What DO Teachers Do on PD Days?

Is this a question that you have asked yourself?

Last Friday our teachers travelled to Hamilton and participated in a day of professional development with other Christian teachers from the Niagara/Hamilton/Guelph area. The main speaker of the day was Dan Beerens. As Dan wrote on his blog this week, "Exciting Things Are Happening In Ontario: I am delighted to be working with Edifide (formerly the Ontario Christian School Teachers Association) and OACS (Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools) during their winter PD days. They are moving in some exciting directions – really embracing the kinds of change that needs to be happening in Christian schools. My keynote and workshop speeches are on the topic “Equipping Daniels/Danielles for the 21st Century – Why We Need to Think About This, What Do We Need to Do, and How Do We Do This?”

Our students were compared to the Biblical character of Daniel. Daniel was a young man who was grounded in his faith, but found himself in a culture that was, in many ways, hostile to it. Yet, even though Daniel remained devout in his faith, the king, Nebuchadnezzar, found him “ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.”

Mr. Bereens encouraged us to consider our students as the Daniels (or Danielles) of our time. He commented on how the Christian school movement is uniquely situated to provide a powerful and important cultural voice.  Like Daniel, our students find themselves in a culture that is increasingly diverse. Many of the beliefs and assumptions that we, as parents could largely assume were commonly held when we were children, are being stretched, challenged, and even changed entirely.

Combined with this reality, we are part of an increasingly digital society. The access that our students have to information has never been greater. We are also learning more and more about how students learn. Twenty-first century skills include verbs like create, collaborate, problem solving, research, discern, and present.

It is a big task – Christian education for the 21^st century. As a staff, we plan to take some time to digest all that Mr. Bereens presented and begin to take deliberate steps forward, at all grade levels. We are excited to take this journey with you.