Fall, 2006 Volume 2, Number 1
The official low temperature this morning on Lookout Mountain was 10 degrees, so it doesn’t feel much like fall anymore, so perhaps this edition of our departmental newsletter should be labeled Fall/Winter. Thank you for your continued interest in the Education Department and for taking the time to read the following.Middle Level Education ?
In October, Dr. Daphne Haddad accompanied middle grade seniors Abigail Duncan, Kim Yagel, and Anne Gildernew to a conference at Georgia College and State University entitled Summit on Middle Level Education: Advocacy in Action. Dr. John Lounsbury, the “Father of Middle Grade Education” in the U.S. , presided. Dr. Lounsbury helped to develop the Nat-ional Middle School Association's philosophy statements on middle level education and has been an inspiration for middle grades educators for decades. Now in active retirement, he continues as that organization's chief editor.
Here’s what Kim Yagel had to say about her experience at the summit:
“ Dr. Lounsbury explained that because a student is holistic and has moral needs as well as cognitive and physical needs, the teacher needs to take on a pastoral and moral role. The whole conference centered on teachers advocating for the students and helping them in moral decisions that they need to make. This conference enlightened me in how I as a future teacher can be an advocate for others.”
Horton’s Servant Travels
Readers of this newsletter will recall that Professor Phil Horton recently spent an entire sabbatical year in Nigeria as a Fulbright Scholar. Part of the trip was certainly academic, but a big motivation for Dr. Horton was the opportunity to serve the people he had gotten to know years earlier as a missionary. He continues to support the work in Nigeria through purchases, e-mails, and a brief return visit this summer, but his desire to serve other’s is highlighted in other ways:
- From October 14-17, Phil was part of a team consisting of Covenant RUF students and members of New City Fellowship that worked in Slidell , Louisiana to assist in Hurricane Katrina relief work. They did repair work on a number of homes in the low-income Lincoln Park neighborhood that were flooded by the August 29, 2005 storm.
- In January, 2007, Phil plans to travel with a team of 10 short-term missionaries to Ethiopia for a two-week trip of ministry and work with Andy and Bev Warren.
The new book, Schools as Communities: Educational Leadership, Relationships, and the Eternal Value of Christian Schooling, is scheduled for a January, 2007 publication. The book, edited by Education Department Chair Jim Drexler, features 18 chapters written by 21 authors from around the country, including chapters by several Covenant professors: Jack Beckman, Steve Kaufmann, Bruce Young, Daphne Haddad, Jim Drexler, Kevin Eames, Jeff Hall, Niel Nielson, and Brian Fikkert. The book is available through Purposeful Design Publications (www.acsi/web2003/store/). The book is designed for administrators and teachers as well as for those training for those positions.
Educators Conference
The third annual Educators Conference is slated for February 22, 2007 . In our first two conferences we welcomed Tom Sergiovanni (2005) and Howard Gardner (2006) to campus, and many of you attended. It’s a great time for professional growth, networking with colleagues, and a visit to our beautiful campus.
This year, the Educators Conference will focus on Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work and our featured guest for the conference is Dr. Debra Pickering , a research associate and co-author with Dr. Robert Marzano of several books in the “schools that work” series published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).
Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work , is also a December, 2006 publication from ASCD. In addition to working with Marzano on the research and book, Dr. Pickering is also currently working on manuals and other materials that can be used with the book by individual teachers, schools, or whole systems in regard to assessment and grading practices for K-12.
Dr. Pickering earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Denver and has more than 30 years experience in education as a classroom teacher, building leader, and district administrator. She has authored numerous articles and books and has led workshops nationally and internationally on a variety of topics related to schooling. Her unique blend of research-based theoretical grounding with practical, step-by-step guidance has earned her a strong reputation.
The Educators Conference is on Thursday, February 22, 2007 at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain , Georgia , from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM . The $75.00 conference fee includes lunch, refreshments, and discounted pricing on Dr. Pickering’s books through Covenant’s bookstore. To register, go to www.covenant.edu and complete the form under “Events.” For further information, call 706.419.1407 or e-mail jstewart@covenant.edu.
Future Teachers Scholarship
The Education Department for the first time has offered a $9,000 “Future Teachers Scholarship,” and we are pleased to announce that 47 prospective students have applied. Finalists will be selected by January 1, then the winner will be selected after participating in a series of interviews, panel discussion, and focus groups during Scholarship Weekend January 18-20 on campus. We will announce the winner in our spring newsletter and provide a profile of the recipient.
Postcards, Pictures, and Letters
We recently received a beautiful Christmas card from two of our recent Teacher Education Program graduates and it made us think that we’d love to regularly receive pictures like this. If you are a graduate of any of our undergraduate or graduate programs, please send us recent photographs of yourself and family so we can create a departmental bulletin board. We love hearing from former students, so let us know what the Lord is doing in your life and career.
Speaking of staying in touch, if know of anyone who should be added to this e-mail mailing list, please contact Jane Stewart at jstewart@covenant.edu. Also, if you ever need any M.Ed. literature of other information about our programs, please let us know. We count on your help in your schools to let folks know about what is happening in our department.