Missing the Boat

I am an admitted news junkie, much to my wife's chagrin. A good evening for me is flipping between Fox News and CNN to see what the various talking heads have to say about the Presidential election or more recently, the country's economic state. This week I have turned on CNBC in the morning as I get ready for the day, not because of concerns for my own meager 403B account, but because I am anxious to know what the experts think lies ahead both in the short term and in the extended future.

While the current economic crisis can be looked at a number of different ways, you haven't heard this much: at the heart of this issue is a moral problem -- too many people who settle for the expedient and ignore what is right. From CEO greed to people who bought houses with the idea they could simply walk away when things got tough, the sons and daughters of the Greatest Generation are proving to be anything but.

What does this have to do with education? Who's Who Among American High School Students has been surveying students for a long time. One recent report said that: "This survey spans three decades (1970-2000) and is the most comprehensive database available online of the attitudes and opinions of high-achieving teens on a range of subjects, including cheating.

In the 1999 survey, 84 percent of the high school students judged cheating to be “common” among their peers. That high percentage was not surprising in light of the fact that 78 percent of the same students confessed they themselves had cheated. Ninety-five percent of the students who cheated said they did not get caught."

By the way, this survey was of students regarded as among the country's best. We are seeing a generation of cheaters grow before our eyes. Students appear to be cheating at such a prolific rate, one wonders whether years from now the concept of cheating in school will even be an issue. The problem is that if you learn to cheat, to steal, to mislead for personal gain (even if it is to avoid a zero on an assignment) when does the moral compass kick in to say taking advantage of a client in even a small way is wrong. If in the small episodes of life cheating is accepted and penalties avoided, why are we amazed at the hubris of corporate titans and their golden parachutes? Parents who rush to the defense of their cheating students with cries of "your making mountains out of molehills" miss the point: we are creating tomorrow's moral climate today.

At Faith we will continue to fight the good fight. Giving in would be expedient, but never right.

Waiting for the Football Game to Start

So in keeping with my promise that my readers get some news before everyone else, I am excited to let you know that Avalon, one of contemporary Christian music's most popular groups, will perform in concert at the new Chapel/Performing Arts building on Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 pm. The concert will kick-off "dedication weekend" with a service to follow on Sunday, November 9 at 2 p.m. Look for more information in The Crusader and on the website in the next few weeks. We have some really cool things planned to celebrate the opening of this building.

About a month into the school year things are going well. Our HS athletic teams are doing well and middle school sports are about to get into their game schedules. One thing not going particularly well is traffic. Today I received this email from a parent: I am contacting you regarding pick up and drop off of the 6th graders at you school. It is a little scary at drop off and pick up time. I am experiencing parents cutting in and out from the curb, stopping in the lane of traffic(because the curb is full) to drop off instead of using the curb. This morning I saw a parent stop in the middle lane an let their child walk from the middle of the street to the side walk. I understand that everyone is busy and in a hurry but if everyone followed the guidelines of a single line and pulling up to the car in front of you from the light at Home Run and Hualapai, it might take a minute or so longer but seems that is would be safer and a lot less confusing.
It is possible that I am misunderstanding how this should work, please forward any thoughts.
Homestretch Avenue seems unusually dangerous this year. That is at least in part because the volume of traffic is higher than it should be. Only 6th graders are supposed to be picked up there. On my occasional visits to that part of campus I've noticed that we either have the world's tallest 6th graders, or other students are meeting parents there. We have limited ability to enforce common sense and good judgment. Maybe it's time to hand out detentions to students who are in the wrong place and have parents serve them!

This week Mr. Orr, Mr. Chalfant and I spent some time at Apple, Inc. They have a great set of products and comprehensive approach to teaching teachers how to use technology to change the way we teach and students learn. We are considering a partnership with them, which would gradually move most of the computers in school from the PC to the Mac platform. I am wondering two things: 1st, have you noticed any difference with your students with our renewed emphasis on technology; and 2nd, do parents care what platform computers our students use?

Friday Night Lights

I guess you would call it a "Dodger" crowd. Parents and fans were trickling into our home game last Friday up until half time and by the time everyone arrived we had a pretty good sized gathering. There is something very communal about a Friday night football game: parents, grandparents, former students and parents, middle schoolers (there more for the socializing than the game), volunteers grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, pep band music playing in the background, cheerleaders and dancers. Friday night football is a great slice of Americana. And when we win the spirit of the evening is even richer.

While I love our theater events and our music performances, it is hard to capture the energy you feel when your team scores and the fight song is played. (And by the way, I continue my decade old battle that fans should stand and at least clap along when the pep band plays the fight song.) Maybe its the coach in me (or perhaps the frustrated athlete)but watching our coaches and athletes come roaring back from a big deficit always inspires pride.

Friday night football games are one of the places strangers to Faith can get a feel for what our community is like. That's why we pay some attention to the way our students come dressed to the games and how they comport themselves while they are there. Those who mill about the sidelines or sit in the student section represent our school even when not wearing the maroon and gold. And it's also why we have high expectations about our fans behavior, expectations that were clearly met at Friday's game, thank you very much!

So I encourage you, even if you are not the parent of a dancer, cheerleader, pep bander or footballer to make some time to attend one of our games. As summer's heat gives way to fall's cooler temps, there are few things as enjoyable as Friday Night Lights. (But watching tennis, volleyball, soccer or cross country makes for a good time too!)

An Amazing Time

While I often am wistful about not being in the classroom on a daily basis, that desire has been particularly strong this week. As a long-time social studies teacher (my Master's is in government and politics)it has been remarkable to watch this election season unfold. In the last 24 hours we have seen the 1st African American to be nominated as his party's Presidential nominee and then today John McCain selected a woman to be his running mate for the first time in GOP history. For our students who have grown up in an age when racial and gender equality is almost taken for granted, I wonder whether they are in wonder regarding the last 24 hours in American political history.

While it is hard to get many students excited about civic issues, this is as good an opening as we are likely to see. And it opens the door to some great conversations you can have at home. The stark differences in style and positions of the two presidential candidates offers a chance for you to discuss with your student the values you hold, why you hold them and why you choose to vote the way you do. The single best predictor of an individual's party affiliation is their parent's politics.

Kids learn best in real world situations. The Presidential election is democracy's learning lab. While I hope we will do our part to engage students, this is a great time to be working together.

A Good Start

After just three days of school I can say with some certainty that we are begining the school year in excellent fashion. And by fashion I mean some satisfaction with the decision to drop skirts from our school dress code. Now if we could just get some of our young men to get their hair cuts....
The feedback we received from streaming chapel hs been very positive, so look for that to happen again real soon. We have a few techical glitches to get fixed, but we are working on them...
Look for an email this week about providing students with email accounts through school. Please know we are taking appropriate cautions to protect student identities. Having an email address will enable students to access the wikis and blogs that our teachers are developing, all with the idea to improve student learning. Parents will have the right to opt out their student, but before you do, please talk with Mr. Orr , Mr. Chalfant or me so we can answer any questions you might have.
We are hoping to fully occupy CPAC by the end of the month. Much of the work being done currently is related to the lines sets for scenery and lighting. Additional work is focused on the sound system.

Almost Time

With school less than 24 hours away from starting, the place is abuzz with activity. Here are a few things I wish I could tell everyone:


1. Please be patient, especially in and around our parking lots and drop-off/pick-up zones.


2. Be engaged. I know we send quite a bit through the mail and we will try to reduce that amount by using the website as a primary means of communication, but that means people have to check the website regularly. Please attend your student's events: athletics, concerts plays. No matter what they may say about "It's no big deal," your presence in their life is much more significant than ours.


3. Pray for your students, their teachers and our school.



On a different note, I have prepared for the Board of Directors an annual report built around a powerpoint presentation which you can view below. Of course, you'll miss my pithy commentary, but if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them. If you are checking this immediately, you'll see it even before the Board of Director's. Is that legal?

Annual Report August 2008

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

Open for Business

The Chapel/Performing Arts Center is ready for occupancy! Well, almost. A temporary certificate of occupancy will enable us to gain access to the lobby, restrooms, storage spaces and the classrooms. The auditorium should be ready by October 1st. Over the last few days some students and parents have helped move band and theater equipment and supplies to their new digs in CPAC. Landscapers have put the finishing touches on our gorgeous amphitheater. New grass and new trees dress it up nicely.

This is a view of the ceiling in the auditorium. Seats will be going in next week and the rigging for the stage will start soon as well.

This is the drama room just waiting for students in 12 days.

The band room is perhaps the largest classroom on campus with room for individual and ensemble practices.

The bell tower reminds all who pass by that this is a Christian school.