Who am I?

Someone asked about my role with WCS. I am the Director of Continuing Education for Teachers. For many years I was a classroom teacher and then a reading specialist in Christian schools in the United States. Then, for the last 22 years of my career I was a professor of education at Dordt College and at Calvin College in the U.S. During those years I made a great many presentations at conferences for Christian teachers in the U.S., Canada and also in many other countries. When I retired from that work I was delighted to join Worldwide Christian Schools in my present position. If you want to know more about me, my web page is: http://www.calvin.edu/academic/education/faculty/stronks/home.htm

Many teachers in our partner schools are devout Christians and they see the Christian school as a place where teachers pray and talk about the Bible. That is important, of course, but these teachers also would like to understand how biblical teachings are part of every subject that is studied in school. They would like to know new methods of teaching that flow from a biblical world-and-life view. Sometimes they have a meager background in biblical knowledge and don’t even know the stories from the Bible.

My job is to find people who can help with these concerns. Sometimes these people live within the same country as the partner school and then the role of WCS is to help with bringing teachers together for such instruction. At other times we look for speakers and seminar leaders from other countries who especially understand about integration of faith and learning and also about teaching and learning in different cultures. It works best when we can identify teacher leaders, have them attend seminars, and then we provide materials so that they in turn can go back to their own schools and teach the teachers. Soon the WCS website will have a list of the topics that speakers have presented and the speaker’s names so that you will know the kinds of things we do.

One of the greatest blessings of my life has been to meet the teachers who have given their lives to teaching children who live in some of the most needy regions of the world. I will be telling you the stories of these teachers and the children who are blessed by their teaching.