Champions of Change: Catholic Education

Here is a very relevant video on education once you get past the first 15 or 20 minutes. You will be most surprised in that it is almost Ellen White.



The White House honors Catholic education leaders as Champions of Change. January 25, 2012.

Ellen White

Ministers should avoid long committee meetings.--A minister cannot keep in the best spiritual frame of mind while he is called upon to settle little difficulties in the various churches. This is not his appointed work. God desires to use every faculty of His chosen messengers. Their mind should not be wearied by long committee meetings at night; for God wants all their brain power to be used in proclaiming the gospel as it is in Christ Jesus.--Ev 662. {PaM 251.1}

He who holds forth the Word of life is not to allow too many burdens to be placed upon him.  He must take time to study the Word and to examine self.  If he closely searches his own heart, and gives himself to the Lord, he will better understand how to grasp the hidden things of God . . . .

The finances of the cause are to be properly managed by business men of ability; but preachers and evangelists are set apart for another line of work.  Let the management of financial matters rest on others than those set apart for the work of preaching the gospel . . . . {ChL 71.4}


Ministers and Business Matters

I have been instructed in regard to the importance of our ministers' keeping free from responsibilities that should be largely borne by business men. In the night season I was in an assembly consisting of a number of our brethren who bear the burden of the work. They were deeply perplexed over financial affairs, and were consulting as to how the work could be managed most successfully. Some thought that the number of workers might be limited, and yet all the results essential be realized. One of the brethren occupying a position of responsibility was explaining his plans, and stating what he desired to see accomplished. Several others presented matters for consideration. Then One of dignity and authority arose, and proceeded to state principles for our guidance. To several ministers the Speaker said: {GW 422.1}

"Your work is not the management of financial matters. It is not wise for you to undertake this. God has burdens for you to bear, but if you carry lines of work for which you are not adapted, your efforts in presenting the Word will prove unsuccessful. This will bring upon you discouragement that will disqualify you for the very work you should do,--a work requiring careful discrimination and sound, unselfish judgment." {GW 422.2}

Those who are employed to write and to speak the Word should attend fewer committee meetings. They should entrust many minor matters to men of business ability, and thus avoid being kept on a constant strain that robs the mind of its natural vigor.

They should give far more attention to the preservation of physical health; for vigor of mind depends largely upon vigor of body. Proper periods of sleep and rest and an abundance of physical exercise are essential to health of body and mind. To rob nature of her hours for rest and recuperation, by allowing one man to do the work of four, or of three, or even of two, will result in irreparable loss. {GW 422.3}

You have felt that business is business, religion is religion, but I tell you that these cannot be divorced. If you seek God with the whole heart, He will be found of you; but, said Christ, "Without Me ye can do nothing." You are not to put asunder that which God has joined-- business and religion. {19MR 17.1}


Business Matters to be Left to Business Men

I have been instructed in regard to the importance of our ministers' keeping free from responsibilities that should be largely borne by business men.

"Your work is not the management of financial matters. It is not wise for you to undertake this. God has burdens for you to bear, but if you carry lines of work for which you are not adapted, your efforts in presenting the Word will prove unsuccessful. This will bring upon you discouragement that will disqualify you for the very work you should do--a work requiring careful discrimination and sound, unselfish judgment." {9MR 169.3}

Experience is of great value. The Lord desires to have men of intelligence connected with His work, men qualified for various positions of trust in our conferences and institutions. Especially are consecrated business men needed, men who will carry the principles of truth into every business transaction. {9MR 170.1}


Ministers Not Ordained for Business Activities

Not a few ministers are neglecting the very work that they have been appointed to do. Why are those who are set apart for the work of the ministry placed on committees and boards? Why are they called upon to attend so many business meetings, many times at great distance from their fields of labor? Why are not business matters placed in the hands of business men? The ministers have not been set apart to do this work. The finances of the cause are to be managed by men of ability; but ministers are set apart for another line of work. . . . {9MR 171.1}

Ministers are not to be called hither and thither to attend board meetings for the purpose of deciding common business questions. Many of our ministers have done this work in the past, but it is not the work in which the Lord wishes them to engage. Too many financial burdens have been placed on them. When they try to carry these burdens, they neglect to fulfill the gospel commission. God looks upon this as a dishonor to His name. --Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7, pp. 254-255. {9MR 171.2}

It is a mistake for a conference to select as president one who considers that his office places unlimited power in his hands. The Lord has instructed me to tell you that you do not know when to use authority, and when to refrain from using it unwisely. You have much to learn before you can do the work of a conference president intelligently. You are to bear in mind that in the cause of God there is a chief Director, whose power and wisdom is above that of human minds.


Education

Medical-Missionary Work and Business Training

It is also very essential that students understand the principles of medical-missionary work, for wherever students may be called, they need a knowledge of the science of how to treat the sick. This will give them a welcome anywhere, because there is suffering of every kind in every part of the world. {11MR 181.1}

It is an important matter that students be given an education that will fit them for successful business life. In many schools the education given is one-sided.

In regard to the school, I would say, Make it especially strong in the education of nurses and physicians. In medical-missionary schools, many workers are to be qualified with the ability of physicians to labor as medical-missionary evangelists. This training, the Lord has specified, is in harmony with the principles underlying true higher education. We hear a great deal about the higher education. The highest education is to follow in the footsteps of Christ, patterning after the example He gave when He was in the world. We cannot gain an education higher than this; for this class of training will make men laborers together with God. . . . {11MR 188.4}

In the work of the school, maintain simplicity. No argument is so powerful as is success founded on simplicity. You may attain success in the education of students as medical missionaries without a medical school that can qualify physicians to compete with the physicians of the world. Let the students be given a practical education. The less dependent you are upon worldly methods of education, the better it will be for the students. Special instruction should be given in the art of treating the sick without the use of poisonous drugs and in harmony with the light that God has given. In the treatment of the sick, poisonous drugs need not be used. Students should come forth from the school without having sacrificed the principles of health reform or their love for God and righteousness. . . . {11MR 189.1}

It is well that our training schools for Christian workers should be established near our health institutions, that the students may be educated in the principles of healthful living. Institutions that send forth workers who are able to give a reason for their faith, and who have a faith that works by love and purifies the soul, are of great value. I have clear instruction that, wherever it is possible, schools should be established near our sanitariums, that each institution may be a help and strength to the other. He who created man has an interest in those who suffer. He has directed in the establishment of our sanitariums and in the building up of our schools close to our sanitariums that they may become efficient mediums in training men and women for the work of ministering to suffering humanity. . . . {11MR 189.2}

If we had faithfully followed from the first the instruction regarding city work, means would have come in for us to establish in these places schools and small sanitariums where we could treat the sick and preach the gospel and educate the people in Bible truth. We would have had means to sustain all the enterprises for missionary work that we could carry forward. --Ms. 39, 1909, pp. 2, 3, 6, 7. ("The Loma Linda College of Medical Evangelists," June 1, 1909.) {11MR 190.1}

We are not in this school work to make money; we are here to give the youth a well-balanced education. To this end they must educate their muscles as well as their minds for service. The physical powers should be brought into exercise that the brain powers may not be overtaxed. We want this school to stand forth as an example in every way; these buildings should be perfect in their equipment.--Ms. 31, 1909, pp. 4, 5. ("Industrial Cooperation," April 17, 1909.) {11MR 190.2}

Mac McAllister -Fort Wayne

Here is a post I found on another website about Adventist education. I hope Mr. McAllister does not mind that I share this with you.

As Chairperson of a small elementary Adventist school, I found it interesting that the focus of the podcast is Academies and very little or no mention of the “feeder” system - the elementary schools. We were very fortunate to have Lisa Goolsby work with us about five years ago to help re-start and re-build a failinig elementary school in a nearly 500,000 population market with one primary SDA church and two smaller, one being Hispanic. We found, back then, the four leading causes of enrollment loss mentioned were the basic cause of Aboite Christian School (ACS) faultering.

We believe a quality program that includes the Church, Shcool Board, Principal, Teachers, Spiritual Environment, Facility, Curriculum, Outside Programs and Parents taking ownership are vital in the growth and maintenance of a quality education. We believe that from the very beginning years of Jr. K to 8th grade that a focus on getting good grades and preparing to be in the world as a follower of Jesus will encourage parents to send their children to a our school. That is difficult to achieve without money and asking the local church to fund it.

If we continue down the path of not finding a way to fund our elementary schools, to attract not only the children within our church enviroment but to be a school within the community where parents want to send their children, that the Academies will eventually fail and that also will have long term results on our colleges.
Finding a way to build fine facilities, finding excellent devoted teachers and providing the best curriculum will prove to be the road for our elementary and upper grade students to become a light to the world.

Our SDA elementary schools have become a burden on the local churches and it should not be this way. They can become independent and be in demand. Tuitioin rates and economic conditions certainly become a factor yet we believe that these things are not as much of a factor as the quality of education that we provide.

We should not compare ourselves to public schools but to other private schools, who, at least in our area are growing at the elementary and high school levels. Parents are willing to find the funds to send their children to seek education at a better place then public schools if they provide a vision for them and the student to go on to higher education.

We need to determine within our elementary local schools if we are a church school, a mission school, a missionary school or a community school. We invite the puclic to send their children to our school to finid a quality education and where they will find Jesus.

We are working toward the goal of a heavenly kingdom, not only for our children within our constintuency but for all children within our community.

NEW!!! Episode 2: Enrollment

The Alumni Awards Association has developed a new website with some very provocative information about K-12 education. There new podcast on enrollment is most interesting.

Here is the link.

It is worth listening to.

Did You Know 2.0

Excellence in Education

Manchester Craftsmen's Guild

Here is another video of Bill Strickland speaking at a major fund-raiser. Very interesting individual.

A Franchise Model

In a previous blog on another site I used the words ma and pa in terms of the management of Adventist schools (and first of all there is nothing fundamentally wrong with a ma and pa operation, there are many successful ones). Let me quote a comment on a blog that has vanish from the Internet. "The local conferences allow untrained school board volunteers with no education background to run the schools."

With all due respect, this is what I understand as it relates to a constituency school. The NAD Department of Education is only in an advisory role with no authority, the Pacific Union Conference Department of Education is in an advisory role with no authority, the Central California Conference K-12 Board and CCC Department of Education is only in an advisory except for HR issues, etc, the school principal has management responsibility but little or no authority and only the Local School Board controls the school. With the exception of AAA accreditation, a constituency school does not need any of the above except for the principal (hence, it is locally owned and operated and at least in California can get WASC accreditation on its own consequently AAA may not be needed).

Adventist constituency schools are (exactly) franchises, locally run and operated hence "ma and pa" with all the problems of volunteer ownership. And all these franchises have no shared resources except things like WordPerfect and YouTube marketing material. There is no board training. There is no transfer of history except hard feelings. You can not even find past board minutes easily. With this transitional ownership, there are few if any reliable community resources. Each new board group has their own ideas and cans the other guys vision.

There is a huge credibility gap which is an usually important issue for a faith based organization. The statements of a few years ago about Adventist K12 education were more truthful than what is being said today. To quote an NAD official from a couple of years ago:

"What's the most important thing you want for your kids? And if it's a quality education , if that's the most important thing, then another Christian school, another fine public school, may be appropriate. But if the most important thing is for your children to know Jesus Christ, to understand the value system that you hold as a Seventh-day Adventist, to inculcate those values deep within them so that when they move out of your home they still have those values, then I submit that even though it's a smaller number of kids and the social opportunities are not as great, I believe that those parents, if at all possible, ought to have their children in Adventist schools. ..."

Today we are seeing (NAD) marketing videos that paint a super rosy picture of Adventist education. Listen carefully to the sound bites. Have an Internet savvy mom see that video and then have her come to any one of our Adventist campuses in Central California. She will see 10 year old textbooks on old desks on an old campus that does not have proper lighting. It produces a huge credibility gap both between the parent (including the community) and the school. It does not help, it hurts! It says Adventist education is really great except in my town, so better find an alternate for my child. And they do. Many parents with the ability to pay simply quietly walk away. And the poor Hispanics jump on the opportunity to enroll their children into a private school (away from the gangland public schools in their areas) However the school is ill equipped financially to carry the load (but we do) compounding the issue.

Let me show you a campus that does not have a credibility gap. They deliver on what they show; and it is a group effort of 7 unrelated Christian churches. This is what our young Internet savvy Adventist families compare our system with.

If Adventist education the redemptive process and salvation is the focus (which I agree with completely), then where are the evangelistic dollars going? Not to the schools in any meaningful way, except of a few token dollars. The FAA is not even on the Conference radar and they are in the same town together.

First of all Christianity first, of course. But also academic excellence without compromise. If a Christian school does not excel at being a learning institution, then it is not a school, it is a Christian daycare.

I crawl the blogs and email everyone that I can and what I hear over and over is that mom's have not changed. They want the best for their babies. This generation knows and uses the Internet. It is not the cost that drives them away, it is the value for the invested dollar. These mothers are no different than my age when all new families purchased the WorldBook Encyclopedia for more dollars than their first car with kids too young to read. Today these same mothers are now opting to stay home, forgo that second income, and homeschool because they are convinced they can provide better educational experience to their children than the constituency school by using products like A Beka Academy.

Lastly, we can not run our schools without financial resources. However some of what the NAD is proposing will actually undermine institutional Adventist education (constituency schools). Homeschoolling is great but it is a double edged sword. Those parents are often the same parents with the capacity to pay. Without their financial support of the school, we will not longer have Adventist schools like Broadview Academy in Illinois which just closed or a campus like Heritage Academy in Tennessee that has more staff than students.

Tom Peters on Education

The Circle of Blame and Ants

There is a circle of blame that exists in the Adventist educational system which seems to have a difference perspective depending which side you are on. The reality is that we operate under a broken system which is resulting in broken people and broken spirits. And the ones being hurt are our children, our teachers, our families and our congregation.

The average person trusts their faith-based organization without prejudice. However leaving even the Godliest people in a broken system can only give way to conflict and strife as arduous efforts lead to ineffective or temporary solutions. This eventually results in mistrust between the same people and often ends in the self destruction of or at least significant damage to the organization.

In most operations if something "big" does not work it is the problem (that is, the fault) of the senior management and heads roll until it is fixed. Our congregational system (including the area of education) has a complex senior governance (of mostly male pastors) complicated by transient local school boards with significant pastoral bias. Our system (an institutional church organization) does not have very much transparency because of this convolution of dictatorships marketed as a democratic organization with little or no true external accountability by the tithing layman. This system masks the effectiveness of the operation from most of the congregation. It is difficult to identify "where the buck stops" in this diluted management structure with the exception of the principal, who in actuality has little master control over the bigger picture.

After 25 plus years of decline the need for reform of our system is obvious if we are to move Adventist education into the forefront and regain traction as a viable Christian educational institution in North America.

So what can we do or better yet what can you do? Well, we can do a lot as we wait for reform of our educational system by our trusted congregational leaders. One way is by what I call management by ants. Ants have a good track record of success.

Regardless of the wisdom of their upper management, ants do some very impressive things as a group (check out the Nature Channel). First of all, most ants do not complain and do not lollygag in self pity. I do not know a pious ant, each one is willing to work hard especially for the group cause. The blame game in an ant community is almost unheard of. Ants hold no grudges and are careful not to attack their own kind. Ants are not into big studies, detailed analysis or political correctness to solve obvious problems. Regardless of the size of the devil, ants repeal as a coordinated team.

Ants have different job titles but realize that everyone is important to the organization. Ants are appropriately social, like hanging out with other ants of good character and often bring other critters home for lunch hoping to convert them.

All ants are aware of their individual responsibility for marketing; when they are in town everyone knows it. Ants, much like us, use food as a conversation starter. Ants are very effective at evangelism and working their cause, for example the average person knows more about ants than Seventh-day Adventists.

Most ants do not swear, drink and drive or have credit card debt. Ants are always trying to add value without adding cost to the organization by volunteering. They have learned that a good reliable volunteer is worth more than a sporadic donor. They spend less time talking and more time doing. Ants are typically running around with a nice grin and have kind encouraging words for each other as they impact a new community. Ants like working together to get the job done especially on big tasks by breaking it up into smaller pieces.

Ant schools are excellent private institutions with most graduating with honors and therefore having good job prospects. All pastoral ants visit campuses on a regular basis to encourage the young to be good by example and personal friendship. These visits make the parents very happy and as a result the grandparents usually donate more money to the school. Teacher ants always smile, are always personally warm and are great representatives for their campuses by being visible in the community. All ants know that without God, they would not be here.

Lastly, congregational ant leaders are really smart; they make sure that all young are taken care of at any cost or sacrifice because without healthy motivated young there will be no more ants to do God's work.

Let us not be the Generation

I am grateful for the hard work of our dedicated teachers, school administrators, the constituents that donate money, and to the many volunteers with good intentions. However since 1989 the Central California Conference has lost 30 percent of its school population. This year alone, our conference has lost 158 children. One of our academies is currently selling a portion of their property to a developer. And even with Fresno Adventist Academy (FAA) being located in the same community as the conference office, the campus is in the sixth year of substantial enrollment deterioration while being in a region of increasing population. Locally we are the only campus (private or public) in decline.

Unfortunately our local situation is a mere reflection of the national trend. In North American, Adventist school enrollment has been declining since the 1980's. And the reality is, Adventist education is on the verge of becoming a catastrophic failure.

Our educational system has become far too small, our conviction far too limited, our time far too short to waste anymore energy on fleeting one-sided victories and minor adjustments at the expense of our children. Let us not be the generation that allowed the irreversible demise of Adventist education as we know it.

There is a need for major reform with prayerful thought. We must pray for wisdom and ask for God's help. We must ask him for the passion to move our dialog to a new level, the level of action. We need to find a way to triumph together as laymen and pastors in honor of our faith to God. We must show our respect to our Lord by raising all children in the best Christian environment possible. Our campuses should be stellar evangelistic centers for Christ and safe community havens for all families interested in Christian education.

We do not need more meetings to study the problem or meetings to present pious oratories; we need sincerity to do the Lord's work with commitment and impact from all Adventists. There needs to be a movement of grand scale where every word, every partnership, and every promise brings another child in contact with our Savior.

We must have the resolve to collectively correct the existing system with the same determination as our founding brothers and sisters. Their efforts and the grace of God began the Seventh-day Adventist movement. It was not without hardship or toil. It was based on a dedication to make things better for humanity in light of our faith and beliefs. It included love and kindness to all regardless of their attitude towards us. We must rekindle that evangelistic mission.

It is my dream that every child will grow into adulthood with the love of Christ, a willingness to share their faith and to have wonderful stories of youthful days of Christian education at an Adventist academy.

Hispanic Spanish, the Forgotten Language

English is the universal business language of the world. Other cultures train their students English resulting in most societies being bilingual except for American Caucasians. In America we provide multiple courses in English grammar, reading, writing, and speaking skills. We also provide foreign language courses for English speaking students to help them understand some of the basics in another language.


In society we are judged by our appearance, our level of education, and the ability to communicate properly. Language skills by far are some of the most significant differentiators between people, hence the importance of learning to speak English properly. However in this quest, the Hispanics in America are being short changed.

It is a fact, that Hispanics are becoming one of the most dominate forces in our country. We expect them to integrate into our English speaking culture; however, we overlook a most significant fact. If a person is not well trained in their native language, how can we expect them to speak well or be a wordsmith in another language?

The demand for bilingual people in our country is very high. But how can one expect to secure a good bilingual job if one speaks proper English and slang Spanish? It is difficult for a group of people to improve their economic position if they do not have a good command on their own native language.

Here is an opportunity for the Adventist to become leaders in the educational system by providing advanced Spanish to Hispanics.

GC President Speaking about Technology

Seventh-day Adventist world church president, pastor Jan Paulsen talks about the importance of using the Internet for evangelism. This should include the better use of technology for our school system.

Integrating Technology Recertification - Cancelled

The Union Directors voted in 2006 to cancel the recertification requirement for “Integrating Technology into the Curriculum." Does it really make a difference academically if students attend an Adventist school? Unfortunately many parents say yes as seen by so many empty desks in our classrooms. Is the challenge better marketing of our schools or is it time to think about Secondary Adventist Education differently?

NAD-Education advises, "What’s the most important thing you want for your kids? And if it’s a quality education, if that’s the most important thing, then another Christian school, another fine public school, may be appropriate. But if the most important thing is for your children to know Jesus Christ, to understand the value system that you hold as a Seventh-day Adventist, to inculcate those values deep within them so that when they move out of your home they still have those values, then I submit that even though it’s a smaller number of kids and the social opportunities are not as great, I believe that those parents, if at all possible, ought to have their children in Adventist schools. ..."

Why are parents forced to choose between Christ and a quality education? It is a matter of great concern if a child, for whatever reason, is not at one of our schools.