Christian Educators Journal: February 2025

Christian Educators Journal February 2025 Vol. 64 No. 3

Field Trips and Travel Slowing Your Roll The Challenges and Benefits of Student Travel Experiencing the Wonder of BC An Invitation to Be Part of a Better Story Faith Expressions Field Trips for Teacher Candidates Tips for Trips: Make the Most of Your Time Building Ecological Literacy Skills

Contents

3 Editorial 4 Slowing Your Roll CHRISTIAN ALTENA

10 Two Weeks in January:

The Challenges and Benefits of Student Travel BRIAN KARSTEN

14 Experiencing the Wonder of BC: A Full-­School Experiential Educational Approach CHRIS STEENHOF

20 An Invitation to Be Part of a Better Story JONATHAN BOONE AND TARA CORNEAU

27 Cultivating Inclusive Classrooms: Faith Expressions Field Trips for Teacher Candidates

HEATHER BIRCH AND KRISTEN GOODMAN

32 Tips for Trips: Make the Most of Your Time DAN MEESTER

36 Building Ecological Literacy Skills Sparks Love for Creation SARAH BOKMA

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Christian Educators Journal Vol. 64 No. 3, February 2025 cejonline.com Editor Abby Zwart cejeditor@gmail.com The Christian Educators Journal (CEJ) encourages letters to the editor in response to articles presented in the CEJ. Letters must be accompanied by the author’s name and email address. The CEJ reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Where a letter addresses issues raised by the author of an article, the CEJ reserves the right to invite the article author to respond to the letter.

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Editor Abby Zwart Copyeditor Bethany Murphy Design Editor Klaas Wolterstorff Business Manager Klaas Wolterstorff Web Shepherd Heather Altena Board of Trustees Dr. Henry Algera Heather Birch Justin Cook Sara Leo Albert Kok (Chair) Gayle Monsma Ed Noot Jim Rooks Sean Schat Christine Scholma (Secretary) Tricia Stobbe Edith van der Boom Heather VanDyke Christine Webb Supporting Institutions Calvin University Edvance Christian Schools Association The King’s University Redeemer University Trinity Christian College Tyndale University Subscribing Organizations Christian Educators Association Christian Educators of British Columbia Prairie Centre for Christian Education Printed back issues (if available) can be purchased for $7.50 per copy (cost of shipping to be added to total).

Some back issues may be available in digital format.

Editorial

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n the summer of my sophomore year of high school, I took a trip to New York City with my school’s theater department. There were a lot of firsts: it was one of my first times on a plane, my first experience traveling without my family, my first Broadway show, and my first time in a hotel room sans adults. I thought this was pretty much the most fun I had ever had, made sweeter by the fact that all my best friends came along, as did one of my favorite teachers. We oohed and ahhed through Wicked and Lion King and Phantom of the Opera, we got up early to wait in line for cheap rush tickets to a show, and we took a million pictures with our digital cameras on a walk through Central Park. Looking back with adult hindsight, I realize that trip was a ton of work for our teacher leaders. They had to manage subway rides, individual tickets to shows for dozens of students, and getting us in and out of restaurants with minimal chaos. But as a teenager, none of that registered. I got to experience all of my “firsts” and bond with my friends and make memories without any of the stress.

Almost twenty years later, that teacher I loved and who travelled with us still works at my old high school. And it turns out I do, too! Brian Karsten and I have been coworkers now for many years, and he still gets excited about travelling with students. In fact, he now manages a program at our school called Winterim that gives students the opportunity to travel all over the world. Check out his article in this issue to read his version of our New York Trip together and learn about the benefits and pitfalls of international student travel.

Or take a bike trip and learn about American history with Christian Altena. Or learn how a school in British Columbia is committed to offering overnight travel opportunities as an extension of the learning students do in the classroom (Chris Steenhof ). Or read a first-hand experience of one of those trips from its leaders and students (Jonathan Boone and Tara Corneau). Maybe you’re not up for an overnight trip, but would like to have your students experience religious traditions different from their own—Heather Birch and Kristen Goodman have some tips. Or maybe you’ll be drawn to the last two articles of this issue, where we hear from two people who are writing from the perspective of field trip and travel hosts (Dan Meester and Sarah Bokma).

Wherever you choose to read in this issue, we hope you’re inspired to get out of your classroom and into God’s great big, beautiful world.

—Abby Zwart

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Slowing Your Roll CHRISTIAN ALTENA

I I biked the Great Allegheny Passage with some friends, and I quickly realized that with its gentle grades, beautiful vistas, and historic sites, this would be the perfect ride for my students to have a real learning adventure.

love being in the classroom. It’s wonderful when the bell rings, the seats fill up, and I can once again transport my charges to the foreign lands of 1607, 1776, 1861, and 2001. Open up your time machines to page 267! Come May, though, I get that itch to get out of Room 5, pack up my panniers, and spend a week just riding. I rise with the sun, pedal for seven to eight hours, and find a place to flop, grateful for having arrived safely and pleased with my progress. Though I bike alone, I meet many people, hear their stories, and learn lessons from the landscapes. Many of these lessons can’t be learned in any other way except at twelve miles an hour along a country road or a rails-­to-­trails path. I begin to wonder, How could I share this experience with my students? What new learning could there be in a community sharing in the hardships of a challenge? In 2016, I biked the Great Allegheny Passage with some friends, and I quickly realized that with its gentle grades, beautiful vistas, and historic sites, this would be the perfect ride for my students to have a real learning adventure. They would be challenged, face hardships, build community, and learn some important stories about our nation’s history.

The Trip The Great Allegheny Passage and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal together form a largely uninterrupted 350 mile pathway connecting Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. The path—sometimes asphalt, sometimes crushed limestone, sometimes muddy and root-­strewn two-­track— guides travelers past the hulking relics of the rustbelt; through thick, cool forests and high-­walled ancient canyons; past caves; along rushing rivers; past famous battlefields and forgotten graveyards; through small towns; across long viaducts and aqueducts; and through tunnels dug and blasted by those hungry-­eyed immigrants who stared at you from the pages of your high school history textbook. For me and six students, this would be our world for ten days in June.

Hardships You can travel by car on the interstate between Pittsburgh and Washington, DC, in around four hours. So, why would one exchange air conditioning and a plush reclining seat for ten days sweating on a bicycle? A simple answer might be to experience some difficulties. A complex answer would be that 4

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this trail through the woods addresses a desperate and growing need—especially among our youth—for experiences that challenge us to surrender, for a time, our insistence upon comfort, speed, novelty, distraction, certainty, and ease. We need to unplug, slow down, and depend upon a community in real time and in real space. We need to suffer a little bit. While it was nothing like the Oregon Trail (our trip had ice cream and nobody contracted dysentery), real hardships awaited the riders: sore bums, backs, legs, arms, and wrists (there were injuries and medical clinic visits); heat, cold, wind, and rain; bugs, bears (one imagined sighting), and snakes (definitely not imagined); flat tires, broken chains, snapped spokes, and bent rims; long miles between meals and tepid water in dirty bottles; and granola.

For a number of students, the hardships began after the first couple of miles because that’s as far as they’d ever ridden a bicycle continuously in any one direction. Most of these students had been socialized to believe that bicycles were for children, and as soon as state authorities permitted and their parents’ pocketbooks opened, they ditched two wheels for four and never looked back. The only adults they ever saw seriously riding were either wealthy, middle-­aged, lycra-­clad weekend speed warriors or those who were down on their luck. Their communities discouraged any thought of cycling in any daily practical manner. Far-­flung suburbs, high-­speed exurban roads with narrow shoulders, and poorly maintained sidewalks are very real structural barriers to anyone considering an alternative model of transportation. Our urban environments are so thoroughly designed for cars that it practically requires a trip to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, or Berlin to really understand it.

For others, the hardships awaited the evening of day one, when they experienced their first ever night in a tent. Others finally broke down days later, halfway through the sixty mile day. Exhausted and aching, they doubted they had it in them to finish the day’s ride. At the end of a long, hot Christian Educators Journal

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This trail through the woods addresses a desperate and growing need—especially among our youth—for experiences which challenge us to surrender, for a time, our insistence upon comfort, speed, novelty, distraction, certainty, and ease.

James stared long and silently at the old-­timey hand-­pumped water fountain in the middle of our rustic campground.

Finally he spoke: “Everything is so hard.”

day, one rider, James, stared long and silently at the old-­timey hand-­pumped water fountain in the middle of our rustic campground. Finally he spoke: “Everything is so hard.” James was right. However, by the end of our week in the woods, all the students confidently shrugged at the news of our last day’s twenty miler, and barely registered the five mile rides between the restored historic canal lockhouse, which was our home for three days, and downtown Washington, DC.

Hardships Build Community Our days would start and end with someone building a fire. The fire was built not because we needed it for cooking or heat, but because there’s something deeply comforting in the glow and crackle of flames. We’d make our breakfast, brew coffee, discuss our aches and pains, and compare theories about the noises we heard just beyond the tent walls. While the students munched on their bagels and poked at the fire, I read the daily devotions.

The following is from the first morning on the trail: Starting big, important endeavors is scary sometimes. You’re excited, you want to get going, but there is this shadow looming, and you don’t know what or who is casting it. This shadow can resemble a memory of a recent failure, it can take the shape of an as-­yet-­to-­be-­realized fear, or it can be just an amorphous blob of malaise, an unspecified funk you just can’t shake.

You want to be bold, but what if it all comes crashing down?

Today we start our first full day of riding, and questions abound: What’s down the trail? Will I make it? Will I be able to move tomorrow? Might a bear eat me? We have these and other questions, and we crave certainty. We want it to be like a movie: we can enjoy the tension and suspense of the hero in a tricky spot because we know they’ve already filmed the sequel. The Bible is full of stories of people dogged by shadows in their lives, who nevertheless acted boldly in trying situations: Moses and the Red Sea; Esther raising her voice in the halls of power; Peter taking his watery walk; Paul, jailed, shipwrecked, and flogged. These individuals were deeply flawed and weak in their own ways. Moses was “slow of tongue” and a murderer; Esther was an orphan and an exile, not to mention a woman in a man’s world; Peter was temperamental; and Paul had his thorn. One of the great encouragements that I’ve taken from the Bible are examples like these: the countless stumbling, pathetic, and hopeless people that God has used to work his will.

So we don’t know what’s down the trail, but we do know these things: we will help and encourage one another along the way, and the God of the universe will guide us along this and every other path we take.

One of the great encouragements that I’ve taken from the Bible are examples like these: the countless stumbling, pathetic, and hopeless people that God has used to work his will.

After breakfast we would break camp, strap our gear to the bikes, and slowly roll down the path. I encouraged the riders to spend some hours of the day in silence—no earbuds, no music, no talking, just pedaling, just being alone in the woods, not knowing exactly what was ahead. Most of the miles were spent in various combinations of conversations. We would take turns at the front, leaders dictating where and when the stops would be. Though I knew the route well, I wanted the students to make some of the discoveries.

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We found caves, dilapidated buildings, abandoned railroad bridges, and neglected graveyards. And lots of snakes. Why are there so many snakes!?

As we rode, I would check in on the riders one by one. As the days and miles accumulated, I learned more and more about each one. These were all students of mine in a classroom five hundred miles away in a leafy suburb of Chicago. I had known many of them for years and one for well over a decade. I knew their parents and siblings. But as we rode, I realized that all that time spent together in a classroom was not really much more than an introduction to who they are. As we pedaled, I heard of struggles with peers; deep concerns for friends, parents, and siblings; and questions about the future. This was not planned, but I knew it would happen. It happens because heightened realities practically demand a bearing of one’s soul.

The hardships of the ride were matched by countless moments of joy and wonder. Of course, they were often related. The pains played an important role in the pleasures. Cold water from a handpump in the middle of the woods on a blistering afternoon is as close a taste of heaven as we’re likely to get. At one point, there was a bend in the trail by a railroad bridge, an outcropping of rock that tempted toward a cool pool below. We spent an hour jumping into the water, enjoying a paradise—that is, until a snake swam by, sending the kids screaming back to the rocky shore. Isn’t it just like snakes to spoil an Eden? Much of the time we rode side by side, telling funny stories, singing, and pointing out the interesting features of our ever-­ changing surroundings.

As we rode, I realized that all that time spent together in a classroom was not really much more than an introduction to who they are.

Community Shapes Learning A day would end with a debrief around a fire. How were we feeling? What did we see? Some days there was a lot to talk about and process: our visit to the Antietam battlefield, our walk around Harpers Ferry, that Amish-­ish group of young rolling evangelists (holy rollers?), all with plastic kitty litter containers bolted to their front and rear tires (why didn’t I think of that!).

Other evenings were much more quiet and reflective. Some of us poked silently at the fire; others noticed satellites passing overhead.

Everyone was excited for the last day’s ride. As we approached the outskirts of DC, the trail conditions improved dramatically, and the Potomac River, which had been a languid feature on our right for days, now burst into a boiling frenzy at Great Falls. I knew of one more surprise coming up as we rushed toward our finish. I eagerly waited for their shouts of recognition as we rounded a corner and there rose in the distance the Washington Monument. We spent three days exploring the city by bike, going to all the museums, monuments, and memorials. We got ice cream. We were a tight band now—easily sharing, conversing, learning together, rolling through the city confidently like we had a special claim. On our last day, we packed our gear on the bus and drove back to Chicago. The riders fell into a deep sleep, waking hours after we had passed our Pittsburgh starting point ten days prior. All that space and time collapsed as we sped along the interstate.

Most of what I’ve learned throughout my life was learned sitting in a chair with a book. This is as effective and efficient a way of passing the torch as we’ve come up with. In contrast, this trip, with its deliberate slowness and focus on relationships, was reflective of an ancient model: the peripatetic Christian Educators Journal

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Most of what I’ve learned throughout my life was learned sitting in a chair with a book. In contrast, this trip, with its deliberate slowness and focus on relationships, was reflective of an ancient model: the peripatetic way of Socrates, Aristotle, Jesus.

way of Socrates, Aristotle, Jesus. Our frenetic culture hurries us along to make the most efficient use of our 24/7. This trip was about slowing down, spending valuable time learning and listening in an older way. The daily grind of the pedals connected to the chain and gears connected to the tires, which propel us along the path, provides an easy metaphor for our lives.

Sometimes the path is smooth and the pedaling effortless. Other times, not so much. All the while we’re heading somewhere interesting, good, and honoring to God. Christian Altena teaches United States history and government at the Potter’s House High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He calculates that over his twenty-­ eight year career, he has biked over fifty thousand miles between his home and various classrooms in Vancouver, BC, Chicago, and Grand Rapids.

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UNTIL ALL IS MADE NEW

Two Weeks in January: The Challenges and Benefits of Student Travel BRIAN KARSTEN

Two Travel Stories

Hours of police reports, a missed tour, and many suppressed curse words

As a fairly new, still-­unmarried teacher nearly twenty years ago, I was ecstatic when offered the chance to help chaperone a theater trip to New York City. Getting away at that time was easy, and there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to see Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, and The Lion King, along with the chance to (for the first time) walk through Central Park, see the Statue of Liberty, and more. I excitedly packed, thinking of all the cool sights and experiences ahead of me.

Years later, I still have fond memories of the three productions, but I don’t remember much of the rest of the itinerary. What I do remember is the hour-­long conversations with students about what superpower we would choose and why, the five pounds of fortune cookies one senior boy purchased and shared with us for days after a visit to Chinatown, and the incredibly awkward experience of taking a group of students to the not-­ so-­appropriate production of 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee after waking up at five in the morning for rush seating.

A few years later, I was again excited to be offered the chance to chaperone—this time, it was a June trip to London. Two of my English colleagues were the trip leaders, but they wanted a third (and male) chaperone, and I was fortunate enough to tag along. I expected a repeat of my last experience—building relationships with students while seeing Buckingham Palace, the Globe Theatre, and Stratford-­upon-­Avon. My biggest concerns centered around travel logistics, such as navigating customs and the Tube with highschoolers. This was my first school trip overseas.

It was also my first time in a police cruiser. And my first time in an English police station, and my first time filing police reports. One of our students—against all of our pre-­trip suggestions—packed, and then had stolen from him, thousands of dollars of electronics, including a laptop, an iPad, an expensive Canon camera, and Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. Hours of police reports, a missed tour, and many suppressed curse words later, I was second guessing the notion of ever traveling with students again.

later, I was second guessing the notion of ever traveling with students again.

The Challenges of Student Travel Since those first two trips, I’ve had the opportunity to chaperone and lead other student trips. I’ve floated on the Dead Sea with students and visited the Jamaican Deaf Village, and I now oversee our school’s Winterim program.

Winterim is a two-­week mini-­semester in January that allows students to 10

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take a specialized course on campus (e.g., Fun with Physics, Watercolor Painting, Youth Police Academy), do an internship in the community (with veterinarians, cosmetologists, or lawyers), or take domestic and international trips led by staff members.

In the past three years alone, we’ve sent student groups to Vietnam, Australia, Oman, the Grand Canyon, Kenya, France, and many more destinations. In just those three years, over six hundred students have chosen to travel. When speaking to parents and students, I almost always mention that our school’s Winterim program has now sent students to six of seven continents. (We’ve been to Patagonia, but Antarctica has yet to be proposed.)

The feedback on the trips is amazing, as students have life-­changing experiences.

But in those same meetings, I always also speak to some of the downsides of student travel. I try to be open and honest about how our offerings don’t always go exactly as planned, and I hear about how they aren’t initially received by all with the same positivity.

Cost and equity are the first major concerns that come to mind when it comes to student travel. And it’s a rising concern—literally and figuratively.

When we started our Winterim program fourteen years ago, trip leaders felt that, for a trip to have a chance at success, it needed to stay under $3,000. In a post-­pandemic world, our trip leaders have a difficult time keeping international trips under $4,000, and we have had trips over $5,500. This becomes a major hurdle for families that want to give their students these opportunities, and it can also divide a community, creating a line between those that can afford to travel and those that can’t.

We have tried to address these concerns in a variety of ways. Our school, when starting Winterim, intentionally budgeted for financial aid for Winterim travelers. And in the past few years, we have had some generous donors (several of whom are parents whose students benefited from the program) create an endowment that allows us to grant scholarships to some travelers that apply. For schools that may not have the same accessibility to resources, the travel company EF Tours can set up a points program for your school (normally reserved for trip leaders) that allows programs to earn scholarship dollars that make travel accessible to students who might not otherwise have the ability to afford it. And lastly, we let our ninth graders (who aren’t eligible to travel) know that it’s a part of our program that they can plan for. Many of our students wait until their senior year to travel, giving them three years’ worth of part-­time jobs to earn enough money to travel before they graduate.

The other major concern with student travel is the headache that bringing teenagers anywhere can generate. Like the young man on my London trip, students don’t always make great life choices. He disregarded all of our advice and paid the price (or at least his insurance provider did) for bringing valuables with him unnecessarily. Other students over the years have made various poor decisions. From theft to vaping to alcohol consumption to the group of senior girls who thought getting tattoos while in Brazil was a good idea, traveling with students can bring with it a host of frustrations. Although there will always be students that push the limits, having clear policy and following through on consequences when problems do arise is key. We work hard to explain that travel is a privilege and not a right, we don’t offer travel opportunities to students that have already shown they aren’t responsible enough, and Christian Educators Journal

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In the past three years alone, we’ve sent student groups to Vietnam, Australia, Oman, the Grand Canyon, Kenya, France, and many more destinations.

Cost becomes a major hurdle for families that want to give their students these opportunities.

Although there will always be students that push the limits, having clear policy and following through on consequences when problems do arise is key.

when students surprise us with poor behavior on trips, we try to support leaders with follow through on consequences. Students have lost privileges for the remainder of the trip, lost privileges when they return home, and have even been sent home midway through their trip at their parents’ expense.

The Benefits of Student Travel

“What I gained from this trip was not only a deeper understanding of Kenyan culture, but also insight into the similarities of people around the world that make us human.”

Similarly, our Spanish students have been able to speak Spanish in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Spain.

Our French students have ordered food in Paris and Nice.

At Grand Rapids Christian High School, one of our aims is to create “Lifelong Learners” who are “prepared to live a life of discovery and wonder in God’s world” (“Portrait of a Graduate”). And although that happens in our regular classes, student travel takes it much further. Students have the opportunity to experience things they would normally only read about.

Last year, we had a small group of students travel to Kenya. In post-­ Winterim evaluations, one student on that trip responded, “In my journey, alongside other activities, I observed a variety of animals in a safari visit, served at an elementary school in the Kibera slum, met and hiked with village elders through the mountains, and was blessed with a first-­hand experience of what life in Nairobi, Kenya, looks like. What I gained from this trip was not only a deeper understanding of Kenyan culture, but also insight into the similarities of people around the world that make us human.” Although we try to instill some of this in our students through world literature or social studies classes, the experience of being there undoubtedly makes a stronger mark. Another student affirmed this in her reflection: “I don’t just want to be a tourist in a foreign country, but I want to taste their food, I want to participate in their traditions, I want to see the beauty of their landscapes and of their wildlife, and most of all, I want to truly experience the diversity of this world.”

Some of that learning is discipline specific as well. The Jamaican Deaf Village trip I mentioned earlier is a perfect complement to the American Sign Language courses we offer. In her application for that trip last year, one student explained, “The one time I was able to use sign to talk with someone outside of school, I was so excited! I had a whole conversation with another hearing individual who also spoke sign language! I can only imagine how cool it will be when I can sign with individuals who are hearing-­ impaired! I know I will learn more from them than I could in a classroom. I can’t wait to see what they teach me!” Similarly, our Spanish students have been able to speak Spanish in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Spain.

Our French students have ordered food in Paris and Nice.

And it doesn’t end with our world language students. We have history teachers leading World War 2 trips across Europe, theater teachers (like the one I traveled with to New York) heading to Broadway and London’s West End for workshops and shows, and science teachers taking students to the Galapagos Islands and Australia. After the latter, one student reflected, “The things that I experienced/saw were once in a lifetime. I was able to snorkel at a coral reef and see a green sea turtle in the wild! That in itself is incredible.”

And although many of our students have traveled with family or will travel in college, many others are never granted or may never again get opportunities like the ones offered in Winterim. One of our scholarship recipients last year shared this as part of her application: “I have never traveled outside of the country, and the farthest that I have ever gone is Georgia.

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Because of this, I’ve never really been exposed to anywhere outside of my own culture and comfort zone, and I am very hopeful that I can use this as an opportunity to learn and grow.” And another scholarship recipient shared this in his application: “In my family, the trips we take almost always include staying with a relative or with one of my parents’ friends. This has really limited our travel options, so I’ve only been able to get out of the country once, but that one time was the most amazing and impactful trip of my life.”

Students may one day travel to Europe or spend time in a Mexican resort for their honeymoon, but it’s unlikely they’ll get to experience those countries in the same guided way they do on a school trip. And they, more than likely, will never book family vacations to Kenya, Vietnam, or Oman.

Plus, they will never again have an opportunity to travel with a group of their peers in the same way. This points to the final, and perhaps most important, benefit of student travel: community. Post-­travel reflections consistently highlight the value that Winterim travel has in bringing our community together. Students often sign up initially with a small group of friends, but by the end of the trip, that group expands to all involved. One student explains, “I really enjoyed the sense of community that was made throughout the whole group, and that it wasn’t just a bunch of small groups separately.” Another student shares a similar experience after a trip, but adds how those relationships extended to the leaders as well: “The people on this trip made it awesome. I love all of the inside jokes we were able to share and how we were able to grow together over the course of the two weeks. It was a lot of time spent together, but I don’t think I got really sick of anybody by the end of the trip. I also appreciated the relationships I was able to build with the teachers and the way I was able to get to know them outside of the classroom.” Much like my NYC experience as a young teacher, travel often becomes more about who students are traveling with than where they are traveling. One last evaluation captures this succinctly: “I was able to return home with not only souvenirs but also nine new friends that I traveled with.”

Student travel isn’t always perfect. Over the past several years, we’ve needed to rebook flights, deal with a student quarantined in the Dominican Republic, negotiate student breakups mid-­trip, and handle many other unexpected and less-­than-­ideal scenarios. But we’ve also had students discover their calling, find lifelong friends (and, on at least two occasions, future spouses), and create memories and understandings that last a lifetime.

Whether your school has an established program for student travel or you’re a classroom teacher looking into options to expand your curriculum, student travel is worth the challenges and filled with benefits.

Work Cited “Portrait of a Graduate.” Grand Rapids Christian Schools, 11 March 2021, https://www.grcs.org/about-­us/handbooks/handbook-­details/~board/ handbooks/post/portrait-­of-­a-­graduate. Accessed 2 December 2024.

Brian Karsten has taught English in Christian high schools in Canada and the US since 2003 and has moved into a part-time administrative role at GRCHS where he oversees their Winterim and Summer Session programs.

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Students may one day travel to Europe or spend time in a Mexican resort for their honeymoon, but it’s unlikely they’ll get to experience those countries in the same guided way they do on a school trip.

“I was able to return home with not only souvenirs but also nine new friends that I traveled with.”

Experiencing the Wonder of BC: A Full-­ School Experiential Educational Approach CHRIS STEENHOF

T We live in a beautiful part of the world, and students often engage in outdoor experiences, such as multi-­day hikes, canoe trips, and winter camping.

his fall my school, Bulkley Valley Christian School (BVCS), embarked on a new approach to experiential learning. Our plan involved sending each grade on a different experiential trip for the first full week of school. Our school has a rich history of ensuring that all grades are involved in experiential learning through various experiences and trips. We live in a beautiful part of the world, and students often engage in outdoor experiences, such as multi-­day hikes, canoe trips, and winter camping. Sometimes classes or groups have explored different parts of our province, such as Barkerville, a heritage site celebrating a mining town from the Cariboo gold rush, or the historical site of Fort St. James. We intentionally coordinate these trips to engage in them collectively and purposefully.

Our school is guided by our GROW acronym (Grace, Respect, Ownership, Wonder). Each year we focus on one word of the acronym, with this year’s focus being wonder. We felt there was no better way to experience the awe and wonder of our Heavenly Father’s creation than to explore the beautiful province we live in. This article will explain our vision, our plan, and the trips we took last year, as well as our reflections on them, so that we can benefit other educators and schools as they walk their journey of integrating experiential education opportunities into their programs.

Our Vision

These experiences build relationships between and among students, staff members, parent chaperones, and members of the wider community.

Our school has been guided by a conviction that experiential trips are an essential part of our program. We do not view them as “extra-­curricular” or an addition to our academic and non-­academic offerings. Instead, we believe these trips allow us to fulfill our mission as a Christian school to powerfully encounter the diversity of creation. Romans 1 tells us that it is through God’s creation that we fully know his “invisible attributes” (1:20). We embrace the definition of creation that encompasses both the physical world and the unlimited creativity God has gifted human beings with, readily evident in many aspects of culture, such as music and the dramatic arts.

While this connection to our vision is central to our rationale, we also understand the many positive impacts that experiential educational opportunities have on students and school culture. These experiences build relationships between and among students, staff members, parent chaperones, and members of the wider community. A recent book called Reclaiming Our Students suggests that these relationships are important to all students, but especially those who struggle with anxiety, aggression, and passivity (Beach and Neufeld-­Strijack). Research also demonstrates that experiential 14

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education helps students be more engaged with their school, triggers identity formation, and fosters higher-­level thinking and reflection (Eyler 24– 26). At a time when some schools and districts are moving toward standardization or a more rigid curriculum, experiential education opportunities are even more important. At BVCS, feedback from students and parents through the last number of years has demonstrated the positive impact of experiential education on the lives of our students.

Our Plan When we decided last spring to send all our students out during the same week to a variety of different locations, our desire was an extension of trips that already had a rich history at our school. We also realized by engaging in these trips simultaneously that we could be more intentional and purposeful in our approach. We wanted to incorporate the following elements into nearly every trip: • A significant outdoor component due to our location and the beauty and physical diversity of our province • Purposeful community-­building activities, including self-­reflection and group discussion • A service component and/or an emphasis on the transformative nature of the experience • Significant emphasis on relationships between students, between students and teachers/parent chaperones, and between students and the community

The Trips • Our grade 8 class went on a multi-­day camping trip to a beautiful basin close to our community. Students spent two days planning the trip together, including meals, packing lists, and safety information. The trip involved multiple hikes, community-­building activities, devotional times, and various outdoor activities.

• Our grade 9 class spent the week on a variety of outdoor activities. They went rock climbing on the side of an incredible canyon, spent a day on a major hike, and spent two days at a Bible camp engaging in a service project and participating in several outdoor activities.

• Our grade 10 class traveled to the Nisga’a nation territory in northwest British Columbia, an area rich in history with vast areas of land covered with lava from a volcano that erupted several hundred years ago. The group spent the week camping, learning about Nisga’a history and culture, hiking to the cone of the volcano, and engaging in several outdoor activities.

• Our grade 11 class traveled to Vancouver to engage in arts-­related activities, including attending a Broadway play, the Vancouver Fringe Festival, and the Bard on the Beach Festival. The group also completed the Grouse Grind (a 1–2 hour fitness test up the side of a mountain), boated through the waters around Vancouver, and spent a morning Christian Educators Journal

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We also realized by engaging in these trips simultaneously that we could be more intentional and purposeful in our approach.

volunteering at the Fraser Valley Gleaners, a charity that makes food for developing countries.

• Our grade 12 class spent five days on Haida Gwaii, a remote and beautiful island off the west coast of British Columbia. Students learned about the Haida culture through museum visits and various tours, connected with students from a local school, and took a zodiac boat trip to an ancient Haida village.

After all the trips, students spent time reflecting on their experiences in small groups and written assignments. Students also engaged in structured discussions and presented their trips to other grades. A small group of students shared a presentation with the parent community at a school society meeting.

Our Reflections

One area that stood out was the many examples of meaningful engagement students had with members of the various communities they encountered.

Together, these experiences cultivated empathy, purpose, and a desire to live thoughtfully and impactfully in the world.

In listening to the reflections and observations from students, parents, and teachers, it was clear that not only did we meet our objectives through these experiences, but there were also some unexpected benefits of the trips.

These benefits supported the research regarding the impact of experiential education referenced earlier in the article. One area that stood out was the many examples of meaningful engagement students had with members of the various communities they encountered. For instance, students had thoughtful conversations with seniors at the Gleaners and with First Nations tour guides, and they forged relationships with students from different schools.

Another theme that emerged from these reflections was how these shared experiences encouraged stronger peer relationships and community building. Students also connected with parent chaperones, to whom we purposefully gave opportunities to share and reflect with students. After our grade 11 group drove through the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, an area marked by extreme poverty and homelessness, a parent was able to share her reflections as a Christian on drug addiction, prostitution, and human brokenness, which was very impactful on our students. Through the shared challenge of a rock climbing experience, students developed stronger relationships, as they encouraged one another, built trust, and celebrated their collective achievement.

Many of the experiences that students were able to participate in were transformative in nature. Understanding the history and culture of the Haida people, learning about food challenges in developing countries, and listening to professional actors speak passionately about their craft expanded the perspective of students, sometimes challenging their assumptions and worldviews. Keji Jada, a grade 12 student, reflected on her experience in this way: “All the different things we did on this trip helped me connect with the Haida people and culture in a very powerful way.” Together, these experiences cultivated empathy, purpose, and a desire to live thoughtfully and impactfully in the world.

Our reflections also included ideas on how to improve the trips organizationally and to strengthen the connection between the trips and the objectives we had established beforehand. Setting more time for purposeful 16

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reflection and follow-­up learning after the trips is something we plan to incorporate in the future. Going forward, we are also committed to finding more obvious connections to the courses students will be taking during the year.

Overall, these trips allowed students to experience the wonder of God’s world, our deepest hope for this initiative. From the profound allure of the physical world in the landscapes of Haida Gwaii and the volcanic terrain of Nisga’a territory to the impressive talent of actors performing Twelfth Night and Come from Away, students experienced the awesome complexity and wonder of the creation, contributing to a deepening appreciation of God’s character and goodness.

Works Cited Beach, Hannah, and Tamara Neufeld Strijack. Reclaiming Our Students: Why Children Are More Anxious, Aggressive, and Shut Down Than Ever—and What We Can Do About It. Page Two, 2020.

Eyler, J. “The Power of Experiential Education.” Liberal Education, vol. 95, no. 4, 2009, pp. 24–31.

Chris Steenhof is the principal of Bulkley Valley Christian School and was able to lead and enjoy one of these amazing trips. This article and the success of the other trips would not have been possible without the lead teachers of the various experiences: James Horner, Julie Monn-­Djasngar, Emily Stolte, Amelia Weme, Wes Boonstra, and Tara Corneau.

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An Invitation to Be Part of a Better Story JONATHAN BOONE AND TARA CORNEAU

I

Out of a desire to make the learning more meaningful and to confront students’ assumptions and unhealthy stereotypes about Indigenous people, a five-­day, four-­ night field trip to Haida Gwaii was hastily put together.

magine a nutrition class that never baked, a science class that never conducted experiments, or a drama class that never performed a play. All of us would certainly raise an eyebrow and wonder about the rationale behind the lack of creativity and planning on the teacher’s part. The same could be said for a grade 12 social studies class about First Peoples* that never left the comforts of the classroom to venture out into an Indigenous community for an extended period of time. This was the driving rationale behind a field trip that was originally created in the spring of 2004. At that time, Jonathan was teaching a new provincial course at Bulkley Valley Christian School (BVCS) in Smithers, BC, called BC First Nations Studies 12. Out of a desire to make the learning more meaningful and to confront students’ assumptions and unhealthy stereotypes about Indigenous people, a five-­day, four-­ night field trip to Haida Gwaii was hastily put together.

In 2004, this island archipelago approximately one hundred kilometers off the north coast of British Columbia was still known by its colonized name, the Queen Charlotte Islands. As this first-­time field trip took part over a long weekend and was presented as an extracurricular option, only a small group of six courageous students and one other supervising adult signed up. There was a lot of trepidation in that first trip: how would these students from a homogenous background react to being an ethnic minority within their own province? Would they be good ambassadors of their school? Of their own community? Of Jesus? Would the Haida people they met even welcome them in the first place?

Thankfully, the success of that trial run led to the course becoming a permanent course offering at BVCS, and the success of that first field trip to Haida Gwaii (officially renamed in 2010 when the Haida nation ceremonially gave the colonial misnomer back to the provincial government) led it to become a significant component of the same course. So despite the initial trepidation, the field trip was a success, and the next year, nearly the entire class signed up for a longer, more demanding field trip. Tara Corneau has recently taken over the teaching of this course at BVCS and has successfully led the same field trip several times. The testimonies of students about its life-­changing impact on them continue to be a common theme, as students wrestle with how they shall now live out their Christian faith in light of what they learned and experienced during their time on Haida Gwaii.

* A note about terminology: the phrase “First Peoples” has become the accepted term when referring to more than one Indigenous people group within British Columbia.

Wherever possible, the specific First Peoples’ name for themselves should be used.

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Adapting the Haida Gwaii Experience In 2017, as part of his graduate studies in education at Dordt University, Jonathan adapted this same trip to be an opportunity for BC Christian school educators to have an Indigenous place-­based professional development learning experience. Each trip has included a wide range of Christian school educators from diverse backgrounds: seasoned administrators, educational assistants, veteran classroom teachers, newly graduated teachers still looking for their first placement, and those from both urban and rural school settings. Some of these educators had never traveled within the province outside of the greater Vancouver area, and remarkably, some had never met an Indigenous person to the best of their knowledge. What each educator has had in common is a commitment to learn about, from, and with Indigenous people so they can in turn help write a better story for those entrusted to their care within their own educational settings.

These trips for educators not only provided Jonathan with the data he needed to complete his graduate studies, but they more importantly helped satisfy the growing desire among Christian school educators to learn about Indigenous ways of being and knowing so that they in turn can be better equipped themselves as Christian educators and leaders.

The Case for Place-­Based Education This growing desire to expand our understanding of Indigenous people complements a larger movement within British Columbia and within Canada to come to grips with our country’s colonial history and historic mistreatment of Indigenous people. Ultimately, this movement toward Christian Educators Journal

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Some of these educators had never traveled within the province outside of the greater Vancouver area, and remarkably, some had never met an Indigenous person to the best of their knowledge.

Seeking justice for Indigenous people becomes part of their Christian identity and a part of their own relationship with Jesus.

reconciliation with the Indigenous people of Canada challenges the dominant settler narrative of who we are and how this country came to be. The dominant narrative has deep roots and has shaped generations of Canadians and many institutions—including Christian schools. As one might imagine, challenging dominant narratives is not easy; there is always resistance as students (and their parents) and educators wrestle not only with seeing things from a different perspective but also with the implications of what this new perspective might entail. A paradigm shift then becomes necessary, and out of that shift, they find that seeking justice for Indigenous people becomes part of their Christian identity and a part of their own relationship with Jesus. Christian educators naturally wrestle with how to help students see things from a better, more culturally aware perspective. While conventional pedagogies and learning activities within a classroom certainly help achieve this target, a field trip to Haida Gwaii becomes an effective, sometimes life-­changing opportunity for students and educators to begin to see things in a new way and to join in God’s story of “making all things new.”

Traveler Testimonies Consider these quotations from some of the students and educators who have taken part in this place-­based learning experience.

Keji: Haida Gwaii is a very special place, and you realize that as soon as you get there. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and the Haida culture is also extremely rich.

It was very cool to see that the Haida are so in touch with their culture, especially the young tour guides. Everyone we met there had this close attention to detail that we often lack, and in that, I really think they reflected Christ.

Paul: “This trip not only introduced me to another culture but also inspired me to learn more about my own lineage, as I saw the power and importance of

​​ e grade 12 trip to Haida Gwaii exposed me to the beauty of a thriving and Th vibrant culture. Walking through and learning about the way of life that these First Nations have lived and preserved through the years was amazing.

I admired totem poles carved from beautiful cedar, walked through thick wooded forests, and sat to listen to ancient stories passed down through generations. This trip not only introduced me to another culture but also inspired me to learn more about my own lineage, as I saw the power and importance of it through the people of Haida Gwaii.

it through the people of

Eden:

Haida Gwaii.”

I am so grateful that our class had the opportunity to explore and experience the beauty of Haida land and culture. The morning we arrived on Haida Gwaii and watched the beautiful sunrise at Balance Rock, I knew it would be an unforgettable trip, and I still feel that way. I loved learning about the old ways and traditions of the Haida people from all of our tour guides throughout the trip because they beautifully displayed the continuous resilience and pride of the Haida Nation.

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Olivia: In September of 2021 I visited Haida Gwaii with my grad class; this was the most influential trip I have been on. We were warmly welcomed, and it was evident that we were going to be well-­fed, well-­guided, and well-­provided for with priceless knowledge of the Haida culture directly from Indigenous influence. A particularly powerful moment was being led through the forest to an ancient tree that was intended to be carved into a canoe but was left incomplete because of the smallpox epidemic—an experience that left me honored by the people’s willingness to share it with us. I think so highly of the passionate, dedicated individuals we met who choose to share, care for, respect, and fight for their culture.

Janessa: Reconciliation requires not just right relationships between settlers and Indigenous communities but also a recognition that Indigenous knowledge is not just important but necessary for living in and stewarding this broken land. Climate justice, peace, and reconciliation cannot happen without Indigenous knowledge—and we need to listen. This is what I learned from being on Haida Gwaii and meeting Haida people.

Amy:

“Climate justice, peace, and reconciliation cannot happen without Indigenous knowledge— and we need to listen.

This is what I learned

If Christian educators want to teach authentically, we need to actually go to Indigenous people. The Haida responded to us and welcomed us with openness. Going to them to build relationships was the most important thing to me; simply meeting people and having open conversations helped me appreciate who they are and how they see the world.

from being on Haida Gwaii and meeting Haida people.”

Darren: Reconciliation has to be the new way of being for all of us, and especially for Christians. Learning from and learning with the Haida means there has to be a relationship. And that’s the hardest thing, because relationships take time. Christians are called to especially pursue marginalized groups as Jesus did, and we need to recognize that, because they are marginalized, earning their trust will not be easy. It will take time.

Trip Itinerary and Experiences Although some of the organizational details around the trip have changed over the last twenty years, the original goal still stands: creating a place-­ based opportunity for students and educators to meet Indigenous people so they can grow in their understanding and appreciation of Indigenous ways of being and knowing.

While touring the Haida Cultural Centre, students and educators are invited to wander through the history of the Haida nation in exhibits that explore pre-­contact and post-­contact history. The entrance between the pre-­contact and post-­contact exhibits is a photograph that is ripped in two, Christian Educators Journal

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The entrance between the pre-­contact and post-­contact exhibits is a photograph that is ripped in two, representing the feeling of having been torn from traditional ways of being.

representing the feeling of having been torn from traditional ways of being.

Many times students and educators have been found staring at the photograph before crossing into the post-­contact space with a new awareness of the weightiness of colonization. The post-­contact space tells a sad story— one in which the Haida Nation lost thousands of people to smallpox, could no longer live spread throughout the archipelago due to loss of life, and were no longer allowed to participate in their vibrant and culturally rich ways of life. And yet, each year, as our young Haida tour guides journey with us through the museum and outdoors to the towering totem poles and the beautifully created cedar canoes, our students and educators are struck by the healthy pride and resilience of the Haida. Through interactions with the Haida at the Cultural Centre, students and educators have been impacted by the confidence of our tour guides, often not much older than the students 24

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themselves, and in reflection comment about how the young guides represent their cultural heritage so beautifully and self-­assuredly.

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, only accessible by boat and by permission of the Haida nation, has multiple heritage sites to explore, but perhaps most visited is Ku’una Llnagaay. Ku’una, formally known by its colonized name, Skedans, is an ancient Haida village with a sordid history of theft by colonizers. Emily Carr, in the 1920s, while the Indian Act imposed its most violent policies against Indigenous peoples of Canada, famously painted the totem poles at the village site. Ironically, at the time, the traditional art of Haida people was most celebrated when painted by a white settler. The tension of being thankful that Carr’s art allowed the Haida nation’s cultural traditions to be recognized by settlers, while also being devastated that their people’s cultural artifacts were only counted as significant after having been painted by a settler during this time period, is felt while on tour with the watchmen at Ku’una. Haida watchmen, traditionally posted at village sites to warn of oncoming danger, now serve as keepers and guides at various village sites on Haida Gwaii, and our students and Christian educators count it as one of the most memorable experiences of their field trip.

Not only is the journey through Gwaii Haanas one that is a celebration of creation, but it is one in which students and educators see firsthand the longstanding history of Indigenous people on these islands. It gives them the perspective to recognize their fairly short-­lived existence on these lands and the opportunity to be thankful to the people who have stewarded our nation with intelligence and thoughtfulness long before it was confederated. Students and educators leave Ku’una with the knowledge that European colonizers were not more cultured or civilized than the Haida nation—which perhaps had been a part of the narrative they had previously believed. Instead, students and educators witness the vibrancy of the culture, recognize the powerful social organization within the clans, and appreciate the celebration of generosity so apparent within Indigenous communities.

This generosity is also apparent as students and educators meet with Haidi artisans and knowledge keepers in their homes, carving sheds, art galleries, and businesses. Time seems to slow down in these moments as the Haida carefully explain to our Christian school students and educators their art, their carvings, their oral histories, their deep connection to these islands, and their tireless struggle for justice. In short, our students and these educators are being introduced to a perspective and way of being that “un-­ settlers” them.

Having each had the opportunity to travel with students and educators on many field trips to Haida Gwaii, we, Jonathan and Tara, can each reflect on Mr. Beaver’s comment in C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when Mr. Beaver is asked if Aslan is safe: “Safe?” said Mr Beaver. . . . “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good” (chap. 7). In the same way, we are convinced that a Christian education—and a field trip to Haida Gwaii for Christian school students and educators, in particular— ought not to be safe, but it ought to be good. If this premise is true, then it follows that a good Christian education and field trip ought to be one that invites Christian students and educators to be part of a better story that compels them to be ambassadors of reconciliation.

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Ku’una, formally known by its colonized name, Skedans, is an ancient Haida village with a sordid history of theft by colonizers.

Time seems to slow down in these moments as the Haida carefully explain to our Christian school students and educators their art, their carvings, their oral histories, their deep connection to these islands, and their tireless struggle for justice.

Work Cited Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia. New York, Collier, 1970.

Jonathan Boone is the vice principal at Vernon Christian School, and lives in Vernon, BC, home of the Syilx people since time immemorial. He is passionate about experiential learning that disrupts the status quo and about helping Christian schools do good work toward reconciliation with Indigenous people.

Tara Corneau is a high school teacher at Bulkley Valley Christian School in Smithers, BC, the ancestral unceded territories of the Wet’suwet’en people. She is convinced that Christian education should empower students to be agents of reconciliation within their communities as they are called to love justice, seek mercy, and walk humbly alongside all peoples.

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Cultivating Inclusive Classrooms: Faith Expressions Field Trips for Teacher Candidates HEATHER BIRCH AND KRISTEN GOODMAN

A

s a Christian teacher education program, Tyndale’s bachelor of education includes a focus on faith and beliefs and how these impact who we are. This means we encourage all candidates to think about their faith and beliefs and how these impact us as people and as educators, and in turn, how this impacts learners. In courses, we facilitate discussions regarding matters of faith. As our program is open to anyone, regardless of faith background, and approximately half of our enrolled teacher candidates do not identify as Christian, this means that conversations about faith involve many perspectives and traditions. The Faith Expressions Field Trips, which take place as part of a course called Differentiated Instruction for Diverse Learners, are a means for us to emphasize the importance of faith, and ultimately honor the faith of K–12 learners in classrooms that our teacher candidates will end up teaching, especially when that faith may be different than their own.

The Faith Expressions Field Trips are an important component of our teacher education program, which is located within the urban landscape of Toronto. Within a one-mile radius of the university campus, there are ten different places of worship representing various faith traditions. These include a Buddhist temple, a Jewish synagogue, an Islamic mosque, a Zoroastrian temple, a Hindu mandir, and Christian churches, including Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox sites. Our teacher candidates, who themselves come from diverse faith backgrounds, participate in these field trips in order to learn about diverse religious perspectives through direct engagement with different faith communities. The primary objective of arranging these field trips is to help candidates be aware of and understand their future students’ various faith backgrounds, so they will be able to honor the diversity in their classrooms and differentiate student experiences when appropriate. Through meeting faith leaders, our candidates are directly introduced to different religious traditions and given insight into what each faith community would like teachers to understand about their children and their worldviews, values, customs, religious observances, and celebrations.

This empowers candidates to engage in culturally responsive approaches to their teaching that can facilitate an inclusive classroom environment.

Our teacher candidates, who themselves come from diverse faith backgrounds, participate in these field trips in order to learn about diverse religious perspectives through direct engagement with different faith communities.

The trips empower candidates to engage in culturally responsive approaches to their teach-

Planning and Organization

ing that can facilitate

Over the last fourteen years of conducting these Faith Expressions visits, we have developed a structured approach to planning and organizing.

First, we select faith sites to visit. In our context, we consider proximity to

environment.

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an inclusive classroom

our university and willingness of community leaders who have welcomed our teacher candidates in the past. We maintain a list of faith sites and the names of their community leaders, along with contact information.

Then we send email requests for faith leaders to host, in their place of worship, a group of six to eight teacher candidates who are interested in learning about the faith community and the children from that community.

As the active faith leaders may change each year, this email request includes the following contextual information: 1. an introduction to our university, with a brief description of the teacher education program and its purpose; 2. an explanation of the Faith Expressions component of the program, with the goal of teacher candidates honoring the faith and faith backgrounds of their students; 3. the official request to visit the faith community’s place of worship; 4. a description of the purpose of the visit, which is for candidates to learn about the faith and understand how to better serve students of that faith in educational settings; 5. an invitation for the faith leader to share a basic introduction to their faith; information about their community’s worldview, values, and customs; and an explanation of religious observances and celebrations, along with any potential accommodations that may be appreciated in school settings; 6. the proposed date and time for the visit; 7. an invitation for questions and further discussion; and 8. contact information for the course instructor and program director.

We have found a warm response across all of the faith communities so far, including Islamic, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, and Shri Swaminarayan communities.

We do not expect or assume that every place of worship will be willing or able to host our candidates, but we have found a warm response across all of the faith communities so far, including Islamic, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, and Shri Swaminarayan communities. We recently added the option for candidates to visit a Christian place of worship. While we did not previously offer this, more of our Muslim and Sikh candidates began to request an opportunity to speak to a Christian pastor or priest and to learn about how to support Christian students in their public school classrooms.

We have found that it is important to reach out well in advance and also to consider various religious holidays or significant faith days to ensure that we are not requesting a visit during one of these busy or sacred times. In addition, we have learned that it is necessary to be flexible in scheduling visits. Most visits can be scheduled during class meeting times, but some sites may not be available on specific days of the week. The visits are scheduled throughout a one-­week period, both during scheduled class times and on days off from class and after school times, which provides opportunities for teacher candidates who want to visit more than the one faith site that is required.

Upon hearing back from faith community leaders that they are willing to host our candidates, we engage in communication, either through email or by phone, to finalize the details. At that time, we ask if there are any protocols to be followed upon entering their place of worship. Some of these requests are around removal of shoes when entering places of worship or 28

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ensuring clothing covers arms, shoulders, knees, and hair for women in some locations. These expectations are shared with the candidates.

Preparing for the Learning In order to prepare for the Faith Expressions Field Trips, teacher candidates complete a series of tasks facilitated by the instructor of the course (Kristen). First, candidates read the policies of a few local school boards in order to deepen their knowledge of the types of religious accommodations teachers need to consider. Then, candidates consider the options for visiting a faith site and sign up to visit at least one site that is different from their own faith tradition.

The course instructor advises candidates that while they will likely be given the opportunity to ask questions and participate in discussion during the visit, the visit is first and foremost a chance to be attentive to a person from a faith community that is different from their own lived experiences.

The course instructor shares the importance of using the time to listen and learn.

The course instructor notes that it is effective practice to plan questions beforehand, though some or all of their questions may be answered during the time spent with the various faith leaders, and the dialogue may lead to new, unanticipated learning and questions. The candidates each brainstorm four to six questions they would like to ask the faith leader at the religious site they have selected. Groups who are attending the same faith site spend time sharing their list of questions with one another. Finally, they work collaboratively to curate a list of six to ten questions they would like to bring to the faith leader on the day of the field trip.

Here are three examples of questions written by candidates in advance of their field trips: • What are some common misconceptions about Jewish religious practices that educators should be aware of to ensure a more inclusive learning environment?

• What is the meaning and significance of fasting during Ramadan, and how could this impact our learners if they are fasting on a school day?

• What is the significance of meditation in Buddhism?

After each visit, on behalf of our program, we send a thank you note to each faith leader, along with an honorarium of $100 to acknowledge their time and willingness to share with us.

Debriefing and Sharing After the Faith Expressions Field Trips, groups of teacher candidates who visited a site together meet outside of class time to debrief and discuss, and each candidate records their own learning in a format of their choice, such as a slide deck, infographic, or document. In order to maximize the benefit of the field trips such that candidates can learn about all the faith communities—including those they did not visit—during the next class Christian Educators Journal

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Candidates read the policies of a few local school boards in order to deepen their knowledge of the types of religious accommodations teachers need to consider.

The candidates each brainstorm four to six questions they would like to ask the faith leader at the religious site they have selected.

meeting, they engage in the cooperative learning strategy called “Jigsaw.”

At the beginning of class, candidates meet in their “expert” faith groups for ten minutes to review the content of their presentations and ensure that each group member understands the material and is ready to disseminate the information to others who did not visit this house of worship.

Expert groups are then divided into smaller groups by numbering each candidate and creating Jigsaw Groups, which all contain one “expert” on each faith site. The Wheel of Names (wheelofnames.com) is a fun way to decide which expert shares their learning with their new group members first.

Each expert shares for ten minutes, and then an additional five minutes is provided for asking clarifying questions to the expert presenter and for the whole group to discuss culturally responsive lesson planning, religious accommodations, and connections to the Universal Design for Learning guidelines. Individual candidates are accountable for demonstrating their learning by filling out an online form where they upload their personal presentation and respond to reflection questions around their key learnings about all of the Faith Expressions Field Trip sites.

Observations of Benefits Candidates identify that hearing people share about their faith background, seeing significant artifacts and rituals, and simply being inside the faith sites’ buildings are meaningful and memorable experiences.

Teacher candidates’ experiences of the Faith Expressions Field Trips tend to be unique, depending on which site a candidate chooses to attend and the faith leader who hosts. Candidates identify that hearing people share about their faith background, seeing significant artifacts and rituals, and simply being inside the faith sites’ buildings are meaningful and memorable experiences. Anecdotal feedback shared by candidates after these visits is overwhelmingly positive, and, as mentioned above, some elect to visit more than one location voluntarily. Teacher candidates express a variety of key learnings after the field trips that typically go beyond the questions candidates came prepared to ask, including gaining in-­depth insights into faith traditions, practical ways to support learners’ religious observances, and awareness of ways teachers might unintentionally exclude learners, which they can plan to avoid going forward. One candidate wrote, It was an enlightening experience to visit a faith centre that is not my own. I think there is some beauty as to how different the practices can be, yet how they are similar in their values and love for God and serving. As teachers, we must be prepared to have a classroom of diverse learners, and . . . create a space where students feel brave to talk about themselves. I have previously done reading on this religion; however, listening to a faith leader speak about their own religion with so much love and passion gave me a learning opportunity that just reading could not do alone.

Conclusion The Faith Expressions Field Trips offer firsthand opportunities for teacher candidates to broaden their understanding of diverse religious traditions that will be relevant to their teaching when they have learners of various faiths in their classrooms. Even our candidates who end up teaching in 30

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Christian K–12 schools may encounter students from different faith backgrounds if their schools have open enrollment. It is clear from Tyndale teacher candidates’ experiences with Faith Expressions Field Trips that interacting with faith communities with the express purpose of understanding how to support and include children from that faith community in a classroom context allows for learning that goes beyond academic research.

The Faith Expressions Field Trips facilitate embodied, authentic learning experiences based on personal engagement and relationships. Culturally responsive pedagogy is discussed in almost every curriculum course in our program; the Faith Expressions visits provide content and context to help candidates envision how to respond effectively to cultural differences among their learners, including religious differences. While organizing these field trips each year requires that someone dedicate time to planning and organizing logistics and maintaining clear communication with faith communities, meaningful learning can result. Ultimately, the Faith Expressions Field Trips play a key role in empowering educators to be better prepared to meet the diverse needs of their future students, promoting understanding, empathy, and inclusivity.

Works Cited Jigsaw, Cult of Pedagogy, www.cultofpedagogy.com/wp-­c ontent/uploads/2015/04/Jigsaw-­Instructions.pdf.

UDL (Universal Design for Learning), “Consideration 7.2: Optimize Relevance, Value, and Authenticity,” Cast, 2024, udlguidelines.cast.org/ engagement/interests-­identities/relevance-­value-­authenticity/.

Heather Birch is an associate professor of education and the director of the bachelor of education program at Tyndale University. Her experience as an elementary school teacher and teacher educator has inspired her to seek ways to facilitate theory-­practice connections for pre-­service teachers.

Kristen Goodman is an educator with over twenty years of experience in K–8 classrooms and teacher education. She advises teacher candidates and teaches at Tyndale University, specializing in special education, assessment, UDL, and inclusive classrooms. She holds a master of education degree from the University of Toronto.

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Culturally responsive pedagogy is discussed in almost every curriculum course in our program; the Faith Expressions visits provide content and context to help candidates envision how to respond effectively to cultural differences among their learners.

Tips for Trips: Make the Most of Your Time DAN MEESTER

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Learners put their knowledge into practice by doing real work that meets the real needs of real people.

The school where I serve is a place that often welcomes visiting groups engaged in such service.

n Hebrew, the word yada means “knew,” but unlike our Western perspective, its connotation involves experiential understanding more so than intellectual knowledge. James K. A. Smith, in his book You Are What You Love, asks the question, “Have you ever noticed a gap between what you know and what you do?” He goes on to point out that such gaps are not the fault of not knowing enough facts or thinking hard enough. Instead, Smith concludes, “We don’t need less than knowledge; we need more. We need to recognize the power of habit” (5–6).

Schools have caught on to this reality as well, and today it’s rare to find one that doesn’t offer some kind of experiential opportunity—if not requirement—for its students in an attempt to nurture the habit of service. Schools in the Teaching for Transformation network will know all about Formational Learning Experiences, in which learners put their knowledge into practice by doing real work that meets the real needs of real people. For these and many other schools, that kind of experiential learning can involve service trips that take students to another city, state, or even country with a different culture and different challenges to do meaningful work. The school where I serve is a place that often welcomes visiting groups engaged in such service.

Shortly after its founding in 1903, Rehoboth Christian School welcomed volunteers to participate in its work. As a mission post of the Christian Reformed Church to the Navajo Nation, Rehoboth made an ideal spot for people to serve, and there was plenty of work to be done. Although it’s no longer a formal mission of the CRC today, Rehoboth has maintained the practice of welcoming volunteers to campus, whether that be in the form of church groups, school groups, families, or individuals. One of the former student dormitories is now a great spot to house larger groups while they are on campus. Others use the school volunteer apartments during their visits, and still more take advantage of the RV hookups to set up camp for the duration of their stay.

College students might travel to Rehoboth to do a semester of student teaching or a shorter placement for experience in a diverse or high poverty school. School groups may come while in session or during the summer to do a facilities project, run a sports camp, or serve in the local community. Couples or church groups can help in a similar fashion, or they can serve some of the daily meals to Rehoboth students, assist in classrooms, or even help out with administrative tasks. All told, Rehoboth welcomes over five hundred volunteers every year, made up of about fifteen different groups and 150 individuals. That history and experience provides a wealth of knowledge about how to make the most of these trips, and a few key ideas can help schools or other groups.

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Grow Before You Go Maybe the most vital thing a group can do to make their service trip successful starts before ever leaving home. “It’s so important to learn about the people and place you are serving,” says Deanna Benson, Rehoboth’s former guests and groups coordinator. “Every place has a unique history and context, and knowing something about those will help you connect more quickly and better understand the importance of your work.” Benson notes a difference between groups who do a lot of up-­f ront learning and those who wait to be oriented when they arrive. “People who spend time learning before they arrive often come with really insightful questions for us, but if you’re just learning about the circumstances of our school families when you get here, it can be a little overwhelming. You’ll probably need time to process the information before you can make sense of it.”

Benson says it can be tough for visiting students to understand that many of their counterparts at Rehoboth live in intergenerational homes without electricity or running water, yet they don’t see themselves as victims. “We’re naturally used to our circumstances, and that’s why so many first-­time volunteers leave exuding gratitude for their own life situations.

‘I never knew there were people who had so little. I’m just so thankful for what God has given me’ is a common reflection at the end of a trip.” But some up-­front learning can help students see beauty and resilience in these families, rather than lives to be pitied.

Our current Rehoboth guests and groups coordinator, Laura Blystra, adds an additional wrinkle to advice about pre-­learning. “It’s really important for volunteers to do cross-­cultural learning from sources that the community they’re serving says are good.” Not all books, television shows, or movies are created equal, so it’s best to seek advice from your hosts about which resources will be most helpful. That also models respect and appreciation for others instead of assuming you can figure things out on your own.

“There are things to learn and things to unlearn before a trip, and it takes time and intentionality to rid ourselves of the natural ethnocentric views we hold,” says Blystra.

For a humorous reminder of what not to do, check out Right Now Media’s tongue-­in-­cheek video on YouTube “When Helping Can Hurt,” about a bunch of Vikings on a mission trip to a foreign land.

Maybe the most vital thing a group can do to make their service trip successful starts before ever leaving home.

Some up-­front learning can help students see beauty and resilience in these families, rather than lives to be pitied.

Good Posture Some of you were told, “Sit up straight. Shoulders back. Don’t slouch” as you were growing up, so you know that good posture is important. The same is true for service trips, except that we’re talking about your heart’s posture.

“Come with an attitude of being with people, rather than doing for people,” says Blystra. “Take time to sit and learn about the lives of others with curiosity and openness. It’s easy to come thinking that our ways are best since they are what we know, but a big part of a trip should be broadening student and adult perspectives about the world.”

The way people at your host location live their lives might not make sense to you at first. At Rehoboth, we often hear questions from our volunteers that start with, “Why don’t they just . . . ” as if there’s a quick, simple Christian Educators Journal

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“A big part of a trip should be broadening student and adult perspectives about the world.”

Much of the need around the Rehoboth community stems from poverty, and that’s often true about host locations for service trips. Your posture toward poverty is another key to a positive experience.

solution to challenges that people have faced for 150 years. A much healthier approach would be to ask, “I noticed _________ , and I’m curious to learn more. Can you tell me about that?”

Benson recalls fondly a visiting high school group from Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis. “That trip went great. They loved everything they did, and it was so clear that they came with the overarching goal of understanding the students and people at Rehoboth.” It’s amazing how other elements fall into place when the visitors’ posture is good.

Much of the need around the Rehoboth community stems from poverty, and that’s often true about host locations for service trips. Your posture toward poverty is another key to a positive experience. Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert have done great work in helping Christians think about the way they approach charity and service. In Perspectives on Global Poverty, they note that congregants in their churches describe poverty in terms of a lack of material goods like food, clean water, housing, medicine, and so on. However, the results are different when those in poverty describe themselves.

While poor people mention having a lack of material things, they tend to describe their condition in far more psychological and social terms. Poor people typically talk in terms of shame, inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, depression, social isolation, and voicelessness. (2)

It’s helpful to understand poverty in terms of relational brokenness between people, God, self, and creation. With that foundation, the most meaningful way to help is through reconciling relationships, so start with yourself and bring a posture of friendship and openness to your trip. People in poverty deserve dignity and respect as living images of our God.

Limber Up and Be Flexible People going on service trips should know that not everything will go according to plan.

To dispel any expectations of control and perfection, people going on service trips should know that not everything will go according to plan. “The Western world likes to be on a schedule, but it doesn’t always work that way in small towns or rural areas when you factor in things like weather or partner agencies,” says Benson. Blystra agrees: We do our best to be hospitable and provide guests with what they need, but a service mindset means being okay with being uncomfortable. We encourage our volunteers not to come with a tourist’s perspective and a list to cross off. When it comes to accommodations, be aware that the people you’re visiting and serving are proud of their stuff. Don’t expect all of your familiar day-­to-­day comforts in a new and different place. Model gratitude and remember the big picture of why you’re here.

Holding your expectations loosely will mean that you don’t rush through meaningful conversations with people who will change your life. It means that when a project finishes earlier or extends longer than you thought, the rest of the schedule can be adjusted. And if your daily rhythms need to change on a service trip, embrace that as part of growing and stretching personally.

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Final Thoughts At the beginning of this article, I noted Jamie Smith’s quote about the power of habits. Ideally, serving others becomes a lifelong habit for Christ followers, but that kind of life is built through repetition. A mission trip or service trip can be a great way to turn over a new leaf, but plugging in somewhere local upon returning is what will allow you to serve regularly and nurture the habit.

Likewise, find ways to stay connected to the people and place where you served. Subscribe to their newsletters or email updates. Pray for them regularly. Drop them a note or an email to let them know what you learned from your time with them. Those seeds can and will grow into lifelong partnerships that expand God’s kingdom and bring his shalom to the corners of the world that experience chaos earliest and longest, and that’s the story of restoration in which we all participate.

Works Cited Hope International. Perspectives on Global Poverty. Hope International, 2009.

Smith, James K. A. You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. Brazos, 2016.

Dan Meester is the executive director of Rehoboth Christian School in Gallup, New Mexico. His thirty years in Christian education have included teaching high school English and Bible, college counseling, and serving as an administrator in a variety of settings.

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Building Ecological Literacy Skills Sparks Love for Creation SARAH BOKMA

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It’s in moments like this that I see the impact of our work at A Rocha Ontario—when children can’t help but express their care for creation.

e caught a tadpole!” exclaimed a group of students. We had been searching hard for frogs in the pond, and they had found a tadpole instead. Using our pond-­dipping net, we carefully transferred the creature out of the pond and placed him in a viewing container. The children oooo-­ed and awww-­ed over the tadpole—so proud of their catch! They sat at the picnic table mesmerized by the “not-­yet” frog, the tadpole with legs, this moment of transformation-­in-­action before them. After some time, one child observed: “I don’t think the tadpole has what it needs—there’s no food in there for him!” I smiled and asked, “What should we do then?” The class together agreed that even though they loved watching their beloved tadpole circle round the container, it would be better for it to be returned to the pond. And with the same exuberance they had in catching the tadpole, they displayed an equal amount of exuberance in becoming caretakers of the tadpole as they returned it back to its natural habitat. It’s in moments like this that I see the impact of our work at A Rocha Ontario—when children can’t help but express their care for creation.

It Only Takes a Spark I’m sure we’ve all had the magical experience of watching a spark transform into a flame. The classic saying “It only takes a spark” speaks of something that occurs throughout all of life. It could be a one-­off conversation that sparks a career change, a mesmerizing concert that brings about healing to your heart, or an afternoon spent serving hot chocolate to those living on the streets that ignites a heart for justice. Even though some of these experiences aren’t necessarily long or drawn out, they are integral to our experience of being human. Our lives are filled with learning surprises, great interruptions, and life-­changing moments. And this is one of our hopes at A Rocha Ontario when we run a three hour field trip: that we are able to “spark” a love of creation in the lives of participants that will be carried well beyond the time we spend with students on site.

Cultivating Ecological Literacy A Rocha Ontario offers environmental education programming at Cedar Haven Eco-­Centre in Freelton, Ontario. It’s through our programs on this one-­hundred-­acre property that we aim to develop the ecological literacy of participants towards hope and transformation.” A quote that beautifully 36

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complements this is one from George Eliot in her novel The Mill on the Floss: “We could never have loved the earth so well if we had had no childhood in it” (39). This summarizes a key motivation behind the work we do: we want children to experience a childhood rich with learning time outside, where they develop the skills needed to continue the good work of caring for creation.

As educators, we are adept with the word “literacy”; we know the variety of building blocks used to create rich literacy programs. We have phonics, great literature, poetry, grammar, phonograms, reflections . . . the list goes on! We easily understand the goal of literacy and its role in building a student’s confidence and identity, their understanding of themselves and the world around them, and their ability to communicate.

But what about ecological literacy? In the same way we don’t expect a child to know how to read by simply placing a book in front of them, we don’t expect a child to know all the ways of engaging in nature by simply stepping outside. Like building language literacy skills, there are countless ways of developing ecological literacy. We read stories about nature, we learn the art of observation, we give space to explore, we seek Indigenous wisdom, we offer engaging science lessons and experiments, we work together to remove invasive species, we listen to the calls of the birds, we learn how to identify native tree species . . . the list goes on!

The cultivation of wonder, curiosity, and love for creation isn’t stirred simply by reading about it—students need to encounter and experience it as well. They need time to observe a salamander in its natural habitat, come face to face with its vulnerability as a creature, and allow their wonder to spark questions like “How come it doesn’t get squashed by the boulder it’s living under?” In learning about mammals, students’ understanding is deepened as we pick up what’s left behind by our resident porcupine. When they feel the strength and sharpness of a quill, their curiosity is sparked as they wonder how porcupines are able to live such isolated lives. When students learn the life cycle of birds and then encounter freshly hatched blue birds inside one of our nest boxes, it sparks so much wonder and joy at the newness and intricacies of God’s creatures. I love what nature journalist John Muir Laws says about studying nature:

We want children to experience a childhood rich with learning time outside, where they develop the skills needed to continue the good work of caring for creation.

Like building language literacy skills, there are countless ways of developing ecological literacy.

A world of infinite beauty and discovery waits just beyond the point where we usually stop paying attention. Nature offers us peace, a rich and meaningful place to learn. There is no computer program that can replicate the richness of seeing a flower up close, the intrigue of geeking out with bugs, or the calm of laying on your back and watching clouds. The key to developing a closer connection with nature is deliberately enhancing your powers of observation and wonder.

Ecological literacy helps students recognize their place as created beings alongside the rest of God’s plants and creatures that also live, breathe, and make their quiet and vital contributions to the ecosystems we all live in. It gives children what they need to feel comfortable and confident as they explore the outside world. Just like language literacy gives a child the necessary tools in life to read, write, and communicate, ecological literacy gives a child the skills they need to know about, care for, and love the created world around them.

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Ecological literacy helps students recognize their place as created beings alongside the rest of God’s plants and creatures.

Building Ecological Literacy through Field Trips

“It’s like little mouths!” one student expressed while looking at the leaf under the microscope.

So why field trips? Field trips are an opportunity to learn something new and deepen what’s already been learned in the classroom. How do you study soil when your school’s yard is paved with cement? How do you observe salamanders in their natural habitat when your school doesn’t have close access to a forest? For a class studying insects in their science unit, spending three hours on a field trip includes catching insects and looking at them under the microscope. It involves feeling the pollen on their fingertips as they explore a flower-­filled meadow and watching pollination in action. These activities not only complement what’s being taught in class but deepen understanding and bring learning to life.

On one of our recent field trips, we explored the topic “Everything Breathes!” We challenged our knowledge by asking, “Do plants also need to breathe like us? And if so, how do they breathe?” To find the answer to our question, the students raced to find leaves on the property in a friendly competition to see who could find the best leaf. Soaking the leaves in water showed us bubble formations on the leaves. What did that indicate? Could there be openings in the leaves for breathing? We then made imprints of the underside of the leaf and indeed discovered tiny little openings—the stomata. “It’s like little mouths!” one student expressed while looking at the leaf under the microscope, and another student exclaimed, “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” When students compete for a spot in the line to see the stomata on the underside of a leaf under the microscope, you know something has sparked for them.

God Speaks to Us through Creation

As we take time to view a cicada bug up close and hold the exoskeleton, I listen to the students’ questions.

Last fall, I taught students about cicada bugs. We learned that the mother cicada lays up to four hundred little eggs and then dies before they hatch.

Once the tiny nymph hatches from its egg, it falls down and burrows into the ground. The roots of the tree anchor the nymph in place, and the cicada sucks the sap in the roots for survival. There it lives in the dark, waiting, seen by God, sensed by the tree. Its season of darkness is long—held there by time and temperature, waiting for the appointed time. When the perfect sunset moment comes, it emerges from what seems like a grave and into the light of the sun. The first thing it does after emerging from the ground is shed its skin—the old falls completely away. Out emerges an entirely new bug, one with large, rounded eyes, colored body, and glossy wings.

As we take time to view a cicada bug up close and hold the exoskeleton, I listen to the students’ questions: Does the cicada get impatient waiting so long? But why does it wait so long? Is it bored while it’s underground? How does it molt its skin like that? Does it like just drinking sap from the tree?

And so on . . .

My daughter particularly enjoyed learning about cicada bugs during a short field trip. A couple of weeks after learning about the life cycle of the bug, she reflected: “When we drive by the cemetery I think of the cicada bugs.”

“Oh really?” I said. “What makes you think of cicada bugs?”

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“It used to make me feel so sad while driving by the cemetery, but after learning about the cicada bugs I feel comforted.”

“Hm. How so?”

“I think that the people who are in graves will someday come out of their period of darkness, just like the cicada bugs. They are just waiting right now for the right moment when Jesus comes back. And then, when they come out, they’ll get new bodies too.”

It’s these moments when I see a simple nature lesson take spark in a young life—the moments when students are making connections all on their own, when their love for creation is displayed, and when God speaks comfort through his tiniest of creatures.

The Hope That the Spark Will Turn into a Flame As a Christian non-­profit, we at A Rocha see our role as one that is deeper than stewardship of the land and creation; we see our role as living beings alongside the rest of living creation. We nurture, give guidance, shepherd, and do our work in caring for ourselves and others, which includes all of God’s creation. It’s our hope that a three-­hour field trip at an eco-­center will provide one of those sparks in the life of a young person, and will flame into a deep desire to take care of God’s creation in a world where communities and nature thrive together.

Works Cited Eliot, George. The Mill on the Floss. 1860. Oxford University Press, 2015.

Laws, John Muir. John Muir Laws: Nature Stewardship through Science, Education and Art, 2017, https://johnmuirlaws.com/.

Sarah Bokma works as the Environmental Education Coordinator for A Rocha Ontario on a beautiful hundred-­acre property called Cedar Haven Eco-­Centre, near Freelton, Ontario. She believes that experiential, inquiry-­led, and place-­ based learning is not only needed but essential if we want to cultivate a care for and love of creation and the world around us. She lives with her husband and three kids in Hamilton.

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Future Issues April 2025—Resource Review Each year we highlight the best books, films, websites, teaching tools, and other resources for Christian school teachers. We publish reviews of student-facing material (like which books to stock in your classroom library) as well as materials relevant to school staff (like curricula or books about teaching). Articles may focus on one text or may be written in a list style featuring multiple texts around a particular theme.

This issue is no longer accepting submissions.

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