Every Square Centimetre

We go international in episode 32, as Ruth Rodriguez invites us to AMG (Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel) in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Ruth is the executive director of AMG Guatemala and helps bring Christian education to some of the poorest and most dangerous communities in Guatemala. Join the ESC “shadow” as we learn:

- who was “privileged” to have comic strips available on the back of the toilet when they were growing up.

- what the idiom, “It’s a long way from saying to doing,” means.

- the importance of students experiencing the joy of being someone that matters, being listened to, and invited to play a role in God’s story.

- that brokenness means “the failure to recognize that we are sinners”

- how Christian schools can be places for community healing and open spaces to be heard.

- how raccoons could be more of a pest in Canada if they adopted the strategy of breaking windows and hiding in schools, like some of their Central American relatives.

Connect with Ruth at [email protected]

This episode is sponsored by:

EduDeo: Visit https://edudeo.com, their school’s page (https://edudeo.com/schools), or email EduDeo at [email protected].

In episode 31, Eli Banta invites us to Great Lakes Christian High School, in Beamsville, Ontario. Join the ESC “Run” as we learn:

- about “hookin’ humpies” and hitting “seagulls with suckers,”

- that residents of Beamsville are either Sunbeams or Beamsvillians,

- that half of the student population of Great Lakes Christian High School are international students that live on campus,

- that Physics allows us to see some amazing aspects of the Creator that we can’t see anywhere else,

- what quantum entanglement is not,

- how inquiry-based learning and Cooperative Group Problem Solving (CGPS) can better engage learners, and

- that we’re all turtles on a fencepost.

Connect with Eli at [email protected].

This episode is sponsored by:

EduDeo: Visit https://edudeo.com, their school’s page (https://edudeo.com/schools), or email EduDeo at [email protected].

In episode 30, Darren hosts another Every Square Centimetre “campfire” conversation. Recognizing that there are a number of exhausted educators across our country, we invite Tricia Schinkel, school counsellor at Calvin Christian School in Hamilton, to help us process some of our questions: How do we stay well as we engage life in the present season? What role does the school play in promoting the individual well-being of staff? and “How do you recover after a season of not being well?”

As always, we end our campfire conversation with the “Cross Fire” segment, where we banter over listener inspired prompts:

- What’s something the people in your family don’t appreciate enough about you?

- What’s something you’ve messed up recently?

- What was Justin’s bluegrass band experience and was Tricia part of a punk rock band?

You can connect with Tricia at [email protected]

We go international in episode 29, as Paul Matthews invites us to Calvin Christian School in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Paul believes AI tools, like chatGPT, can be a real beneficial tool to help keep Christian educators in Christian schools. Join the ESC “Mob” as we learn:

- sometimes it's necessary to kill a bass to catch a muskie

- which Canadian or Australian beast would win a “battle of the beasts” in a school gymnasium

- how AI will be able to help teachers design individualized, differentiated lessons

- that Christians need to be involved in AI spaces as a place of creativity

- that burrowing your head in the sand, like an echidna, will be ineffective as AI technology continues to make ecological changes to society

- that students will take a “huge haircut” if we don’t prepare students to use AI well and,

- how you can be involved in Paul’s AI pilot program, myteacheraide.com

Connect with Paul at [email protected]

This episode is sponsored by:

EduDeo: Visit https://edudeo.com, their school’s page (https://edudeo.com/schools), or email EduDeo at [email protected].

In episode 28, Stephanie Montojo invites us to Academia Stella Maris, an independent bi-lingual Catholic school in Limoges, ON. Stella Maris means Star of the Sea in Latin. Catholics see Mary as the Star of the Sea who points the way to her Son; just like sailors would use the stars for direction, so ASM looks to Mary for direction to Jesus. Join the ESC “Scurry” as we learn:

- warm June evenings are all about the smell of hay, Dairy Queen after soccer games, and the sound of neighbourhood kids screaming “bloody murder!”

- celebrations of learning in June can help emphasize students’ (and teachers’!) own experience in learning and de-emphasize the story of grades and report cards at the end of year

- Canada didn’t become bi-lingual until 1969 (Ontario didn’t officially recognize the use of French until 1984!)

- Stephanie’s own background as a Franco-Ontarian also included discrimination because French was her first language.

- ASM is a bi-lingual hybrid school program, teaching students in both French and English as a first language, as well as to students who come to school both full and part time.

- ASM students also take a customized curriculum which is co-designed by the school and parents, catering to their ability level for each subject.

Connect with Stephanie at [email protected].

This episode is sponsored by:

- EduDeo: Visit https://edudeo.com, their school’s page (https://edudeo.com/schools), or email EduDeo at [email protected].

In episode 27, ESC goes to Leduc, AB, to visit Colin Ward, who is committed to helping students when school gets hard. Join the ESC “Passel” as we learn:

- School musical programs have long lasting memories

- Sometimes bribing kids with candy for the sake of adult-student relationships can be a great thing

- The CANAMEX corridor goes straight through Leduc and stretches all the way from edmonton to Mexico

- Collegial relationships have a profound impact on our job satisfaction

- God cares about our wellness and wholeness while we’re here on earth

- You can take the pastor out of the church, but you can’t take the sermon out of the pastor

Connect with Colin at [email protected]

This episode is sponsored by:

- EduDeo: Visit https://edudeo.com, their school’s page (https://edudeo.com/schools), or email EduDeo at [email protected].

In episode 26, our second “Big Boss” episode, Ed Noot, the retiring Executive Director of the Society of Christian Schools in British Columbia, offers us his reflection on the state of Christian education through the Wayfinder prompts “praise, lament, and hope.” Join the ESC “Band” as we learn:

- A donation of bone marrow might result in a lifelong friendship.

- When Ed grows up he hopes to be like his mom

- In 1920, Zorro was better known for his “mark” rather than his “mask.”

B.C.

- Is home to some of the world’s largest things, such as a fly fishing rod (Houston), totem pole (Alert Bay), garden gnome (Nanoose Bay), wooden paddle (Golden), cuckoo clock (Kimberley), hockey stick (Duncan), and tin soldier (New Westminster).

- How Ed celebrates the joyful increase of diversity in Christian education.

- That Ed has asked a past grade 7 class “What kind of car would Jesus drive?” and laments that a few parents were unhappy about that question.

- Ed has a lot of hope for Christian education to move away from fear and toward courage and boldness because of the people he knows working in Christian education, and

- Ed shared these celebrations, laments, and hopes and more for christian education in his latest SCSBC “The Link” article.

Connect with Ed at [email protected].

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This episode is sponsored by:

EduDeo: Visit https://edudeo.com, their school’s page (https://edudeo.com/schools), or email EduDeo at [email protected].

In episode 25, Darren hosts another Every Square Centimetre “campfire” conversation. Building on the conversation with Joonyong, the three of us discuss how competition seems to be such a lingering ethos for education and how Joonyong urges us to replace competition with systems of compassion in our schools. How do we intersect some of the natural aspects of competition in nature, sports, etc. with a Saviour who continuously created space for the marginalized and rejected. We pondered questions like the following:

- Does university entrance acceptance automatically require competition?

- Is nature inherently competitive? Interdependent? Or both?

- How might a biology 12 exam be a collaborative experience?

- What impact does the bell curve still have on our attitudes toward student achievement? Are we still trying to “sort” kids?

- Is Dweck’s focus on mindsets set the stage for compassion over competition? For a priority on highlighting passion and effort, even in university?

In episode 24, ESC goes to St. Catharines to visit Lisa Vanderkuip who is committed to helping students when school gets hard. Join the ESC “Passel” as we learn:

- Lisa’s sister befriended Sting and ended up with back-stage passes to Amnesty International!

- through our new game, “AI or A+,” sometimes you can tell the difference between ChatGPT and an actual poet!

- St. Catharines is a canal town and won the canal battle between the Welland and the Erie canals.

- you can worship in Harriet Tubman’s church in St. Catharines: British Methodist Episcopal Church Salem Chapel on Geneva Street.

- the Canada Fitness Award program’s “Flexed Arm Hang” has scarred many Canadian children, including Lisa, Darren, and Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip!

- God has a calling for all of us, and Lisa is committed to finding that with students for whom school is really hard.

- Lisa has a vision for schools to group students in many ways beyond just by age.

- how educational best practices like the "Science of Reading" movement can enliven our own teaching and empower students to succeed, but it requires leadership to create change.

Connect with Lisa at [email protected].

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This episode is sponsored by:

EduDeo: Visit https://edudeo.com, their school’s page (https://edudeo.com/schools), or email EduDeo at [email protected].

In episode 23, ESC once again goes global to Paju, Korea! Joonyong provides a fantastic look into both Korean and Canadian Christian education, highlighting the need for educators to actively combat the way schooling can default to an ethos of competition. Join the ESC “Clutter” as we learn:

- Korean males have mandatory military service due to Korea’s ongoing conflict with North Korea.

- “Stew Spyksma” gives “Maverick” a run for its money as the best air force pilot handle.

- Joonyong lives in the shadow of the “DMZ”--the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

- Noodles mean it's marriage time!

- We have to replace competition with compassion and companionship as the driving ethos of education (Joonyong’s graduate work in this was inspired by the fact that none of his grade 10 classmates would share their notes with him after a two week absence)

- Elaine Brouwer’s work with the SCSBC–“Assessment as a Gift”--has made an international impact on Christian education.

Connect with Joonyong at [email protected].

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This episode is sponsored by:

EduDeo: Visit https://edudeo.com, their school’s page (https://edudeo.com/schools), or email EduDeo at [email protected].