Many years ago in a land far way there live a wise and just king.  This king was known far and wide for his outstanding wisdom.  People would travel for months to bring him the most difficult cases and each time they would leave amazed at the wisdom and understanding of his decision.  It was magical!

The magic lay in his ring.  Each time a difficult case was brought before him he would listen carefully and attentively to each person as they spoke.  When they were finished he would open a locket on his ring and stare deeply into it for quite some time.  As he did so, the room would quiet and everyone would wonder what the king was seeing in his magical ring. Suddenly the king would snap the ring closed and issue a decision that amazed everyone in the room.

Everybody wanted to know what was in that ring?  Did the king see visions?  Were there spirits that spoke to him?  But the king wouldn’t let anyone see inside the ring – no matter how they asked.

As happens on this earth, the wise and just king grew old.  As he lay on his death bed his courtiers and family gathered around him to pay their respects and to say goodbye.  When the king closed his eyes and breathed his last there was a moment of silence in the room.  The one of his closest advisors gently reached out, took his hand, and opened the ring.

continue reading "The Magic of the Ring"

Books. Magazines. Newspapers. TV. Radio. Internet. Blogs. Chatrooms. MySpace. iPods. YouTube. Advertizing with most. More media, more information, more choices. How do students learn to choose what is good, noble and true? To focus on what is needed to make life-direction-setting decisions as growing disciples?

As the importance of knowing how to find information for decision making increases, the need to evaluate media from a biblical worldview increases. Values are caught more than taught. So who are students learning most from? When? Where? How?

Thinkers. Not mere reflectors. Rooted and grounded in truth. Prepared to make principle-driven, character-backed decisions. Students need Christ-like teachers and parents as mentors who model and teach media literacy.

So I’m hunting for resources to be media literate myself, to make informed decisions and to be well prepared to teach media literacy in Adventist education at any level. I’ve started a collection as CIRCLE’s Media Literacy category.

Here’s a recent discover. Center for Media Literacy K-12 provides a CML MediaLitKit, a framework for teaching and learning in a media age. And you can easily access hundreds of archived Media and Values articles by media issues/topics or curriculum/subject areas.

Can you add to this list? What are you using? when, and how?

Why do you teach?  Is teaching merely a job? a way to earn a living? a career that makes a difference? or is there more?

“Christian teachers see the profession of teaching as a ministry. It is an act of serving young people as they move toward the realisation of their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual potentials.” SPD Record (p.7)

Peter Beamish, Dean of the Avondale College Faculty of Education in Australia, has more to say about the calling to teach.  He describes a new website created to profile the teaching ministry. The Ministry of Teaching website features “the reflections of practising teachers, along with information about pathways into the ministry. The website is also designed to serve those already working in the teaching ministry. An exciting section of the website is the new online journal of Christian education called Teach. The journal contains information about the latest research findings in education, administration, and teaching and professional practice.”

Be (re)inspired by viewing the 2 minute videos on Ministry of Teaching – real teachers, real issues, real students. Then inspire senior high school and college students by sharing the link, and sharing your story – what makes teaching more than a job or career to you, why you accepted the call to continue the teaching ministry of Jesus Christ.

Finding new ideas for Bible classes is often like searching for hidden treasure. Going for the gold seems to require 99% perspiration – but let’s talk about the 1% inspiration, materials worth shouting out about!

The South Pacific Division recently shared their new Bible 1-8 curriculum designed by and for their Pacific Island region. Two teachers guides include lesson or story plans to accompany the ten-volume Uncle Arthur’s Bible Story series Concise (each lesson fills a one-page table), clear, adaptable, utilizing multiple intelligences, including helps on how to lead students to Christ, and suitable to multi- or single grade classes, these free downloads could be helpful supplements to other Adventist elementary Bible curricula.

Both documents are available in word format, so you can edit/add to make them your own:
Bible Story Plans, Volumes 1-6
Bible Story Plans, Volumes 7-10

Find curriculum in print or online in other world regions:
North American Division
South Pacific Division
Southern Asia Division
Southern Asia-Pacific Division

Do you know of other Bible curricula, texts or instructional materials not listed? Please consider contributing ideas or items here or through circle.adventist.org/submit – together, we can better continue the teaching ministry of Jesus Christ.

Family vacations have taken on a new adventure using a GPS. Knowing exactly where we’re going before the journey begins is now important and discussions frequently analyze optimal choices for keeping on course when detours for fuel, food or friends happen. Starting with the end in mind keeps us checking we’re en route all along the way.

As Adventist educators, starting a new calendar year is often a time for reflection and re-evaluation. Is the purpose of Adventist education clearly before us, despite detours in 2007? Have we prayerfully recommitted our lives to serve on whatever route God plans to best accomplish His purpose in 2008?

Reflecting on one or more articles in the Adventist Education Essentials topic of CIRCLE, the Adventist Curriculum and Instruction Resource Center Linking Educators, could be a helpful refocusing exercise. Each section has been recently updated, with topics such as how to integrate faith In the Classroom and On Campus, and The Ministry of Teaching.

One small gadget can change our experience on a road journey, focusing on the destination, more than the obstacles along the way. I recently read The Craft of Christian Teaching which refueled my journey as an Adventist educator. Van Dyk (2000) identifies true north for Christian education like this: “The purpose of our classroom efforts cannot simply be the transmission of classical intellectual insight, but rather, the whole-person equipping of our children for knowledgeable and competent discipleship in a hurting world.” This aligns with the Adventist philosophy of education aim and mission, to prepare “students for a useful and joy-filled life, fostering friendship with God, whole-person development, Bible-based values, and selfless service in accordance with the Seventh-day Adventist mission to the world”. Van Dyk provides practical tips, founded in a biblical worldview, on how to chart the best course between end goals and our 2008 starting point.