missed this chance, I hope you will consider having them participate next year, as step-by-step, experience-by-experience we work to develop them into the future employees, leaders, and influencers of society.

Lori Horton serves as the Executive Director of Shannon Forest Christian School (SFCS). She received her BS from Clemson University in Computer Information Systems.  She worked in the Public Accounting field for several years prior to joining the Administrative Team at Shannon Forest, supporting multiple small business clients in bookkeeping, payroll, financial reporting, and compliance.

Guest Post- Passionate Pedagogy by Amber Thompson

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Cary Academy, in Cary, North Carolina to attend the Southeastern Brain Conference. I embraced my inner-nerd, the girl who would go to school forever if it were financially and logically feasible, and headed off to Cary. I listened to some incredible speakers, heavyweights if you will, in the world of creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking in our 21^st century educational system. Two days and 16 pages of notes later, my brain was overflowing with ideas and my heart was overflowing with passion to share this knowledge with fellow educators and parents alike.

The conference affirmed that we, at Shannon Forest Christian School, are on the right track. The paths and plans that we so prayerful forge for our students are gently guiding them down the right road, the road to a successful future. We constantly strive to provide our students with a comprehensive education that will equip them with the tools they need to live as critically thinking, creative members of society. While we do not want our students to be cynical, we want them to think critically and creatively, while asking questions and searching for answers. Questions are wonderful as they provide the opportunity to practice critical thinking. Our students should be allowed to ask questions and they deserve answers; however, sometimes it is important to allow those students to discover those answers on their own. Learning persistence is sometimes painful, perhaps not in the physical sense, but most definitely in the emotional sense. Failure is never pleasant, but it is necessary and inevitable. We must show our children that successes are so much more fulfilling when they are earned, often at the expense of our failure. History is littered with failures that eventually morphed into monumental successes.

Recently, my 4-year-old daughter and I were watching the 2012 running of the Ironman Triathlon, the grueling physical contest which includes 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a full marathon. My daughter's attention was immediately riveted on the television. The athletes were amazing. Each has his or her own reason for completing the competition. Each had a specific training method. Each had his or her own mental battles to work through, physical and mental demons to fight. And yet they persisted. Whether they finished 1st or just minutes before the official cut off, they finished with smiles and cheers of victory. The competition was fierce but it was far outweighed by the encouragement and support of the fans and other athletes. In many ways, my daughter’s educational journey will be much like a triathlon- a long, strenuous battle with extreme highs and devastating lows. Persistence will be necessary for her. I so passionately want her to attain those necessary skills that will allow her to take her failures and work harder to achieve successes beyond her wildest dreams. She, along with every other student that walks the halls of Shannon Forest Christian School, will follow her own path, with her individual dreams, failures, and successes. And they all are gaining knowledge and skills daily that will in turn allow them to impact the world.

I am honored to work with our future leaders every day. I am thrilled to see their achievements and humbled by their failures. They will be doctors, nurses, educators, businessmen, politicians, attorneys, social workers, architects, graphic designers, and so much more. Please join me in equipping our students with the proper tools- tools to allow them to think creatively and collaboratively, tools to help them think critically and thoughtfully, tools to help them ask questions and discover answers, tools to help them embrace their failures with grace instead of shame, tools to help them change the world.

Amber Thompson is Shannon Forest's Registrar and College Counselor. She joined the SFCS team almost a decade ago as a middle school teacher. After the birth of her daughter (Kaya is currently in the K4 Program at SFCS), she moved into the School Support/Guidance Department. Amber's husband, David, currently serves as the Athletic Director at SFCS.

Shannon Forest Students as People of Godly Character

“Train up a child in the way he should go, [so that] even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NAS)

At Shannon Forest we are not only concerned with what a student knows but what kind of person they become.  Many people operate as if the environment where one learns math, science, history, and English makes no difference as long as these subjects are taught well.  The prevalent worldview is that we are simply biological, thinking beings, which leads to an understanding of teaching as nothing more than the dissemination of information.  James Smith, professor of Philosophy at Calvin College and author of Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation, argues that hearts are trained not by ideas but by practices.  In other words, the cultural practices behind the ideas are what really determine who we are.  Dr. David Naugle, a prominent authority on the importance of worldview, has this to say: 

“But we must remember that a crucial battleground where this issue about truth and morality is contested is in our schools from kindergarten to Ph.D. programs. 

In the opening chapter of The Abolition of Man, [C.S.] Lewis asserts that the purpose of education is to teach genuine truth and virtue to students, and to reinforce such teachings by the cultivation of the appropriate affects that would shape genuine human character and simultaneously protect young people from banality and corruption.  Modern education, however, was bent upon debunking objective truth and virtue and the emotions that fortified them.”

“The Christian Mind and the Crisis of Culture,” a talk given by Dr. David Naugle to The Wilberforce Forum in September 2004.

The teachers and administration at Shannon Forest believe that education should be formative.  In other words, the educational experience ought to shape our students.  It is through this process that character is formed – thus formative education.  Again, shaping not just what they know but who they are and will become.  The conventional wisdom for education runs like this – go to a good school, get good grades so that you can go to a good college and then get a good job that pays good money.  Don’t we want more than that for our children?  Covertly and overtly we are teaching them that the end goal of life is to make money.  Of course none of us would state it so starkly but that really is the message we are giving.  Our desire at Shannon Forest is to be a part of transforming students into people of deep character, the kind described in Galatians 5:22-23:  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” 

Of course, the $64,000 question is how.  Before I attempt to answer that, let me briefly say how not to do it.  You cannot form people of character simply by mandating behavior.  This lesson is demonstrated repeatedly in the history of Israel and was a constant source of conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day.  Nevertheless, this is the first card played by parents and often, in our context, by school administrators.  It does not work.  I am by no means saying that there is no need for rules; there is, but character is a heart issue.  So then, back to the question of how.  The short answer is that everything we say and do will form the character of our students, the ‘ethos’ of the place.  Ethos is the Greek word for character, morals, and principles.  What I am saying is that the sum total of the character of Shannon Forest Christian School will be what shapes and molds the students here.  If this place is characterized (notice this variation of the word) by the fruit of the Spirit, so will our students.   If this is a place where students can see, hear, and experience the Gospel, then they will become people shaped by the Gospel.  Lest this monumental task overwhelm us, let us remember that it is God who changes hearts, so that with Paul we can say “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:5-7)

If you are interested in reading more about these topics:

Theologian Dr. N.T. Wright speaks on character development and virtue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSFHyrUlqus

C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

James Smith, Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation

Shannon Forest Students as Influencers

 “Every life is a profession of faith

and exercises an inevitable and silent influence.”

~ Henri Fredrick Amiel

What is leadership?  In the last fifty years, the prevalent view of leadership has been one of positional authority that emphasizes titles and hierarchy.  John Maxwell, a leading author and speaker on leadership, argues leadership is simply influence.  So then, what does it mean to influence?  To influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.  And as believers, we are called to be agents of influence – the salt and light of the world, as the apostle John puts it.  This is what we desire for our students here at Shannon Forest. 

Our mission statement expresses this desire: “The purpose of Shannon Forest Christian School is to support the Christian home and church by providing quality education from an evangelical, Biblical perspective in order to equip and challenge students to influence culture and society for Jesus Christ.”  The task of the faculty and staff is to train our students to, not only recognize problems, but to engage their minds to solve them. Then the students will be able to use their problem- solving and communication skills to affect the world around them for Christ. 

None of this will be easy.  Being individuals who influence the world for Christ requires risk-taking.  In reflecting on this idea, I am reminded of influencers in the Bible.  Daniel, Esther, and Mordecai are a few characters that come to mind.  Each of them took a stand for what was right even though it was difficult and they knew it could cost them their lives. These individuals refused to stand on the sidelines and simply observe God at work; they actively participated in furthering the Kingdom regardless of the cost.

As parents and teachers we must move away from attitudes of over-protection to those of discernment if we want our children to become influencers.  We need to stop mitigating all risk for our young people and instead help them develop the wisdom to think and act in godly ways on their own.  If we train problem solvers and communicators, we will make people of influence, and in fact, I would argue that without problem-solving and communication skills, it is impossible to have positive influence.

Book Recommendations

In my own reading, I have discovered two books that offer valuable insight into one of the most pressing issues faced by Shannon Forest Christian School--how to foster the spiritual growth of our students. I encourage each of you to read these books and reflect on the challenges we face as Christian educators, parents and influencers.

 You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church...and Rethinking Faith by David Kinnaman

From the Inside Flap

More than half of all Christian teens and “twenty-somethings” leave active involvement in church. 

David Kinnaman trains his researcher's eye on these young believers and reveals the factors, which contribute to the dropout problem. You Lost Me shows why Christians ages 18 to 29 are leaving the church and rethinking their commitment to the Faith. Based on new research conducted by the Barna Group, You Lost Me exposes ways the Christian community has failed to equip young adults to live "in but not of" the world--to follow Christ in the midst of profound cultural change. This wide-ranging study debunks persistent myths about young dropouts and examines the likely consequences for young adults and for the church if we maintain the status quo. 

The faith journeys of the next generation are a challenge to the established church, but they can also be a source of hope for the community of faith. Kinnaman, with the help of contributors from across the Christian spectrum, offers ideas for pastors, youth leaders, parents, and educators to pass on a vibrant, lasting faith, and ideas for young adults to find themselves in wholehearted pursuit of Christ.

 The Next Christians: Seven Ways You Can Live the Gospel and Restore the World by Gabe Lyons

From the Inside Flap

Gabe Lyons is optimistic that Christianity’s best days are yet to come.  His best-selling book, UnChristian, revealed the pervasiveness of our culture’s growing disregard for Christians.  Now, in The Next Christians, Lyons shows how a new wave of believers is turning the tide by bringing the truth of the Gospel to bear on our changing, secular society.

“Restorers,” as Lyons calls them, approach culture with a different mentality than generations past.  Informed by truth, yet seasoned with grace and love, these believers engage the world by drawing it to the sensibility and authenticity of the Christian life.

You too can be one of these "next” Christians and change the negative perception of Christianity by living a life that is faithful to the Gospel, yet credible and coherent to your friends and neighbors.  Open this book to learn how.

  

Shannon Forest Students as Communicators

At Shannon Forest, we expect students to graduate with the ability to not only survive college classes, ruthless professors, unforgiving red pens and life post-graduation, but to excel and to lead in both word and action. Shannon Forest alumni will be equipped to clearly express their thoughts and ideas, research and findings, and beliefs and emotions in such a way that sets them apart from their colleagues. It is expected that students graduate with strong writing skills and confident presentation skills, allowing them to articulate both formally and informally, orally and visually, and regarding qualitative and quantitative information. Communication is one of the key elements in the success of a student, employee and leader—the ability to adequately express oneself will without a doubt impact every area of a person’s life.

In order to address the challenges of establishing effective communication, I am reminded of the book of Genesis and the story of the Tower of Babel. This particular story demonstrates the importance of communication and the negative effects of an inefficient means to communicate with one another. The word “babel,” literally means confused noise. This term paints the perfect picture of the result of a group of people attempting to complete a task without strong communication skills. In its absence there is misunderstanding, isolation, disunity and fragmentation. It is impossible for a person to lead and even harder for someone to follow if there is a lack of communication. However, in its presence there is mutual understanding, harmony, collaboration, achievement and unity.

In the world today, there are more mediums to communicate than ever before. Technology is steadily providing countless numbers of outlets for people to express themselves and their “deepest” thoughts and emotions. Social Networking is at an all-time high. We live an age where three-year-olds can operate iPads and thirteen-year-olds run their own publishing companies via their blogs. Almost any one can showcase his artwork on a tumblr, express his likes and dislikes on pinterest, share his life on facebook and outline a running play-by-play on twitter. The result of all this, is a sea of confused noise, changing every moment. Expectedly, it is harder to be heard in the midst of the chaos.

The leadership team at Shannon Forest recognizes the necessity for students to be able to be heard in the “babel.” Therefore, it is crucial that each of the four qualities emphasized in our school (problem-solving, communication, influencers and Godly character) build on one another, so that our students are equipped to solve difficult problems, clearly communicate the solution to others, lead effectively and impact others for Christ. 

graphic credit: todd_fooshee on flickr

Six Lingering Obstacles

I hope you all are having wonderful summers and enjoying your time off. I recently found an interesting article concerning the obstacles we face integrating technology in our schools today. It is well worth the read, so I have attached the link below. Please stay tuned for a new post on Shannon Forest students as communicators coming later this week.

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/06/six-lingering-obstacles-to-using-technology-in-schools/

Problem-Solvers

When we say we want prepare students to be problem-solvers, what does that mean?  Perhaps even more important, how is this accomplished?  I, by no means, want to produce a full blueprint here but simply outline the issue.  Ultimately, training students to be problem-solvers must be such an integral part of what we do that it is not a separate component of what we do but the sum.

Generally speaking, we spend too much time as educators providing our students with answers.  Too often we dwell in the lower realms of cognition, namely knowledge and comprehension.  Foundational areas, true, but we must move up to higher levels of application, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. (Footnote)  In short, we want to train students to have 3 higher level cognitive skills: analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.  I use this order in place of the traditional Bloom’s Taxonomy.

I believe 2 things are necessary to be a problem-solver: the requisite skills and the mindset.

First, we must give our students the skills necessary to be problem-solvers.  I believe that this starts with methodology.  Problem-solving is a cognitive process.  This process must become SOP for our students.

We will use a modified Simplex model as developed by Min Basadur in The Power of Innovation:  How to Make Innovation a Way of Life and Put Creative Solutions in Place.  There are eight steps in this process:

1.      Find the Problem

2.      Find the Facts

3.      Define the Problem

4.      Find Ideas

5.      Select and evaluate Solutions

6.      Plan

7.      Sell the Idea

8.      Act

Each one of these steps has multiple subcomponents and prerequisite skills.  We must purposely teach our students these things and employ the practice of them in everything we do. 

It means deductive and inductive reasoning, the Socratic Method, root cause analysis, cost-benefit analysis, cause and effect diagrams, flow charts, sequencing, Pareto, risk analysis, weighted decision making matrix, means-end analysis, Venn diagrams, Bayesian reasoning, and on and on.

Then we can confidently attest that our students:

1.      Understand and apply the basic principles of presenting an argument.

2.      Understand and apply basic principles of logic and reasoning.

3.      Effectively use mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences.

4.      Understand and apply basic principles of hypothesis testing and scientific inquiry.

5.      Apply basic troubleshooting and problem-solving techniques.

6.      Apply decision-making techniques.

Each of these is considered a prevalent component of thinking and life-skills assessment.

I once had a colleague on an executive leadership team that called problems “opportunities for solution.”  That is a problem-solver mindset.

It is much more than being able to offer an opinion.  As Americans we have opinions on everything, but we shout these from the comfort of the spectator section.  Problem-solvers get in the game. 

As believers we have been given dominion for the purpose of being problem-solvers.  If something is broken – fix it.  If something is ill – cure it.  If something is wrong – correct it.  Or better yet, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”  We are to take light into the darkness.  We live in a fallen world and we are to reclaim it for the Kingdom; for His glory.

 Enough of my soap box.

Students that are problem-solvers will have no problem (pun intended) getting into the school of their choice and more importantly staying employed. 

Next time I will write about Shannon Forest students as communicators.

Ctrl - Alt - Del

As a leadership team we have spent a lot of time over the last few weeks talking about the current trends in education and their implications for Shannon Forest Christian School. Collectively we have read hundreds of articles and talked with dozens of people. What I would like to do with this blog entry is begin to distill what we are discovering.

1. For over a hundred years education has looked largely the same. Same song, just change the lyrics. The next ten years will alter education more than the previous hundred. This will be true of what it means to “be educated” as well as how one “becomes educated”.

Currently, proof of education is a transcript, diploma, or degree granted by some vetted organization, a neat, orderly, and largely homogenous summary of schools attended and the results. In the future this will not be so tidy. There will still need to be some summary of sorts but the paths will be much more diverse. One might take a class/course locally, online, self- taught using youtube videos, do an internship or utilize a myriad of other mediums. The student’s entrance into a college or job will be based more on his/her accumulated portfolio than simply a diploma, transcript or degree.

2. What is required for the jobs of the future is not what our current approach to education is designed to produce. Don't be fooled; the largest single driver of education in the US has always been to produce an educated workforce. But what kind of educated workforce? 

The ones needed for the industrial revolution; large corporations, often manufacturing, where you will work till you retire and then collect your pension. That era has passed. Many wrongly believe that the reason so many recent college graduates are unemployed or under employed is because of fallout from the economic crisis of 2008. The real reason is because a majority of those jobs are gone - forever! Nonetheless our education continues to mass produce workers aimed at these non-existent jobs. The largest employer in the US is Wal-Mart.

It is no coincidence that many new college grads work there. These types of jobs are the only enduring relics of the age of big corporations. Not convinced? 50% of the jobs in which the class of 2012 will work do not exist today. Some experts estimate that over half of today’s graduates will start their own business. There is no script for our students to follow. We had better prepare them differently.

In addition to a strong high school transcript, we believe Shannon Forest students need to leave here with valuable transferable skills and qualities. We want it to be said of our students that they are: problem solvers, communicators, influencers, and people of Godly character. I will spend the next couple of blogs developing these areas.

Links for articles and sites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U – changing paradigms

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/files/stop-stealing-dreams6print.pdf

http://www.educationrethink.com/2009/01/monday-metaphor-titanic.html 

The Times They Are A Changin'

The article title seems innocuous enough: "Last Entry for Encyclopaedia Britannica." Most won't even notice this article among all the "big" news items; fewer still will read the article, and even less will connect the dots. We educators better pause and contemplate the significance of this article. Books are going the way of the vinyl album.

The Technology of Yesterday

Information is not as valuable as it once was.  When information was scarce it was worth more.  Either because of access or availability, information only used to be found in a small number of places.  Teachers were seen as one such source. A teacher made information accessible and available. Today information is abundant.  In the western world it is easily accessed and available.  Type "Trail of Tears" into a search engine. Within seconds you have 6,300,000 sources of information about the topic.

The Reality of Today's Student

We can no longer view teaching as the conveying of information from the informed (teacher) to the uniformed (student).  Our job is to train our students how to find the information they need, evaluate the validity of the information, give meaning to the information, and create something meaningful from the information.  I think that this has always been the job.  But once upon a time we were the sole source of their information, today we may not even be viewed as such among the plethora of other seemingly credible sources.  It makes the question, "what are they teaching my kid?" take on a whole new meaning.

Xerox passed on the GUI interface that became Windows.  Kodak passed on digital photos.  Retailers said that Amazon would never work because "nobody will buy online." At Shannon Forest, we will not miss the signs that the world is changing.  We will continue to build a school designed for tomorrow. Our students are the future.

SFCS Seniors engaging in the technology of tomorrow, the Apple iPad, today.

My How Time Does Fly

It is hard to believe that I have been at Shannon Forest Christian School for nearly two years now.  Sometimes it feels like I have been here only a few days, while other times it feels as though a few decades have passed since I began. 

I came to this school out of a sense of obedience to the Lord, and have subsequently grown to love this place.  Early on, Tracie Blair, a 15 year veteran of Shannon Forest, told me that “this place will get into your blood.”  She wasn't kidding. 

Shannon is a very special place, and like so many other special places, it is the people that make it such.  Teachers everywhere are to be esteemed, and Shannon has some of the best in the profession, hand's down.  I base this on two criteria: character and professionalism. The people we spend time with ultimately shape the people we become, and our students spend large amounts of time with their teachers. Therefore, who we place in the classroom with your children is really, really important. No great revelation there but well worth remembering, and I can promise you that your child is spending time with men and women of great character.  I emphatically believe that what makes us a Christian school is the presence of Godly teachers.  They are the Gospel on display.  The qualities of dedication, passion, skill in their craft, and a love for this place make our teachers the best in their field.  

Mrs. Stine's 2nd Grade Class

Middle School Teachers Ms. Teie, Ms. Tate and Ms. Gahan celebrate Homecoming Spirit Week with students Tara Burress, Laney Powell, Katelyn Pittman and Rebecca Reynolds.

Teachers Mrs. Cain and Mrs. Weaver fellowship with SFCS Alumna Sarah Thackston.

Every study of educational performance concludes that the level of parental involvement is one of the key drivers of a student’s success.  We have really involved parents at Shannon Forest.  As I have gotten to know our families, I always enjoy hearing the stories of what brought each family to Shannon. I find it most interesting to learn what keeps them at Shannon: the people.  I love the commitment that our families have to this place.  The main reason we emphasize participation in the PTF and Annual Fund is because it is this kind of parental involvement that makes for great schools. The reward for our parents is that their involvement directly benefits their child, and in turn is amplified to impact many others. 

SFCS Parents Jeff and Michele Holder with their daughter Morgan

If you want to know what gets me out of bed in the morning, I would tell you that it is the privilege I have been given to spend time with our students. We have great kids here! Our size fosters community; this means that we all know each other. What we do here is not simply some educational transaction, but a living out of life together. We share life. My life is blessed daily because of this. 

So two years in, I feel good about where Shannon Forest is. By no means have we arrived, but we are well into the journey. Our greatest challenge is to continue to seek to fulfill our mission. In fact, I have a burning passion to see this place have such an impact on our students that it influences everything that comes after: students that have such excellent preparation that they will be the saltiest of salt and the brightest of light in a world that desperately needs a credible witness to the transforming power of the Gospel.

Lower School students getting ready for the pep rally.

8th grade students Katie West, GraceAnne Stokes, Caroline Knight, Caroline Kredensor & Laura Wellons

For all that has come to pass, and all that remains to be done at Shannon Forest, I give thanks to God! And I look forward to continuing on this journey with you.