Merry Christmas!

I thought you might enjoy reading the Christmas letter I sent to our families and friends at Christian Heritage Academy. May you all have a blessed Christmas!

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

Dear CHA Family and Friends,

It wasn't my fault. Not really. Not when you consider all of the various factors that led up to that moment when the car in front of me stopped and I didn't. That's what I was thinking as those special slow motion moments played out on Highway I-290, west of Chicago. It was stop-and-go traffic, which of course means that you stop and then you go: but the driver in front of me stopped, then go'ed, then stopped again before he had actually go'ed! That was certainly not my fault.

Then there was the coughing fit. You see, the bronchitis that made me cough was the real culprit. How was I supposed to know that the moment I started coughing (properly into my sleeve as decreed by the Department of Health and 3 out of the 4 major networks) I would need to slam on my brakes? Coughing, slamming on the brakes and keeping the steering wheel straight constitute three separate simultaneous actions, which is one more than walking and chewing gum, and therefore one action beyond my brain's prewired limit.

So, of course, hitting the brakes took a split-second too long and my car's front bumper ended up occupying space-time simultaneously with the rear bumper of the large automobile in front of me. Although in quantum physics it is allegedly possible to share such space, on I-290 it is not and I quickly became the person who is the subject of the live copter reports on the evening traffic news. What was even more disconcerting was the fact that none of the drivers who were being inconvenienced appeared to empathize with my plight. I may be wrong, but I do not recall any of them calling out words of encouragement or sympathy.

The gentleman whose car I hit, or rather, whose car came into contact with mine, was also less than enthused by the events. I quickly discerned that he did not wish to engage in small talk or share photos of our children. It also seemed to make little difference to him that I was a nice person, that I did not make a habit of hitting cars on I-290, or that I worked with children. The only things he wanted to know, after listening to me cough, were whether I had H1N1 and why I had chosen this time and place to hit him. By the way, Einstein was right, the entire space-time continuum of the Universe can slow down; especially when you have to wait two hours for a police officer and you have to decide how to engage in small talk with the driver whose evening you have just ruined.

Allow me to point out once again, that this was not my fault; everything was clearly conspiring against me and there were malevolent forces at work, including the Chicago road system, the job I have that required me to be in Chicago that night, the driver three cars up who first slammed on their brakes, the person who infected me with bronchitis, the Department of Health that is forcing us to cough into our sleeves and not watch the road ahead, the other drivers who could have left earlier, and, of course, former Governor Blagojevich, just because I still want to hold him responsible for something.

As I fumbled in the dark for the papers I would need, I realized I did not need the 2006 Portillo's receipt which I found, nor the 2007 car wash coupon. I did need the insurance card, however, which I couldn't find right away. I wanted to hold up a sign to all of the drivers in line behind me who were phoning their homes and telling their families they would be late because of the idiot who couldn't stop in time. I wanted to tell them I had never done this before and therefore I was sort of entitled to one mistake, that I was different from the other people who had accidents and created traffic jams, that I would never do it again, and oh by the way: it wasn't my fault.

In the end I learned just how useless and inane it is to be concerned with "fault" and attempting to avoid it. The assigning of blame does very little to alter the situation at hand. In fact, focusing on it usually worsens the prospect of solving the problem. In a society where everyone is looking to place blame and no one is accepting responsibility, we are teaching our children to look for scapegoats before solutions. That is the exact opposite of what Christmas teaches us about God.

You see, Christmas is about a loving God who willingly took responsibility for our failures and agreed to pay the price for something He did not do. And please understand there was a price. Tim Keller, in his wonderful book The Reason for God, writes one of the best chapters I have ever read on the subject. He argues that forgiveness always comes at a cost to the forgiver. When we are wronged there is damage and pain. Forgiveness requires that we absorb that pain without inflicting it on others or gaining the satisfaction of retribution.

This forgiveness is done at a personal cost that is very real and tangible to each of us. We have to answer our internal cries of "It's not fair!" or "Why me?" with every act of forgiveness. In my car accident someone had to pay the damages to the cars, which was me, through my insurance company. God's offer to us through the birth of Jesus at Christmas is an offer to pay all of the damages, even though He was the car that was hit. In fact, He has purchased an insurance policy in His name, paid all the premiums and given us the insurance card to use as our own.

God did not worry about assigning blame. Instead, He concentrated on finding and acting upon a solution to sin. He willingly stepped into our shoes and took responsibility for every one of us. He didn't do this to gain notoriety, or to be named a person of the week on the nightly news. There were no prizes, accolades, magazine articles or reality shows focused on his sacrificial act. There was only a manger, some animals, a poor young engaged couple and a few shepherds on that first night. Thirty-three years later there was only his mother, his brother and a few frightened colleagues to witness a cross and the greatest selfless act in history. It was the greatest selfless act because it required our God to give up more than anyone has ever been asked to give (his privileges as God) in order to substitute for the wrong done by others.

Perhaps this Christmas we can lay aside some of our fears, anxieties and defensiveness so we can revel in the peace, serenity and joy that comes with knowing God's love is sufficient for us all, without blame or fault. Perhaps we can stop worrying, even for a few minutes, about who did what to whom or how no one knows the trouble we've seen. Perhaps we can focus on an unmerited gift from our Heavenly Father and how our gratitude for the gift can be expressed "as we forgive those who trespass against us." Perhaps it's not about the car I lost, but the perspective I gained. Perhaps I can learn from a cold, windy night on I-290 that it's not about me, but about what He has done for me and how I respond to it.

I wish you all a blessed and wonderful Christmas. I believe my insurance company has some great stocking stuffers if you want to buy some 2001 Saab parts, slightly used.

Forgiven and grateful,

Rick Lukianuk
Head of School

What is a "21st Century Curriculum"? (Part 9 of 9)

The current tagline of Christian Heritage Academy is "A 21st Century Curriculum. An Eternal Perspective." This post concludes a nine-part series explaining what we mean by the first half of that phrase: A 21st Century Curriculum.

9. Teach, verify and enforce good digital citizenry from a Christian perspective and better understand the consequences of digital communication, digital relationships and technological advances on the educational, social and spiritual lives of our students. As I noted, students learn differently now as a result of their exposure to multimedia technology. There are also significant difference and broader consequences to inappropriate digital communications, as well as unique and significant dangers, that students must be aware of. Unfortunately, this area changes rapidly as new communication tools, such as Twitter become commonplace before we understand the consequences of their use. The only real protection is working on the hearts of our students so that they do not try to use technology in an inappropriate manner. This is also a great strength of Christianity as it has focused on understanding issues of the heart for 2000 years. Our school benefits from this focus and our consequent ability to appeal to hearts as well as minds and provide biblical reasons for proper usage rather than merely attempting to stay one technological step ahead. However, we must provide a coherent and current biblical framework for our students, and we must focus on, and explain, consequences of inappropriate digital technology. Our students will say and do things online they would never say and do in person. This clearly outlines the fact that they inherently do not understand consequences and must be taught. The school, home and church need to work together in this area or we will fail, and if we do, the consequences are unimaginable for our families, our churches and our nation.

What is a "21st Century Curriculum"? (Part 8 of 9)

The current tagline of Christian Heritage Academy is "A 21st Century Curriculum. An Eternal Perspective." This post continues a nine-part series explaining what we mean by the first half of that phrase: A 21st Century Curriculum.

8. Student facilitated inquiry. Students will comment on each other’s work, creatively suggest new concepts and have ongoing digital discussions day and night. It is already happening on Facebook, etc. We need to co-opt the concept and turn it into a focused learning opportunity, rather than an ad hoc entertainment option. Obviously this is more effective for older students, but we will analyze how to best move forward for all classes. For instance, homework can become more of a group activity than a solitary activity done in order for a student to be allowed online for social time. This facilitates group problem solving, development of communications skills monitored by a teacher and provides a safer social outlet for students; which brings me to my final point.

What is a "21st Century Curriculum"? (Part 7 of 9)

The current tagline of Christian Heritage Academy is "A 21st Century Curriculum. An Eternal Perspective." This post continues a nine-part series explaining what we mean by the first half of that phrase: A 21st Century Curriculum.

7. Classrooms will evolve into learning communities that will not necessarily be separated by walls. This must obviously begin with teachers as we share our knowledge and ideas for curriculum development across departments and grades. Using technology such as Nings, wikispaces, dabbleboards, etc. will give each of our teachers ideas that can be passed along through Faculty Development. It also allows participation across grades and disciplines. Teachers at various Christian schools will be able to share 24/7, not just at yearly conferences, and students will learn in virtual online classrooms with other students from around the world. I look forward to being able to comment online to students about their Bible discussion or some questions they raise in History class. I look forward to teachers sharing with each other about new applications for technology in a way that is transparent, safe, functional and easy to facilitate—much in the same way that my daughter and I share songs via iTunes and our individual iPods now. This requires all of us to be lifelong learners, but that will be an ever more important aspect of professional education and is the conceptual basis for the individual Professional Development. Plans we have already instituted include concepts such as an entire class commentary on a site with teacher assistance.

What is a "21st Century Curriculum"? (Part 6 of 9)

The current tagline of Christian Heritage Academy is "A 21st Century Curriculum. An Eternal Perspective." This post continues a nine-part series explainign what we mean by the first half of that phrase: A 21st Century Curriculum.

6. Increasingly differentiated learning. At some point in the future, every child will have an IEP (Individual Educational Plan) tailored to their own learning intelligences and pace of learning. We already achieve some of this through smaller classes, individualized tutoring and mentoring. Our Veracross system will assist in tracking students better and allowing parents to partner more effectively, especially in understanding the pace at which individual students learn. The commercial software is not yet written to do this on a class by class basis for all grades, but noted economist, Clayton Christensen, in his book Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, notes that the majority of private school students will be using such software by 2013. We are beginning the process in the Upper School and those teachers will collaborate with the Middle School teachers to pass on best practices each year while we await even more powerful software tools. The key is to prepare for it through technology upgrades, staff training and curriculum prepared to absorb such different pedagogies and methodologies. The result will be teachers who are focused more on individual tutoring and meeting children where they are each day, rather than on lectures presenting one size fits all lesson plans.

What is a "21st Century Curriculum"? (Part 5 of 9)

The current tagline of Christian Heritage Academy is "A 21st Century Curriculum. An Eternal Perspective." This post continues a nine-part series explaining what we mean by the first half of that phrase: A 21st Century Curriculum.

5. Curriculum delivered in an increasingly multi-modal format. In the early classes, specific, fundamental skills and information must be presented. Reading, Writing, Math, Bible knowledge and interpersonal skills must all be taught as foundational knowledge. However, we must acknowledge that in today’s culture they actually learn differently. A lifetime of exposure to multimedia has actually wired their brains to absorb, process and interact with information differently than we did as children, and certainly far differently than our parents “learned.” We cannot expect them to comprehend nuance or to develop deep knowledge unless we provide it to them in multimodal applications. This is where the new technology is most effective and should be extensively applied. Whether it is a Podcast exercise in English for speeches, or a Ning discussion in Bible, we must use multimodal tools and allow students to express themselves and acquire knowledge in a manner in which their brain is wired. If we do not provide multimodal experiences, they may not process the information, not retain it, or substitute inaccurate information to fill out their need for multi modality. I remember setting the Periodic Table to music so I could more easily memorize it. Today’s student will probably not be able to accomplish that unless they are give the music (a la Sesame Street) and thus be less able to retain the information, or they may bring in extraneous info searches, visual images or story lines that confuse the original information and they will then remember it incorrectly.

What is a "21st Century Curriculum"? (Part 4 of 9)

The current tagline of Christian Heritage Academy is "A 21st Century Curriculum. An Eternal Perspective." This post continues a nine-part series explaining what we mean by the first half of that phrase: A 21st Century Curriculum.

4. Helping students to acknowledge a Calling in their lives. In an increasingly desensitized, self centered and culturally amorphous society, it will be essential to assist students in understanding that they are individually called by God to be in relationship with Him and then called to a life purpose here on earth. This gives students meaning, motivation to gain the skills they need, provides a framework to continue a lifetime of learning that will be essential in a quickly changing technological and global marketplace, and anchors them in making increasingly difficult ethical and moral decisions (for example, many of the larger issues currently challenging us such as cloning, DNA manipulation, child gender choice, euthanasia, allocation of limited resources, limits of privacy, limits of digital relationships, etc.) This process must begin in Preschool and be continued throughout a child’s schooling as their reasoning and emotional intelligence matures. Strength finding curriculum, individual mentoring and teacher modeling are all essential parts of the puzzle. Service projects fall within this category as well as they teach empathy, humility and compassion and an obligation to give and not just take. Service to others needs to be part of the Calling of every student.