Friday Memo: February 23, 2018

CAEP visit is finally here!

We are ready to host our visitors. Our visiting team members begin arriving from all over the country tomorrow. The interviews and meetings begin Sunday. You and the CAEP team have done a tremendous job preparing for this weekend. It's our time to shine!

Campus Service Award

One of our own, Madeline Smith, has been nominated for this important award. See Dorie's email she just sent out for more information about Madeline. Please come to faculty meeting on Monday afternoon prepared to place your vote.

Spartan Preview Day

Monday, February 19 was Spartan Preview day on Main Campus. Ricki Roth, Tammy Cox, and I talked with prospective students and their parents in the morning. During lunch Ricki and Mary Ann Bouas talked with prospective students about the different student organizations that are available.

Faculty & Staff In-Service
Wednesday, February 21 was our Faculty & Staff In-Service. We started in the Chapel where Dr. Keith Ross spoke, Patrick Cleveland sang, and Aaron Chastain won the Outstanding Staff award. We could then choose three workshops that we wanted to attend and met back at the Chapel for a delicious lunch from Sugar Fire. It was a great day and a big thank you to all involved in organizing the event.

President Ross

Dr. Patrick Cleveland

Dr. Alicia Noddings Speaks at Conference
Dr. Alicia Noddings was invited to be a speaker at the annual professional development conference for Hope and Andrews Academies in St. Louis on Friday, February 16, based on the three articles she wrote for the Montessori Life journal last year on effectively supporting sensory issues in young children. Several MBU education students were attending the full-day event as employees of Hope / Andrews, as we regularly have students working at the academies, particularly at Hope Montessori in Creve Coeur. Alicia’s 1.5 hour afternoon session provided about 150 educators with opportunities to brainstorm how to make their classrooms more supportive of young students at varied stages of sensory development and function.


sMSTA sASCD Professional Development Workshop at TW/RLC
Dr. Mark Engelhardt submitted the following:
Amy Tippett, Resource Officer for Lincoln County R-lll School District, presented a workshop on active shooter training to the Troy/Wentzville RLC education students during their monthly professional development meeting for February.

Officer Tippett is a graduate of Missouri Baptist University having earned a master's degree in counseling from MBU.

We encourage you to send us articles, pictures, and events. Please submit pictures for the blog by Thursday. We love to share your good news. Email to melanie.bishop@mobap.edu or nancy.sickler@mobap.edu

Upcoming Meetings
CAEP Visit: February 24 - February 27, 2018
Spring Break: March 12 - 16
March 20: Education Faculty Meeting at 10:15 am in FLD 115

Closing Thoughts
As we prepare the final details for the CAEP visit, I found my morning devotional to be incredibly fitting for this event. As our Education division is showcasing our program to outsiders, we must have courage as we approach this visit. As we build a culture of courage in our division, I encourage you to consider ways in which you can build a culture of courage in your classroom. This devotional can be found on the Bible App - The Catalyst Leader devotional written by Brad Lomenick.

Build a Culture of Courage

Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the commitment to overcome it.
Courage doesn't mean you're not afraid; it means you battle against your fear and confront it.
Courage pushes you to resist the impulse to shy away from the things that stir up your innermost anxieties.  Courage is required and must be constant.  It's tiny pieces of fear all glued together.
The lives of great Christian leaders teach us that those who follow a God-sized calling need God-sized courage.
Abraham left his home to journey to a place he wasn't even sure existed.
Moses overcame his speech impediment to lead the people of Israel to freedom.
Joshua faced doubters who feared the promised land was too difficult to conquer.  Gideon led an army of only three hundred to defeat an army of thousands.
Daniel and Esther displayed tremendous courage in the face of death.  Nehemiah overcame fierce opposition to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in fifty-two days.  Jesus faced the cross and triumphed over death.  Paul penned parts of the New Testament while nurturing wounds in prison; and nearly every apostle preached the gospel until being martyred.

Here are some helpful tips for building a culture of courage:

• Set scary standards.  Your level of excellence and expectation for your product or service or experience should almost be something that is nearly unattainable.  Safe goals are set by safe leaders with safe visions.  Give your people a goal that scares them, and you'll produce leaders who know what it means to overcome fear.
• Allow for failure. The road to success is many times put together through multiple failures. Allow for and even encourage your team to fail as they attempt to succeed.
• Reward innovation.  Innovation requires taking risks.  And bold risks create bold team members.  Rewarding innovation will challenge your team to grow in their roles.
• Pursue the right opportunities.  Not every risk is a good one.  Be disciplined.  Aggressively pursue a few things that make sense.  Say no often.
• Learn to delegate.  This is one of the most courageous things a leader can do.  Entrusting others with important tasks require letting go and relinquishing control.  Liberally pass responsibility and authority to your team.  If you want your team to be courageous, give them the chance to lead.