The Dock School Leader Podcast

Speakers offer a brief presentation of topics relevant to conservative Anabaptist schools:

Individualized/Conventional Hybrid School: What are the pros and cons of a hybrid classroom? How can it be used effectively?

When Students Play Victim: What are some underlying issues that might prompt students to claim that being subject to school policies causes them to feel unsafe?

Finding and Training Teachers: Identifying, training, and sustaining our own

Technology and Our Children: Technology has enhanced our schools. Yet many cries of alarm about technology are being raised by “the children of this world.” Can our schools be filled with men of Issachar "Who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do?"

What is your goal as a teacher? Survival? Keeping your job?

Teaching is much more than making it to the end of the year, Aaron reminds us. We have the opportunity to invest the precious gifts we have received. Is making the investment hard work? Definitely. But the rewards are incomparable.

For more on this topic, consider listening to the full talk.

Tracking a child's age is not difficult, but maturity can be can different matter. How do teachers and parents assess whether a child is ready to thrive in school? Kayla describes the social and academic markers she looks for when evaluating potential first graders.

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Elementary grades establish elementary academic concepts. What of the years beyond?How should our schools be equipping scholars with vision and skills for Kingdom work?

Mutual respect and consistent structure are faltering in our schools. With today’s emphasis on creativity and individuality, have we lost the benefits of firm structure and required respect?

This topic defines the roles of school leaders, parents, and ministry. How can we effectively harness the input of everyone for the good of our students?

In reading class, students practice the reading skills that allow them to spend time in a book all by themselves. But reading is not merely a private affair. How can you make reading class an opportunity for communicating clearly and respecting others? Bethany describes the STAR technique and how it helped her students remember to practice good communication skills in class.

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Why are some stories powerful, while others fall flat? Jim encourages us to tell stories with economy, empathy, universality, and tension--and offers plenty of example stories.

This excerpt was taken from a longer talk, Stories that Teach presented at Western Fellowship Teachers' Institute 2019.

Are you strong enough to teach?

Steve has been in the classroom for more than 16 years. Teaching, he says, is too big a job for anyone. What do you do with the reality of your inadequacy? Listen to Steve and Arlene describe how they face the demands of teaching, share the load, and keep the vision alive.

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Every spring, 5- and 6-year-olds file into the first grade classroom at Elida Mennonite School. They are here for kindergarten, their introduction to the world of classroom learning. What can they learn in a few short weeks? How can the teacher manager the extra students in class? Kayla describes her goals for kindergartners and some of the strategies she uses to ease them into an exiting new journey.

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