CDL Digest - 4.21.23
OK - it is a true Digest this time around - stuff I found to be of interest and inspiration!
I LOVE the UNESCO Learning Objectives - "UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It promotes peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication, and information."
If you click on the graphic below, it will take you to the page where you can click on each objective and access hundreds of pedagogical ideas for the classroom.
Innovative School Finder - This is a very cool tool! One can search by innovative practice, name, state, etc. It is a great way of knowing where there may be schools near you doing innovative practices! Thanks, Knowledge Works, for sharing The Canopy project work that allows us to view over 250 innovative schools quickly and easily!
Innovative Schools - If you are interested in learning more about innovative schools and what exactly they are doing, Tom VanderArk at Getting Smart has visited over 2,500 schools - about 100 per year and has written about them for your benefit! You can find that information and so much more about the future of schooling on his amazing site.
Singing - wondering how many teachers still lead their classrooms in singing? When I was a kid, I sure learned a lot of theology, history, social studies, folk tunes, hymns, appreciation for creation, etc. through regular singing during my elementary years. I had the opportunity to sing as a "guest choir member" during the recent Lenten/Easter season and I appreciated again what a joyful and special experience it was. Here is a nice reflection on the value of singing from Laura DeJong in the Reformed Journal blog.
Whose are we? The temptation to self-rejection....
Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, "Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody."
. . . I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the "Beloved." Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.`"
― Henri J.M. Nouwen
As you near the end of the year, remember his faithfulness.
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An invitation from Steven and Joanna Levy - join us in our summer institute! Space is still available.
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Editor's note about the Digest: We hope to share with you each week articles of interest that you may have missed. This will include current information as well as previous blog posts from CDL that perhaps you didn’t have time to read the first time around. If you have items you think may be of interest, please feel free to get in touch with me at danbeerens@gmail.com. We are also seeking blog writers for our blog posts which are published each week on Monday and Wednesday. For more info, see our guidelines.