It’s the end of the day. I have survived my day of teaching a variety of subjects to multiple groups of middle school kids. The last class I taught managed to get the room all cleaned up before first bell; you’ll understand the joy of this if you have ever had to teach art to [...]
Recently, I had the honour of participating in one of life's milestones – the memorial service of my grandmother. She was 96 years old when she died and was committed to the church, to Christian education, to her family, and she made time for me as a young boy and into adulthood. As with most [...]
As I looked around the room last weekend, enjoying a breakfast for all of the Dordt College grads, I realized I was quite obviously the most senior person graduating. After a few years of hard work, I was graduating with my master’s degree. I had taken the opportunity to attend the ceremony in Sioux Center, [...]
I don’t know if you have ever taught a physical education lesson to grade 1 students before, but it is one of my favourite things to do. I have a particularly athletic class this year, so I thought I would teach a version of kickball, called Flat Mat. Usually when I teach lessons to my [...]
Not long ago, I heard secondary teacher Trent De Jong describe athletics by saying, “At ACS we don’t just compete, we represent.” I heard a great story the other day from one of our coaches in the staff room that exemplified this idea. Here is Joanne Friesen, the Junior Boys’ Volleyball Head Coach, in her [...]
The other day Levi and I stood on the street in the middle of Abbotsford, killing time until the department store we needed to shop at opened its doors for business. We did some people watching as one by one they passed us by. Some hurrying, some looking at their phone, some meandering/window shopping but [...]
My most vivid memory of high school involves the annual meeting that I had with the school counsellor at the large public school that I attended. Each student met with the counsellor for about fifteen minutes to check on the student’s progress and discuss their career plans. I was pulled from my math class (bonus!) [...]
At the top of my all-time favourite memories as a kid was going to Uncle Cecil and Aunt Sylvia’s farm. They owned and managed a dairy farm in Cobourg, Ontario (they moved to Listowel, Ontario when I was much older). Uncle Cecil was one of my dad’s younger brothers and they were good friends. We [...]
It was my first year teaching. Fresh out of Dordt College, transplanted to sunny California. I had this wonderfully diverse and eager-to-learn first grade class. After the first few weeks of “what am I doing here?!” I was finding my rhythm as a primary teacher. I was connecting with the students, explaining things at their [...]
I remember waiting for my 16th birthday with a mixture of fear and anticipation. I knew my life was going to change drastically. Freedom and independence were calling my name and it all hinged on whether I could pass that formidable test…the driver's test. I hopped into my parents’ big blue suburban and off I [...]
