See the Story
Live the Story!
Teaching for
Transformation
What do you do with an idea?
• What if (Christian) education is not primarily about the
absorption of ideas and information, but about the formation
of hearts and desires? What if we began by appreciating how
education not only gets into our head but also (and more
fundamentally) grabs us by the gut – what the New Testament
refers to as kardia, “the heart”? What if (Christian) education
was primarily concerned with shaping our hopes and passions
– our visions of the ‘good life’ – and not merely about the
dissemination of data and information as inputs to our
thinking? What if the primary work of (Christian) education
was the transforming of our imagination rather than the
saturation of our intellect?
• James Smith, Desiring the Kingdom, pp. 17-18
See the Story
Live the Story!
Learning Target:
I can nourish my conviction that my (our)
Christian School(s), and the classrooms within,
needs to invite my (our) students to live a
better story, the Story.
See the Story
Live the Story!
Learning Target:
I can identify key elements that will enable my
(our) Christian School(s), and the classrooms
within, to live the better Story and envision the
next steps for my Christian school to take.
See the Story
Live the Story!
Learning Target:
I can describe the processes of Teaching for
Transformation and recognize the role it plays in
inviting our students into the better Story.
Educational Dance – Who leads?
What?
Why?
Who?
1. Who would your students say is leading the dance?
2. Who leads the dance when your teachers plan their
lessons?
3. As school leaders, who do you want to lead the dance?
How?
What is your story?
•What is your “why” of your
school?
•Does your school have a
“lived” why or a “stated”
why?
3 Core TfT Practices
#1 - Classroom Lifesong
“We are story-formed people. Our lives are first shaped by
narrative, not by information. We don’t learn how to live the
Christian life by memorizing facts, rules, precepts, morals,
imports, exports, governments, and drains. Instead, from our
earliest moments we experience the stories of those who have
gone before us: stories from the Old and New Testaments; stories
from the history of the Church throughout the centuries; stories
of our own families and local congregations; stories that are
enacted each week in the drama we call worship and in the
everyday conversations and practices of the home. . . . We begin
to see our lives as part of a pattern within the larger story of
redemption. We long to live a life worthy of that story.”
Sarah Arthur in “Distinguishing Dragons: The Importance of Story in Faith Formation,”from Shaped by
God, Robert J. Keeley, ed.; Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2010
3 Core TfT Practices
#2 - Throughlines
“The primary goal of Christian education is the formation
of a peculiar people – a people who desire the kingdom of
God and thus undertake their life’s expression of that
desire.”
James K. Smith
3 Core TfT Practices
# 3 - FLE – Formational Learning Experiences
“Christian schools must be about formation, rather than
information... We are not brains on a stick!”
James K. Smith
See the Story – Live the Story!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=k1
MRGTFfuyU
Core Practice #1 – Lifesong
With a Partner….
What is the classroom story (lifesong) that emerged?
. . . . We begin to see our lives as part of a pattern within
the larger story of redemption. We long to live a life
worthy of that story.”
What story are the students finding themselves part of?
TfT Core Practice # 1 – Lifesong
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This is The Story in which I’ve have found myself.
Here is how it got started.
Here is how it went wrong.
Here is what Christ came to do and is doing!
Here is what will happen next.
Now this --- this is the role I’ve been given.
If I want to fulfill my calling, this is what I must do.
These are my cues.
And here is how things are going to turn out in the end.
“Living Between the Trees”
See the Story – Live the Story!
Seeing the Story!
“Welcome to another day in God’s theatre!” “An Invitation to a Better Story!”
“Living between the trees”
“Here I am Lord”
“Faithful Presence”
“Join the Mustard Seed conspiracy”
“Desire the kingdom“
“See and be seen!”
“Wonderstruck”
“ESC? ESC!”
“See the Story – Live the Story!”
“To Change the World”
What do you do with an idea?
Reflecting….
Which classroom(s) in your school are living a story – a lifesong?
Are there stories being lived out that are in conflict with the
lifesong?
Core Practice #2 - Throughlines
With a partner…
What are the throughlines that emerged?
“The overall aim of Christian schools is to help students become
citizens of the kingdom of God, responsive disciples of Jesus
Christ.”
—Harro Van Brummelen, educator
Which Throughlines?
• God-Worshipper
• Image-Reflector
• Idolatry-Discerner
• Creation-Enjoyer
• Servant-Worker
• Earth-Keeper
• Justice-Seeker
• Order-Discover
• Beauty-Creator
• Community-Builder
See the Story – Live the Story!
Student
Biblical Story
Identifying with throughlines
Questions to think about it….
Which throughlines do you embody?
Which throughlines do some of your individual teachers embody?
Which students emerge as embodied throughlines?
Which throughlines are embodied in subject and learning space areas?
Which throughlines does your school embody?
Which throughlines does your community embody (or need)?
“Living Between the Trees”
See the Story – Live the Story!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWCHj9NPDjI
Classroom Throughlines
Finding My Place in God’s Story
Classroom Throughlines
Core Practice #3 –
Formational Learning Experiences
How did the students practice living and being throughlines?
Practice = learning activities that involve real work (addresses
real needs) and real audiences connected with the learning
outcomes
Vocation is “ the place where a person’s deep passions and
the world’s deepest needs collide.”
Frederick Buechner
TfT Core Practice # 3 –
Formational Learning Experience
“How will my
students practice
living these
Throughlines in
this unit?”
“It is nothing but a pious wish and a grossly unwarranted hope
that students trained to be passive and non-creative in school
will suddenly, upon graduation, actively contribute to the
formation of Christian culture.” Woltersdorff
“How Can I make a difference?”
MR. Difference maker
caterpillar
•
•
•
•
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•
Sharing
Personal Service
Advocacy
Myth Busting / Informing
Service to our global community
Service to our WRCA community
Encouragement
Caterpillar
themes
the food drive
• Buddy groups completed the
following tasks:
• Poster and sign creation
• Thermometer display and
updating
• Intercom announcements
• Chapel presentation
• PowerPoint for chapel
presentation
• Food collection and counting
• Delivery to food bank
Tree planting
MICROLOAN
PROJECT
• Project Goal:
I can use a loan
to make a
profit so that I
can donate it to
an organization
that helps
Guatemalans
get loans.
Microloan project
•
Did we make a
profit?
•
Can we pay back
our loan?
•
Can we bless
someone in
Guatemala by giving
them a loan?
So……….
How do we equip our teachers to be
these story tellers?
W
ha
t
st
or
y
do
es
yo
u
r
un
it t
ell
?
Enriching the Story - Ensuring Learning
Assessment and Activities
Living the Story - Formational Learning
Experience
Weaving the Story - Learning Outcomes
Immersed in the Story - Throughlines
Framing the Biblical Story
Imagining the Story