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Some reflections and scripture on this Maundy Thursday [Christian]

On 04/01/2021, in Daniel S. Christian, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
In my senior year at college, it was on a Maundy Thursday that I came out of one of the deepest, loneliest deserts that I’ve been in during this lifetime. I’ve been in others, but not like that one. In the fall of my senior year, I had to see if all of this faith stuff was a hoax. So I went into a 7-8 month time in the desert. I questioned the LORD’s existence. Everyone felt a million miles away…even my closest friends. The LORD felt a million miles away too. After having three good years on the court, the sport that I played in college did not go well — at all. I couldn’t wait to get off the court.

But as it turned out — and looking in the rearview mirror — I could see that He was at work. How I saw myself, the LORD, and the world changed that year. My identity changed that year.

On that Maundy Thursday, I went to the Alice Millar Chapel on NU’s campus. Normally, I would have been with my family, but they were away that year. I was sitting alone, in the back of the church…it was dark. I watched the pastor get down on his knees, reach for a wet towel, and wash the feet of a dozen or so people from the congregation. The pastor was doing what Christ had done to His disciples, many years prior.

All of the sudden, the many years’ worth of singing the doxology around the family table came flooding back into my mind. And what I can only describe as a sort of full-body warmth came over me. I have never doubted the LORD’s existence since that time. It was nice to be out of the desert.

(My pastor at that time, Rev. David Handley, used to say that the Holy Spirit was active on Maundy Thursday…and I believe it. 🙂

All that said, I hope that once we make it through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, that those of you who celebrate Easter have a great one this year!

Thank you LORD for your love, grace, forgiveness, patience, gentleness, and kindness. Thank you for your creation. Thank you for your provision. Thank you for our work. Thank you for running, clean water. Thank you for all the food and drinks we have. Thank you for roofs over our heads and clothes on our backs.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

And from Isaiah Chapter 53:

Isaiah 53:3-6
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. –

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

A New Online Tutoring Market Has Emerged — In Construction. It Requires a Surprising Number of Books.

On 03/27/2021, in Alternatives, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, relationships, United States, vendors, vocational / trades, by Daniel Christian

A New Online Tutoring Market Has Emerged — In Construction. It Requires a Surprising Number of Books. — from edsurge.com by Rebecca Koenig

Excerpt:

There’s a high-stakes exam that’s created an entire industry selling test-preparation products and services to people willing to shell out big bucks for help honing their skills and strategies.

It’s not the SAT, or the MCAT. In fact, it’s not related to academic admissions at all. Yet it has generated lots of online guides and courses, and studying for it requires many, many books.

It’s the exam to become a licensed construction contractor. And companies that offer remote instruction to help tradespeople get ready to take the test say business has been booming during the pandemic—perhaps driven by the fact that demand for construction workers is high.

Hebrews 4:15-16

On 03/11/2021, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society, by Daniel Christian

Hebrews 4:15-16 — from biblegateway.com

¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Isaiah 25:1

On 03/06/2021, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Isaiah 25:1 — from biblegateway.com

Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
    you have done wonderful things,
    things planned long ago.

Inclusivity Begins with Overcoming Bias [Benson]

On 02/25/2021, in adjunct faculty, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), colleges, community colleges, corporate universities / corporate training, culture, faculty, law schools, relationships, student-related, teaching & learning, training / L&D, universities, by Daniel Christian

Inclusivity Begins with Overcoming Bias — from scholarlyteacher.com by Spencer Benson

Excerpt:

On an individual level, we need to be mindful that small things that may seem inconsequential to us may have detrimental impacts on others. Numerous articles and resources are readily available detailing best practices for creating more inclusive environments for students. Small things that can help to foster a sense of belonging and inclusiveness include the following:

being intentional in selecting course content that reflects diverse people and voices,
ensuring that resources and materials reflect individuals from underrepresented groups,
sharing gender pronouns,
learning preferred names and asking students to correct mispronunciation,
having students do a short online biographic sketch,
using small group learning,
giving students agency in assessments and grading, and
using mid-term and end-of-term student surveys.

John 3:16

On 02/14/2021, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Psalm 86:1-12

On 02/01/2021, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Psalm 86:1-12 — from biblegateway.com

A prayer of David.

¹Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
²Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; ³have mercy on me, Lord,
    for I call to you all day long.
⁴Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
    for I put my trust in you.

⁵You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
    abounding in love to all who call to you.
⁶Hear my prayer, Lord;
    listen to my cry for mercy.
⁷When I am in distress, I call to you,
    because you answer me.

⁸Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
    no deeds can compare with yours.
⁹All the nations you have made
    will come and worship before you, Lord;
    they will bring glory to your name.
¹⁰For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
    you alone are God.

¹¹Teach me your way, Lord,
    that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
    that I may fear your name.
¹²I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
    I will glorify your name forever.

9 BIG Questions Schools Must Answer to Avoid Going “Back to Normal” (*Because “Normal” Wasn’t That Great to Begin With) — from bigquestions.institute

Excerpt from email/e-newsletter (dated 1/27/21)

As we start to emerge from this dark moment, individuals and institutions need to be asking two important questions Given the trauma of the last 12 months, who are we now? And now that so much has changed about the world, who do we want to become?

Reflecting on those questions is especially important for educators. The “old normal” of schools is not coming back, nor should we want it to. Instead, this is an incredible opportunity to reset, to redefine our work.

To that end, we’ve written a new, free ebook: 9 Questions Schools Must Answer to Avoid Going Back to Normal (*Because Normal Wasn’t That Great to Begin With). Rather than innovate our way forward, Homa and I believe this is a moment to interrogate deeply the foundations of our work with children. That starts with a willingness to answer some big questions upon which we build our collective futures.

Q1: What is Sacred?

Q2: What is Learning?

Q3: Where is the Power?

Q4: Why do we _________?

Q5: Who is Unheard?

Q6: Are we Literate?

Q7: Are we OK?

Q8: Are we Connected?

Q9: What’s Next?

“Real change will require us to leave many of our old ideas about school behind.”

From DSC:
We must figure out better ways to get away from creating game-players to developing curious, passionate learners instead. Even in law schools, points and grades are still used as the currency to get students to do some things. Holy smokes! That pull/embedded behavior is a strong undercurrent even for adults learning about new things.

Students need to see their faculty members and/or teachers as people who ARE ON THEIR TEAM. Not an adversarial, controlling relationship. But one wherein the teacher or the professor is trying to help that person develop into a better, ___, ___, or ____.

I love the suggestion mentioned in the “Towards a new normal” on page 23 that says…

“Instead of ‘students’ and ‘teachers,’ refer to everyone in the school as ‘learners.'”

#behaviorism #learning #education #educationreform #K12 #lawschools and more.

Learning channels of the future will offer More choice. More control. Daniel Christian

Flipping Virtual Classrooms for More Impact [Bendici]

On 01/30/2021, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, adult learning, blended learning, communications, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, corporate universities / corporate training, digital audio, digital equity, digital learning, digital video, distance education, education, education technology, flipping -- inverted learning, higher education, hybrid learning, instructional design, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods, liberal arts, lifelong learning, media/film, more choice more control, multimedia, online learning, online media, productivity / tips and tricks, relationships, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, training / L&D, trends, universities, by Daniel Christian

Flipping Virtual Classrooms for More Impact — from techlearning.com by Ray Bendici
Flipping virtual classrooms can help maximize teaching time and resources

Excerpt:

The mantra of flipped learning is that you can reach every student in every class every day, said Bergman. So if you have less synchronous time, you need to provide more time with your students one-on-one to work on the hard stuff, and flipped mastery learning, in particular, accommodates that.

“Flipped learning teachers have been preparing for the pandemic for the past 10 years,” Bergman said. “It’s really a great way to amplify your reach to teach.”

When the pandemic hit, Bergman and his flipped learning team realized that the most important thing is connections with students and the physical time spent with them. “So what’s the best use of your face-to-face class time?” Bergman said. “I’m going to argue it’s not you standing up and then introducing new content, it’s giving students the new content first and allowing them to apply, analyze, and evaluate it.”

Philippians 4:8

On 01/27/2021, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, metacognition / metacognitive skills, relationships, religion, society, youth, by Daniel Christian

Philippians 4:8 — from biblegateway.com

⁸Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Musical Mentors Collaborative Announces Requiem-20

On 01/26/2021, in creativity, culture, health, music, participation, passions, relationships, society, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Musical Mentors Collaborative Announces Requiem-20
The resulting compendium is a tribute to the pandemic world we live in today

Philadelphia, PA — January 19, 2021 — Musical Mentors Collaborative (“MMC”), which provides free private music instruction and instruments to students who would not otherwise have access, presents Requiem-20, a collaborative, multimedia, multi-genre reflection on the ineffable loss of life in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Featuring music by young but brilliant early-career composers, this project offered these artists a chance to help culture make meaning in a time of seeming creative impossibility. Produced in cooperation with Musical Mentors Collaborative and performed by MMC’s Teaching Fellows, this project represents a coalescence, a meeting place for creative artists to express and process the difficulties of this time.

“With the looming loss of millions of lives to Coronavirus, 11 composers and 23 artists have come together to form a musical collaborative work called, Requiem-20, a modern day Requiem in response to Covid-19. During this pandemic and with the lack of so many live performances, composers, especially young composers are feeling that their musical voices are not able to be displayed as normal and are looking for ways to stay connected and be relevant to the world right now.

This is their musical reaction to all the loss that is experienced during this time. A requiem not just for the loss of so many lives, but also for the loss of everyday life as we knew it, the loss of so many things that we had, the loss of getting to do things we love and see the people we love, the loss of so many jobs and livelihoods, the loss of so much continues and is expressed here in this montage and continuous melange of 11 short expressions that is interwoven to formulate Requiem-20,” says Says Daniel Matsukawa, principal bassoon of the Philadelphia Orchestra, professor at the Curtis Institute of Music, and the creator of this project.

Given the continuing loss of so many musicians’ jobs and livelihoods, we hope that the feelings and stories conveyed through Requiem-20 give you faith that artistic expression lives on as robustly as ever. We also hope that this project may prompt other musicians to compose and add to the concept, thus creating their own musical tribute in response to the current pandemic-filled world.

“Musical Mentors Collaborative encourages creativity through connection, and employs the ingenuity of economically displaced musicians to create connections in communities with the least access to music’s undisputed benefits. This project furthers our mission of connecting artists and young people with this crucial resource in this troubled time,” said Teddy Poll, Artistic and Educational Director of MMC. “We are excited to share Requiem-20 and for the public.”

Requiem-20, as well as more detailed information about the piece, can be seen/heard here: www.requiem-20.com.

DC: Thank you LORD for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.!!!

On 01/18/2021, in Daniel S. Christian, digital equity, education, ethics, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society, sociology, United States, by Daniel Christian

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Excerpt:

[Dr.] King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.

Micah 6:8

On 01/08/2021, in Access to Justice (A2J), Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, ethics, Europe, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, India, law schools, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, relationships, religion, society, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

⁸He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly^[a] with your God.

Merry Christmas to you and to yours!

On 12/24/2020, in faith, global / globalization, history, music, relationships, religion, by Daniel Christian

Merry Christmas all!

²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss^[a] your servant in peace.
³⁰For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹    which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

Luke 2:8-11

On 12/22/2020, in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, relationships, by Daniel Christian

Luke 2:8-11 (New International Version) — from biblegateway.com

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Merry Christmas all!

Learning Ecosystems

Some reflections and scripture on this Maundy Thursday [Christian]

A New Online Tutoring Market Has Emerged — In Construction. It Requires a Surprising Number of Books.

Hebrews 4:15-16

Isaiah 25:1

John 3:16

Psalm 86:1-12

Philippians 4:8

Musical Mentors Collaborative Announces Requiem-20

DC: Thank you LORD for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.!!!

Micah 6:8

Merry Christmas to you and to yours!

Luke 2:8-11

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