The Race Isn't Over Yet
Here it is, nearly the end of March, and the weather forecast says that another snow storm could be coming to Baltimore. I like snow. I like snow days. Maybe I'm still a student at heart looking forward to another day off from school whenever I hear snow is on its way. But as the principal of a school, I know that another snow day is not the best thing for our teachers and students, and so I care about that and I am asking God to send the snow somewhere else this week.
School is like a marathon race where students and teachers need to hit their stride in order to feel comfortable as they work to complete their courses. The word curriculum comes from Latin and it means "a race" or "a course for a race." Teachers are like the coaches who are running alongside their student racers, helping them make it to the finish line by school year's end. As the third quarter draws to a close this week, we can say that the end of the race is no in sight. We are getting ready to make the big turn toward the finish and to use all the energy we have left to sprint so that we can break the tape and then take a well-deserved breather. Snow days and sick days are like stumbling in the race - you get a bit of a rest, which is nice, but you aren't getting any closer to the end of the race, and you have to work hard to get back up and get going again.
We are fortunate that our school has experienced coaches in the classroom who know how to pace the race and motivate the racers to excel. Despite the fact that we have had 10 unplanned stoppages in our course this year due to weather, many of our teachers are either on track or running ahead in the curriculum. While the climate outside the school building may be wintry and cold, the climate inside the classroom is focused and on-track. The days we are in school are well spent and school spirit is high.
I am looking forward to two days of professional development with the staff this week. We planned these days last fall before all the snow fell, and it's too late to cancel them now even if we wanted to (which I don't). A trainer from the Institute for Excellence in Writing is coming to GGCA to teach us all how to be better teachers of writing. During my tenure here as principal, reading and writing have been near and dear to my heart, and this training, I hope, will bring our instructors and our students to new levels of skill and understanding. I believe that we as followers of Jesus Christ, should strive for excellence in all subjects to bring glory to God and to equip ourselves for ministry in whatever field He sends us to labor in. The Church needs good writers in this day and age to communicate truth creatively and rationally to a world starved for truth. I love that one of the names of Jesus is "the Word." May the Word bless our time to of learning together as a staff while we strive to improve ourselves and our curriculum for the future benefit of our students. The race isn't over yet.
School is like a marathon race where students and teachers need to hit their stride in order to feel comfortable as they work to complete their courses. The word curriculum comes from Latin and it means "a race" or "a course for a race." Teachers are like the coaches who are running alongside their student racers, helping them make it to the finish line by school year's end. As the third quarter draws to a close this week, we can say that the end of the race is no in sight. We are getting ready to make the big turn toward the finish and to use all the energy we have left to sprint so that we can break the tape and then take a well-deserved breather. Snow days and sick days are like stumbling in the race - you get a bit of a rest, which is nice, but you aren't getting any closer to the end of the race, and you have to work hard to get back up and get going again.
We are fortunate that our school has experienced coaches in the classroom who know how to pace the race and motivate the racers to excel. Despite the fact that we have had 10 unplanned stoppages in our course this year due to weather, many of our teachers are either on track or running ahead in the curriculum. While the climate outside the school building may be wintry and cold, the climate inside the classroom is focused and on-track. The days we are in school are well spent and school spirit is high.
I am looking forward to two days of professional development with the staff this week. We planned these days last fall before all the snow fell, and it's too late to cancel them now even if we wanted to (which I don't). A trainer from the Institute for Excellence in Writing is coming to GGCA to teach us all how to be better teachers of writing. During my tenure here as principal, reading and writing have been near and dear to my heart, and this training, I hope, will bring our instructors and our students to new levels of skill and understanding. I believe that we as followers of Jesus Christ, should strive for excellence in all subjects to bring glory to God and to equip ourselves for ministry in whatever field He sends us to labor in. The Church needs good writers in this day and age to communicate truth creatively and rationally to a world starved for truth. I love that one of the names of Jesus is "the Word." May the Word bless our time to of learning together as a staff while we strive to improve ourselves and our curriculum for the future benefit of our students. The race isn't over yet.
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