Middle School Drama (and we don’t mean theater)

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Paul Drake

How do middle school students need to be treated different than lower/upper school students? How are their minds developing and does it effect your teaching? What should you do with the difficult students (the rebellious student, the class clown, the shy student who won’t speak up, the dead class that won’t engage in discussion, etc.)?

Eric Cook

Eric Cook is from Lexington, Kentucky, but worked in schools in Ohio and Virginia before joining Covenant Classical School in 2009. Eric earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from Transylvania University, and a master’s degree in Instructional Leadership from Northern Kentucky University. He has taught history, political science, psychology and philosophy in public schools, and served as an assistant principal for several years. In 2006, Eric felt called to join the classical Christian school movement and became the Middle and Upper School Head at Faith Christian School in Roanoke, Virginia. In addition to his leadership roles, Eric taught apologetics, theology, philosophy of religion, and served as thesis director. He is also the President of the Society for Classical Learning.

Worldview and Media

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Paul Drake

Your students are going to movies, watching TV, reading magazines, listening to music and “facebooking” on the internet. Are they putting any thought and reflection into any of these activities, or are they just letting popular media wash over them without attempting to discern or examine the cultural influences all around them? Worldview training and cultural discernment are vital for a classically trained student in American society. This seminar shows you how to get your students to think about what they are seeing and listening to from a Christian perspective.

Peter VandeBrake

Peter Vande Brake attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, where he was an All-American decathlete and Philosophy major. He a ended seminary at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA, and then did his doctoral work at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids. He taught, coached, and was Headmaster at North Hills Classical Academy from 1996–2010. He is a leadership consultant for the CiRCE Institute and the high school principal and track coach at The Potter’s House School in Grand Rapids, an urban Christ-centered school. He is married and has two daughters.

Huckleberry Finn: The Book About What Books Don’t Say

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Paul Drake

As a narrator, Huck Finn is a schoolmarm’s worst nightmare. Not only does he slaughter proper English, but he questions pieties (in hilarious ways) and generally puts all conventional wisdom to the test of reasonable self-interest. His insights and honesty, however, make him the invaluable commentator on the dfference between precepts taken from books (even the Bible) and the evidence of his own experience. Yet even young readers can see that his journey down the Mississippi with Jim repeats the great literary and Biblical themes, staring with “Moses and the Bulrushes.”

Glenn Arbery

Senior Editor, People Newspapers and Adjunct Professor at University of Dallas

After finishing his degree at the University of Dallas, Glenn Arbery taught literature at the University of St. Thomas in Houston and Thomas More College in New Hampshire. In 1997, he returned to Dallas to become director of the Teachers Academy at the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. For seven years there, he taught graduate courses and directed the Summer Institute for Teachers, an intensive graduate course in classic texts of the Western tradition. His Book "Why Literature Matters" appeared in 2001 from ISI Books. For the Dallas Institute Press, he edited "The Tragic Abyss," the third volume in the series on literary genre under the general editorship of Louise Cowan. In 2003, he became a senior editor with People Newspapers and a contributing editor of D Magazine, where he has won state, regional, and national awards for his writing. He is currently editing a collection of essays by the Southern critics John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, Robert Penn Warren, and Donald Davidson.

Liability for the Christian School Teacher

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Paul Drake

Every student represents an opportunity for ministry. Regrettably, every student also represents a potential lawsuit. How should teachers and schools protect themselves from this threat? Attend this session and learn practical solutions to address these major areas of liability.

John L. and John M. Cooley

John L. Cooley served as a Christian school administrator for 10 years prior to beginning his law career. Ind addition to his law degree, Mr. Cooley has earned an MRE in Christian education and a Ph.D. in church administration. He currently serves as President of WootenHart PLC in Roanoke, VA. John Mark Cooley is a partner at WootenHart and has been in practice there for over 10 years. Together they focus on representing faith-based programs, religious schools, and non-profits and have assisted schools with constitutional law, employment and contract issues, student discipline and expulsion, parent issues, organizational structure, and non-profit IRS filings.

Creating Purpose and Outcome Statements I

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Paul Drake

This session will explore the problems with the traditional mission statement and propose a better idea: Purpose-and Outcome Statements (mission; portrait of the graduate; characteristics of professional excellence). Examples from Independent of School Management (ISM) workshops will be presented and the audience is encouraged to create their own Purpose and Outcome Statements.