Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash If you’re on top of the world, this letter is not for you. Come back soon, on a day when you need it. Dear Teacher, I know you’re trying super hard. You started the school year with high hopes...

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash In our neck of the woods, “November” is our shorthand for “bleak days with unremitting gray skies and lots of rain.” Sometimes we say “No” because that’s even shorter. But it doesn’t change...

Photo by Erika Fletcher on Unsplash When four- and five-year-old children think about school, what do they imagine? Do the smatterings they hear from older siblings, cousins, and friends give them a fun picture or a bleak one? I...

Photo by Tatiana Syrikova from Pexels When my son turned one, his throttle got stuck on full speed ahead. He moved constantly, took off running on the sidewalk and never looked back, and lunged headlong down playground slides....

Stock image from Unsplash As a foster parent, I regularly come into contact with children who have been raised with technology as their wet nurse. They may have been born on a screen, for all I know—certainly under the sight and...

File photo: 2019 FBCS field events Perhaps the only thing worse than flubbing the end of a project is not being allowed to complete it at all. You find a measure of satisfaction in crossing any finish line, no matter how...

Image by James Baldwin via Unsplash On a quest to hear from young people and understand our Christian schools’ strengths and weaknesses, I recently conducted a survey of youth in Mennonite high schools, asking them what they...

Image by brusnikina9 from Pixabay A study in questions “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew...

Photo by Dan Kiefer on Unsplash The wise men are flattened this morning, not by the glory but because a small person has pillowed their heads on Smarties. They look extremely relaxed. A sheep is creeping up on the manger, and...

I love books. I could dream them and wear them and eat them for breakfast. I have a special place in my heart for children’s books. But the hardest age for me to find appropriate reading material for is the emerging reader—the...

Blue plaid for first-day dresses, carefully sewn by loyal mothers. Blue for vibrancy, excitement, stability: the color of winners. Blue for the verity of friendships forged in school days. Blue for fidelity, honor, courage at...

It’s summer vacation! Yay! Let’s sleep in till noon, watch videos, and hang out on the living room couch. Or not. Researchers, educators, and parents are becoming increasingly concerned about what they call the “summer slide,”...

For the hours of energy poured into your students over the past nine months–thank you. For waking up every morning ready to face a new day with people you didn’t create, to teach content you didn’t choose, and to deal with...

Every object, said Mr. Newton, tends to remain at rest, or to continue in a straight line until compelled to change by external forces. The same is true of children, who have an inordinate fondness for continuing to do what they...

What parents want most from teachers. Hm. Is this even a thing? Isn’t this like asking what a woman wants in a man? (The correct answer is: Which woman?) Some parents like a relaxed classroom, while others want strict vigilance....