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Alumna Alisha Joyce provides holistic education

Alumna Alisha Joyce provides holistic education

by | Jul 17, 2021

“Every day I’m thankful for the biblical education I received at Calvary” 

Alisha Joyce graduated from Calvary University in 2017 with a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education before getting her Master’s in Special Education from Bethel University. For the last four years, she has been teaching at Providence School of Art in Kansas City.

Providence incorporates all kinds of different learning styles in all their classes. “The reason that we do that,” Joyce explained, “is because we really believe that it’s important to equip students with a varied experience in education. We really want to reach the whole child and give them not only academics, but also the arts because we believe that all the skills that they learn in their art classes help form the skills that they learn later in life— it equips them for whatever God has for them in the future. The arts provide a lot of experience in problem-solving, learning how to work with other people, and communication skills. All of those things are really important for people to learn in general, so we made a point of including that in our school.”

Another thing which makes Providence unique is the demographic of their students. “Our school is specifically designed to reach students from a variety of different educational backgrounds,” Joyce said. “So that’s why I ended up with a lot of students in my class whose needs might be a little different than what might be considered a typical learner.”

Even in the non-arts classes, the teachers at Providence try to incorporate creativity in their lessons. “I teach the advanced class,” Joyce said, “I have the fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade students. I’m not an arts teacher, I’m just a regular classroom teacher. I do math, science, and all those things. But we do try to incorporate as much as we can of creativity and movement a lot. If you look around, it’s not a very typical classroom. It has a trampoline— that is an actual seat that students sit in. We’ve got all kinds of different seating options just because we believe in meeting children where they’re at and then helping them learn what they need to learn.”

Joyce said that she is thankful for what she learned at CU. “We teach Bible classes here, and I feel like every day I’m thankful for the biblical education I received at Calvary because the kids will ask me the craziest questions, and I feel like if I didn’t go to a college that had those Bible classes I feel like I would be like, ‘Uhh, you should really talk to your parents about that,’ because I would have no idea how to answer it… But I have been able to discuss those things with them because of the truths that I learned while I was at Calvary.”

Joyce then talked about how she sometimes questions whether she’s where she is meant to be. “I think that once you graduate and you start a career there’s this tendency to question, ‘Am I doing the right thing? Am I on the right path? Is this really what God has for me?’” She then continued, saying, “Because everything can seem so mundane after a while. I’ve been working at this school for four years now— I mean a lot has changed, they do keep me on my toes here— but, when you’re getting up every morning to go to work, it’s like, ‘Is this really what God has for me? I thought it would be more exciting than this.'”

But in the middle of the mundane, she is able to take joy in how she sees God working in the kids’ lives. “I’ve gotten to do so many cool things, gotten to walk with these kids through so many big things in their lives… I’ve been with the same kids all along.” Joyce says that every year there’s at least one moment where she thinks, “This is it. This is why I’m here.” Whether it’s a conversation with one of the kids, providing the students with the support they need, or helping to provide a safe space, like Providence, where they can learn and grow. “Because I’m here, I can provide that for them.”

2020 Grad Teaching Internationally This Fall

2020 Grad Teaching Internationally This Fall

by | Jun 25, 2020

“I’ve learned that education is, at its core, the same everywhere, especially for Christian education.”

Elizabeth Viens graduated this spring with her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. In the fall, she’ll be teaching 3rd grade at an international school in Southeast Asia. Viens said, “Since I was about 10 years old, I noticed that I just had a really big desire to go internationally. I love traveling and people groups. I have a heart for the world and for lost people.”

Calvary was a top choice for Viens, who lived in the Kansas City area. She chose the education program because, “I’ve always loved kids; loved teaching. It was always kind of on my radar. I wanted something that I could do in a ministry context, not just the professional world.”

Viens has traveled to several schools abroad while at Calvary, visiting Russia, China, and Mexico. She said, “I’ve learned that education is, at its core, the same everywhere, especially for Christian education. Even though it may look different to different people groups, the goal is still to inform minds to be more like Christ and impact the world for his kingdom.”

Viens will be teaching through the organization Teach Beyond. She first encountered Teach Beyond when their reps visited Calvary’s campus, and she “felt like that was God saying, ‘here’s your direction.’”

As she puts her degree to work, Viens is excited for this opportunity to teach internationally. “I think as an educator, I’m helping prepare the next generation of people to be logical and sound thinkers, to have a knowledge of God and his word, and … preparing them to serve in the world wherever they go.”

Education Department Launches Intro to Graduate Studies Course

Education Department Launches Intro to Graduate Studies Course

by | Jun 15, 2020

Are you or someone you know considering graduate school?

At Calvary University, we’re committed to helping our students succeed in the transition to graduate studies. Consequently, we are now offering a new graduate course.

ED610 Introduction to Graduate Studies is now a prerequisite for all other graduate level courses in the Education Department. As stated in the syllabus, “This course introduces beginning graduate students to the skills necessary to complete graduate level academic research, writing, and presentation assignments. The course covers search strategies, resource evaluation, note taking, scholarly writing, mechanics of style, APA guidelines, presentation options, and associated technological skills.”

A key to success at the graduate level is being able to locate scholarly journal articles. Calvary’s librarian, Tiffany Smith, has prepared audio-visual materials to help new graduate students learn to conduct productive searches of Calvary University’s online research databases.

In addition to these practical skills, this course is also designed to help students navigate the paradigm shift from an undergraduate mindset to a graduate mindset. In particular, students will learn to become more focused on developing their critical reading, critical thinking, and scholarly writing skills as they analyze scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles.

After completing ED610 Introduction to Graduate Studies, graduate students should have the basic skills and mindset that will allow them to spend more time focusing on the content of their future graduate courses.

Dr. Mary Briggs, the chair of the Education Department who developed the course, said, “I am thankful for the amazing opportunity God has given us to further equip educators by providing biblically based graduate level studies to students living in various countries around the world.”

 

Check out Introduction to Graduate Studies in our FA 2020 course offering
The Steps Before Us

The Steps Before Us

by | May 20, 2020

By Dedra Pease

Here we are at the end of another school year. This year has ended differently than anyone of us could have possibly imagined. Some are breathing sighs of relief that the days of distance learning at this time are done. Some are in a confused state wondering where March and April have gone. Some are handling life day by day.

Wherever you are, we are all making adjustments to our lives. Some of you are preparing to send a senior (high school or college) on to the next phase of their life, a job, trade school, or college. Some of you have an eighth grader preparing to enter high school. Fifth graders are stepping into a secondary school environment. Kindergarteners are taking a big step into first grade. Four-year-olds are plunging into kindergarten. As this so clearly illustrates, life is filled with moments of transition.

I am reminded of when I found out, forty years ago, that I was pregnant with our son. Fear began to well up. I did not feel prepared for this. I didn’t have the concerns of a difficult pregnancy, but fear of the delivery process loomed. When that day came and went, the fear of taking this helpless human home began to creep in. Then there were all of those typical parental concerns. You are never quite sure you are doing the right thing in the right way at the right time. Fear filled my thoughts.

As we all step into the next phase, whatever it looks like for you, remember what Jesus told His disciples. As He was preparing them for His physical departure, He said, “Let not your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1, ESV). Just as Jesus prepared His disciples, God has prepared each of us for the steps before us. Each stage has baby steps before the big leap. God has brought you to this place. As He told Joshua in Joshua 1:7, “Only be strong and very courageous . . .” (ESV). God has prepared you and He will go with you. Be strong, courageous, and do not let fear reign.

_____________________

Mrs. Dedra Pease has just completed Calvary’s Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and Leadership. Dedra’s Master’s Project included a series of devotions written to encourage the hearts of educators.

TESOL Equips Educators for Ministry

TESOL Equips Educators for Ministry

by | Dec 2, 2019

Calvary’s TESOL minor trains students for global career opportunities.

Calvary offers a minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), formerly titled ELL, that trains students in teaching English to non-English speakers. Calvary’s Director of International Student Support, Tim Hange, also serves as TESOL coordinator and teaches associated courses. Hange said, since the introduction of Calvary’s Warrior’s Choice program, the TESOL minor has “kind of mini exploded.” The number of students enrolled in the concentration has more than quadrupled with the innovation of interdisciplinary degrees.

Students have paired their minor in TESOL with minors in Bible and Theology, Education, and Intercultural Studies, among others. Hange said, “The idea of combining TESOL with Intercultural Studies in the Warrior’s Choice interdisciplinary degree is an excellent plan for those desiring to go overseas to serve people. [It trains them] in a way that is very practical that helps them build relationships and gives them a sphere of influence through which to share the gospel.”

Hange commented on the wide variety of options available to students trained in TESOL. “They graduate ready to go. They can teach in Thailand and the Thai government will pay them. There are so many opportunities overseas to be salt and light.” Beyond traditional public education, students have options to invest in other avenues, such as English outreach ministries and government orphanages.

Calvary’s position theologically, as well as physically at the Kansas City campus, equips them to address these education requirements with excellence. Hange said, “I think Calvary’s really uniquely positioned to offer a program that is well tailored for ministry.” Through involvement in local outreaches, such as Global FC and Refuge KC, students get experience with language learning. “Teaching somebody a language… means you’re going to have a high degree of interaction with that person… There is a closeness that develops that just gives you a very natural way to build relationships in settings where missions or Christianity might be distrusted.”

Calvary’s TESOL plan is “Rooted within a biblical worldview and is preparing [students], not just to teach, but also to minister.”

Local organizations give students experince with language learning.

TESOL students recieve educational training in demand worldwide.

Book Characters Come to Life!

Book Characters Come to Life!

by | Oct 3, 2019

Calvary student, Hannah Sorensen, reading “Madeline’s Rescue” to students at Blue Ridge Christian School. 

Calvary students enrolled in Teaching Elementary Literature donned costumes and presented a wax museum for the elementary students from Blue Ridge Christian School. Madeline visited from Paris, Tom Sawyer from Missouri, Jessie from Ireland and a host of others characters such as Amelia Bedelia, Nancy Drew, Miss Frizzle, and Camilla, the girl with stripes. Blue Ridge students were delighted with the presentations. According to Mrs. Rena Shaver, the 5 th grade teacher at Blue Ridge, “We are very fortunate to be able to work with you all. Your students were very well prepared and extremely professional! They only broke character when I (as the teacher) spoke to them directly.”

Calvary students enjoyed the experience as well and learned a lot about engaging with elementary students. Hopefully, the literacy connections will inspire them as they prepare to inspire the next generation of learners!