Schools and Classrooms as Communities of Grace

Schools and Classrooms as Communities of GraceDr. Bruce Hekman, Calvin CollegeWhat is your vivid memory of your JK-12 school experience?School memories

What does Flourishing look like?

SURVEY: MANY U.S. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS BORED IN CLASS

A majority of U.S. high school students say they get bored in class every day, and more than one out of five has considered dropping out, according to a recently released survey.

Some challengesRead the rest of the article4In the midst of unprecedented material affluence, large and growing numbers of U.S. children and adolescents are failing to flourish. In particular, more and more young people are suffering from mental illness, emotional distress, and behavioral problems.As a society we have been unable to respond effectively to these deteriorations in child and adolescent well-being. Hardwired to Connect, pg. 8The Best of Times, The Worst of TimesEighty-eight percent of Americans who responded to the commission survey said it was harder to be a parent today than it used to be, 81 percent said parents did not spend enough time with their children, 76 percent said that parents often did not know where their children were. More than half of the respondents said children are worse off today than they were ten years ago with respect to moral and religious training and parental supervision and discipline. Fully a third said that children get less love and care from parents than they did a decade ago. Sergiovanni, pg. 12Loss of community from the National Commission on ChildrenWhen families fail, children sometimes withdraw inward, hardening their shells and insulating themselves from the outside. But the typical response if for them to create their own families by turning to each other for supportNorms are important to young people, particularly to adolescents. In schools powerful and extensive norms systems develop that constitute a student subculture. Like any other culture these norms dictate not only how students should dress, the latest in language, and other harmless rituals of school life but also how students should think, what they value and believe and how they should behave. Sergiovanni, pg. 12Loss of communitySociety has systematically abandoned the young. Young people are desperate for an adult who caresthey have been forced by a personal sense of abandonment to band together and create their own worldseparate, semi-secret, and vastly different from the world around them.Chap Clark, HurtAbandonment Normal Distorted Absent Attached Gang loyalty Unattached Loving Craves affection Guarded Friendly Craves acceptance Rejected Intimate Promiscuous Lonely Gregarious Clinging Aloof Cooperative Cult vulnerable Isolated Trusting Overly dependent Distrustful

the unmet needs of youth can be addressed by corrective relationships of trust and intimacy. Brendtro, Brokenleg, and Van Bockern, p. 47Belongingconsequences of lossPeople who had bad health habits (such as smoking, poor eating habits, obesity, or alcohol use) but strong social ties lived significantly longer than people who had great health habits but were isolated. It is better to eat Twinkies with good friends than eat broccoli alone. OrtbergLoss of community10The context of schooling is an important part of the content of schooling.

We need to be as intentional about the context as we are about the curriculum.Thesis11The nature of relationships among the adults within a school has a greater influence on the character and quality of that school and on student accomplishment than anything else. If the relationships between administrators and teachers are trusting, generous, helpful, and cooperative, then the relationships between teachers and students, between students and students, and between teachers and parents are likely to be trusting, generous, helpful, and cooperative. If, on the other hand, relationships between administrators and teachers are fearful, competitive, suspicious, and corrosive, then these qualities will disseminate throughout the school community. Roland BarthSignificance of healthy community in schools12Culture in faith-based schools

From All InClimate: the people perceive their work environment; the feeling of the classroom and hallways.

Culture: a set of (often) unarticulated rules about the way things are done; values, assumptions. Culture is expressed in artifacts (ceremonies, rituals, the physical appearance of hallways, classrooms, the curriculum); espoused values; underlying assumptions (about students, about relationships among teachers how discipline and conflict are handled).Climate and culture15Organizational culture shapes how groups understand and carry out their mission.

Culture is created communally.

Leaders play a significant role in shaping culture.Organizational culture16Seven sources of system identityHistory: our founding and sustaining storiesBeliefs and values: who we believe we areVision: what we declare as our highest purposeMission: the essence and reason for our existenceGoals: mile markers for realizing our missionShared knowledge: what we collectively know and share about our work in order to achieve our purposePrinciples of belonging: rules, agreements, and commitments for learning and belonging together as a community The Power to Transform, p. 9217 If you want to build a ship, dont drum up people to gather the wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea. Antoine de Saint ExuperyLeadership and vision18School images How might each school image handle the issue of bullying?

Which kind of school would consider merit pay for employees?School imagesA continuumSchools as Communities21Relationships are both close and informal.Individual circumstances count.Acceptance is unconditional.Relationships are cooperative.Concerns of members are unbounded and therefore considered legitimate as long as they reflect needs.Subjectivity is okay.Emotions are legitimate.Sacrificing ones self-interest for the sake of other community members is common.Members associate with each other because doing so is valuable as an end in itself.SergiovanniSchools as communitiesLife in organizations and life in communities are different in both quality and kind. In communities we create our social lives with others who have intentions similar to ours. In organizations relationships are constructed for us by others and become codified into a system of hierarchies, roles, and role expectationsControl is external.Communities rely on norms, purposes, values, professional socialization, collegiality, and natural interdependencea community of mind. SergiovanniSchools as communitiesGrace-Full leaders/teachersGrace-Full Leadership. John C BowlingAre more concerned with spirit than with styleAre covenantal rather than contractualView people as ends, not meansRecognizable the changeable from the changelessSeek significance, not just successAre responsive as well as responsibleAre high touchMaximize influence and minimize authorityAre passionateFocus primarily on the body, not the headThere is no recipe for community building---no correlates, no workshop agenda, no training package. Community cannot be borrowed or boughtIf we are interested in community building, then we, along with other members of the proposed community, are going to have to invent our own practice of community. It is as simple, and as hard, as that. Sergiovanni, p. 5Community BuildingA Christian world view26Redemption through Christ restores our relationship with God and empowers us to once again fulfill our calling in creation as He intended. The distortions of the fall still plague us, but we are no longer bound or ruled by them. We are called to live according to the truth, and living redemptively means living by that truth.Teaching Redemptively, p. xiv.Redemptive leadership27Jesus went through Galileepreaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness Matt. 4:23As you go, preach this message: The kingdom of heaven is near. Matt. 10:7strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Matt. 6:33The kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe the good news. Mark 1:15 Our Father in heaven, .your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven Matt. 6:9,10 (114 references to the kingdom of God in the first three gospels)The kingdom of God28Our vision of schooling and all of life is informed by Scripture. One key to our understanding is found in the New Testament references to Kingdom.Redemptive leadershipMaking it down here like it is up there.29What is Biblical Community?Why do we need it?30 The natural condition of life for human beings is reciprocal rootedness in others.Dallas WillardBiblical community31When Gods people are called out of the world, they are called into fellowship, into what the New Testament calls koinonia. We drink from a common cup of blessing; we break a common bread; we are connected as branches to a common vine; we are fingers and toes of a common body. We belong to Jesus and thus to each other. Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.Biblical community32Biblical communityGods aim in human history is the creation of an inclusive community of loving persons, with himself as its primary sustainer and most glorious inhabitant. Dallas Willard33Christian community, life in the colony, is not primarily about togetherness. It is about the way of Jesus Christ with those whom he calls to himself. It is about disciplining our wants and needs in congruence with a true story, which gives us the resources to lead truthful lives. In living out the story together, togetherness happens, but only as a by-product of the main project of trying to be faithful to Jesus. Resident Aliens, p.78Biblical community34The Christian community has its roots in the future and its braches in the present. The Good and Beautiful Community, p. 48

False narrative: Our needs matter the most.

The problem comes when the most important consideration, the dominant desire and the main focus of the community is its own success.This is often the first step toward spiritual death, and, ultimately, the demise of the community. The Good and Beautiful Community, p. 68Biblical communityCommunities become other-centered when they are steeped in the narrative of the kingdom of God. They know that their community is an outpost of the kingdom of God, a place where grace is spoken and lived for as long as is needed. The Good and Beautiful Community, p. 72

The key is to put on the mind of Christ and to see others as he sees them: treasures. The Good and Beautiful Community, p. 80

Biblical communityWe are all image bearers of God, but none of us reflects all of who God is. Only in community do we begin to reflect the amazing diversity and creativity of God.

Community is like a rock polisher: transformative.Biblical communityThere is no recipe for community building---no correlates, no workshop agenda, no training package. Community cannot be borrowed or boughtIf we are interested in community building, then we, along with other members of the proposed community, are going to have to invent our own practice of community. It is as simple, and as hard, as that. p. 5, SergiovanniCommunity buildingBuilding community requires the development of a community of mind represented in shared values, conceptions, and ideas about schooling and human nature. This mind structure provides the community and its members with purpose and meanings that are embodied in duties and obligations. Fulfilling these duties and obligations requires selfless behavior, altruistic love. Sergiovanni, p. 32Building communityCommunity does not develop naturally. It requires tremendous struggle, and the answers to all the tough questions are in the struggle. The struggle, though, is essential because the children we teach will not care how much we know until they know how much we careA school that is a true community is a group of individuals who have learned to communicate honestly with each other; who have built relationships that go deeper than their composures; and who have developed some significant commitment to rejoice together, mourn together, delight in each other, and make others conditions their own.p. 203, Flynn and InnesBuilding community

The eye of the mind without the eye of the heart is heartless competence. The eye of the heart without the eye of the mind is mindless empathy.

Dr. Nicholas WolterstorffWe need two eyes41Read WolterstorffTo create community, start with an ideology, a set of conceptions about what schools are for, what is good for students, what makes sense about teaching and learning, and how everyone involved should live their lives together. Start, in other words, by developing a community of mind. Next, invite others to join this community of mind, relying on the persuasiveness of compelling ideas. Sergiovanni, p. 86Building communityCommunity of MindA Purposeful Community43The culture of a school arises from a network of shared ideologies, coherent sets of beliefs that tie people together and explain their work to them. Sergiovanni, Building Community in Schools, p. 72 Communities are defined by their centers of values, sentiments, and beliefs that provide the needed conditions for creating a sense of we from I.Sergiovanni, The Principalship, 5th ed, p. 106 Becoming a purposeful community44Whats a good school?The principle of purposeful coherenceGood schools45What does it mean to flourish?FlourishingBecoming a purposeful community: lists of five47Mentor programsPeer observations, including learning walks (rounds)Team teaching or co-teachingCommon planning timeCommon assessmentsCommon files for sharing assignments/activitiesBecome a community of learnersShared leadershipCreate an annual best practices book, with each teacher contributing a single page. Give all teachers a copy of the booklet at the end of the school year, and give it to new teachers as a welcome gift.

Becoming a purposeful community: collegiality48Nurturing school communityAs a Christian teacher,you consciously strive to forge your classroom into a learning community in which students experience the richness of living in a caring and supportive but also challenging environment. Van Brummelen 2009, p. 179

From Nurturing School Community

At your tables, brainstorm a list of factors that influence student engagement and learning.Alone Write down your top five and rank order them with #1 being the most importantIn pairs agree on the top five factorsIn two pairs agree on the top fiveIn four pairs, agree on the top five

A community of mind and heartCommunities of HeartWhat is grace? Grace is the power of God, rooted in his abiding love, by which God forgives the sinful, accepts the unacceptable, revives the spiritually dead, and so enables a reunion between the Creator and his wayward creatures. p. 4

grace is inherently unfairfor grace lets off the hook precisely those who otherwise deserve some kind of punishment. p. 123The Riddle of GraceThe riddle of grace Beyond forgiveness, grace also aims to transform our way of life. Encountering Gods grace is a formative creative moment as a result of which a person is not only graced by Gods love but also becomes gracious because of Gods love. I mean gracious in the sense of being grace-like, of showing forth in our own lives some of the qualities of Gods grace in Christ. p. 4 The Riddle of GraceThe riddle of graceGraceis shorthand for everything that God is and does for us in our tired and sinful and broken lives.

Grace is the one word for all that God is for us in the form of Jesus Christ.

Three faces of grace: grace is pardon, grace is power, grace is promise.P. 3 How Can It Be Alright When Everything is All Wrong? Smedes on graceThe gift of joyPsalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made You dont have to live in your dog house!

The gift of forgiveness I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithfulYou can gamble on a new beginning and win.

The gift of freedom I Cor 4:3,4 I do not judge myselfit is the Lord All the worlds a critic and youre tired of reading the reviews.

The gift of wonder Acts 2: 6,7 Each one heard them speaking in his ownYou can still be wonder-full in a wonder-killing world

A catalog of graceThe gift of suffering Rom 8:17 If children, then heirs,provided we sufferWhen you hurt with hurting people, you are dancing to the rhythm of God.

The gift of being ordinary II Cor. 4:7 We have this treasure in clay potsYou are only an earthen vessel, but God has a market for cracked pots.

The gift of an open heart Col 4:3 Pray for us that God may open a doorIf you just cant cope, you are ripe for Gods opening move.

The gift of faith John 1:51 You will see heaven opened, and the angels.When you see the angels, youll know why you believe.

A catalog of graceThe gift of patience Jonah 4:11 And should I not pity NinevehGod takes his time, so why not take yours?

The gift of being held Ps. 139: 8,10 If I make my bed in helleven there.If you fall into hell, you may land in the hand of God.

The gift of hope II Pet 3:13, Rom 5:5 And hope does not disappoint usEverything is going to be all right!How Can Everything Be Alright When Everything is All Wrong?

A catalog of graceWorking out grace in schools

58Should there be conflict in a Christian community?The dance of the porcupines

Conflict not only is possible in Christian community, it may be a necessary by-product of community that is an important catalyst for growth as we learn to adjust to the differences caused by the diversity of community. No conflict may suggest no diversity, and possibly no growth. Walter Wright, p. 139 Relational Leadership

Communities need tensions if they are to grow and deepen. Tensions come from conflictsA tension or difficulty can signal the approach of a new grace of God. But it has to be looked at wisely and humanly. Jean Vanier, p. 120-121, Community and GrowthShould there be conflict in a Christian community?Community is the place where the person you least want to live with always lives. Henri Nouwen The dance of the porcupines61You can develop a healthy robust community that lives right with God and enjoys its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. James 3:18 (The Message)The dance of the porcupines62Peacekeeping or peacemaking?Heres the rub: How do you pursue the beautiful dream of community with actual real-life people? Weird, not-normal, as-is, dysfunctional people? How do you get close without getting hurt?Everybodys Normal Till You Get to Know ThemDance of the porcupines64ELEPHANTS in the ROOM

ElephantsA culture of high expectationsRelationships in a community of graceThe story of David and Nathan (2 Samuel 12)

John Wesley had a beautiful phrase for this; he called it watching over one another in love.Ortberg, p. 173Conflict and confrontationAnything that is subject to human limitation or error requires the collegial presence of another person to ensure responsibility. It is a fact of life.69Adversarial (Blame) approach:What happened, who is to blame, what punishment or sanction is needed?

Restorative approach:What happened, what harm has resulted and what needs to happen to make things right?Grace-filled confrontation70Where individual wrong doers are confronted (EXPERIENCE SHAME) within a continuum of respect and support, then a process of REINTEGRATION can begin

ALLOWS the act (unacceptable behaviours) to be rejected because they failed to reach expectations or standards

WHILE acknowledging the intrinsic worth of the person and their potential contribution to their own community I accept and value you but not your behaviourBraithwaites hypothesisThe Matthew 18 principleIf there is conflictYouGoTo the personIn privateAnd discuss the problemFor the purpose of reconciliation.Acknowledge conflictI must own responsibilityApproach, dont avoid the person you are in conflict withNo third partiesUse sensitivityDirect communicationAim at reconciliationIs my practice...Respectful (distinguishing person from behaviour)Fair (engaging, with explanations & clarify expectationsRestorative (by repairing harm and building relationships)

Does my practice...Develop empathy (through reflection, insight & learningEnhance responsibility and accountabilityPromote positive behaviourial change

Restorative practice checklistThe goal: a new life74Work on me first. Effective problem solvers observe an infraction and then tell themselves a complete and accurate story. They ask, Why would a reasonable, rational, decent person do that? In other words, were curious instead of boiling mad. What and If. What are we confronting? A broken promise, a gap, a difference between what you expected and what actually happened? Should you confront or accept?Contentan immediate problemPatternhabitsRelationshipstrust? competence? respect?If you dont talk it out, youll act it out. Crucial Confrontations

Crucial confrontations:Learning the skills75Crucial ConfrontationsWhat do you do when other people arent doing what theyre supposed to do? How do you deal with broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior?To confront means to hold someone accountable, face to face, so that problems are resolved and relationships grow.The ability to hold others accountable lies at the very center of a persons ability to exert influence.From Crucial Confrontations, 2005, Patterson et al.

Examples from p.21 in Schools as Communities of Grace76Your old life is dead. And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy.make sure its all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. Dont lie to each other Colossians 3: 3-10 The MessageRresentment Aanxiety Ggreed Ssuperiority

Getting rid of our RAGS

Colossians 3: 5-1077Effective problem solvers observe an infraction and then tell themselves a complete and accurate story. They ask, Why would a reasonable, rational, decent person do that? In other words, were curious instead of boiling mad.Confront with safety: Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret. Ambrose BierceWhat are we confronting? A broken promise, a gap, a difference between what you expected and what actually happened.

Crucial confrontations:Learning the skills78Crucial confrontations:Learning the skills79The first rule of St. Benedicts Rule of Life: Listen, carefully, my son, to the masters instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart.Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. James 1:19The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention. Richard MossSelect time and place (free from distractions)Listen until they are satisfied

Listen! (and not just to the words)Listening for motivation and ability: The six source modelMotivate

Pain and pleasure

Praise and pressure

Carrots and sticksEnable

Strengths and weaknessesHelps and hindrances

Bridges and barriersSpeakApology without remorse: Logically, Ill admit you have a point.Premature apology: Im sorry, Im sorry; now can we drop the whole thing?Apology of expedience: All right, Im sorry; now can we watch the game?Angry apology: OK! Im sorry! Is that what you wanted?Partial apology: Im sorry you feel bad.Bitter apology: Im sorry for everything in the last ten years.Confession and apologyExpressing regret. I am sorry.Accepting responsibility. I was wrong.Making restitution. What can I do to make it right?Genuinely repenting. Ill try not to do that again.Requesting forgiveness. Will you please forgive me? Gary Chapman and Jennifer ThomasThe five languages of apology84Forgiveness is not:ExcusingForgettingReconciling

Forgiveness starts when we decide to stop trying to get even.

To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee. William WaltonForgiveness85speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. Ephesians 4: 15

Therefore, each of us must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are members of one body. Ephesians 5:21Graceful confrontationBrothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each others burdens, and in this way you fulfill the law of Christ.Galatians 6:1-5 Conflict and confrontation87Conflict and confrontation88Therefore, as Gods chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3: 12-14

When love is absent, the school will fail. Educating for Responsible Action, Nicholas WolterstorffAbove all, love.89Above all, love.Some things are loved because they are worthy; some things are worthy because they are loved.Bruce HekmanCalvin Collegebhekman@calvin.edu616-392-6418Creating communities of grace91