Is the Good Worth Fighting For?

This is a great speech--one worth showing to students and asking:

• Is the good worth fighting for?
• Will the darkness of evil, war, disease and natural catastrophes pass and if so, how?
• How do we deal with the darkness now?
• Why is the darkness necessary?

Samwise Gamgee's speech from Lord of the Rings

Technorati Tags: Evil,suffering,worldview,Media literacy,Lord of the Rings

Click to read full article>>>

In-Box to Zero

Do you have too many emails? Does your inbox look like the one above? If so, you may find the video below to be of value. Not withstanding the "casual" dress and some "language", the folks from Google are smart. The practices suggested in this video work. Merlin Mann, a well known productivity guru and creator of the popular 43 Folders web site will talk about Getting Things Done, the importance of getting your inbox to zero, and strategies for dealing with high volume email.

Please note: The audio gets out of sync around 22:30 but does not materially affect the ability to profit from the video.

Getting Your In-box to Zero

A Few Tips I've Learned

• The fewer you send, the fewer you will receive. Use the phone more often. Consider limited and careful use of IM programs such as Live Messenger.


• Schedule predetermined times each day to address emails and ignore them otherwise. Admittedly, easier said than done but doing so will increase productivity.


• Put the following at the end the subject line whenever possible (NRR). Then, on your automated signature, include this:

Your Name

Note: If you see NRR at the end of the subject line it means "No Reply Required" but is always welcomed.

Additional Resources From the 43 Folders Web Site:

Posts in the Inbox Zero series

• 43F Series: Inbox Zero [Introduction] - “Clearly, the problem of email overload is taking a toll on all our time, productivity, and sanity, mainly because most of us lack a cohesive system for processing our messages and converting them into appropriate actions as quickly as possible.”


• Inbox Zero: Articles of faith - “When I first suggested the email DMZ and said there was a way to get your inbox to zero in 20 minutes, I wasn’t lying. But I was using a definition of “empty” that may not square with your current conception of the email world. So let’s start with a few of my own articles of faith to ensure we’re on the same page going forward.”


• Inbox Zero: Five sneaky email cheats - “In the words of the great Lucas Jackson: ‘Yeah, well, sometimes nothin’ can be a real cool hand.’”


• Inbox Zero: Where filters will and won’t help - “[F]ocus on creating filters and scripts for any noisy, frequent, and non-urgent items which can be dealt with all at a pass and later. ”


• Inbox Zero: Delete, delete, delete (or, “Fail faster”) - “Just remember that every email you read, re-read, and re-re-re-re-re-read as it sits in that big dumb pile is actually incurring mental debt on your behalf. The interest you pay on email you’re reluctant to deal with is compounded every day and, in all likelihood, it’s what’s led you to feeling like such a useless slacker today.”


• Inbox Zero: Schedule email dashes - “If you can get away from being driven by email’s motor and find a way to deal with your work mindfully and on your own terms, you may be startled to see how much easier it is to keep that inbox at zero.”


• Inbox Zero: What’s the action here? - “Focus on finding the fastest and straightest path from discovery to completion, and your inbox fu will be strong.”


• Inbox Zero: Processing to zero - “You’ll never stay ahead of this stuff if you don’t recalibrate starting today. Give each message as much attention as it needs and not one iota more. Remember the contextuality of triage: if you keep trying to care for dead and doomed patients, you’ll end up losing a lot of the ones who could have actually used your help.”


• Inbox Zero: What have you learned? - “Try to learn from what you’ve just experienced, and reapply your new wisdom to the way you treat email every day — nay, every time that little “new mail” chime sounds. You’ve just come out the other side of productivity bankruptcy and have, perhaps for the first time, a clean record and a fresh start.”


• Inbox Zero: Better Practices for staying (near) zero - “As a person who has done the near-impossible and managed to establish a temporary beachhead against the occupying email army, you are your own best expert in what needs to change to keep things together, but I’d like to share a few things that have helped me stay email-sane (most of the time).”

Technorati Tags: Email,In-box,Productivity,GTD

Click to read full article>>>

Could This Be the Future of Textbooks?

Although difficult for some of us to imagine, is it possible that digital readers will replace today's bulky textbooks? The possibilities and implications are intriguing. (Click on the picture to see demonstration video) Imagine:

1. Updates to every textbook every year with the push of a button

2. No bulky book bags for students to carry or to litter hallways

3. Electronic versions of major newspapers, magazines, and professional and research journals available to every student all of the time

4. Potential cost savings

5. The implications for plagiarism and cheating

The kindle may not be THE device, but it may be paving the way for future devices that could make books as we know them obsolete.

Response:

1. Would the potential advantages outweigh the problems?

2. Do you believe digital readers could someday replace conventional books?

3. If money were no obstacle, would you buy one? Why or why not?

Technorati Tags: Digital Reader , Electronic Reader , Textbooks , Technology

Click to read full article>>>

Dinesh D'Souza to Speak at Briarwood Christian School

Briarwood Christian School has started a Distinguished Visiting Scholar lecture series. The purpose of this lecture series is to give our students and faculty an opportunity to learn from internationally respected Christian scholars and leaders. I believe this is essential as we seek to encourage our students to “love God with all of their minds” and to interact with living examples of what it means to apply the truths of God’s word to one’s life and vocation.

In God's kind providence, last year we were privileged to have Dr. John Lennox[1] address our high school students and faculty as the inaugural Distinguished Visiting Scholar. Last month, Mr. Truett Cathy, Founder and CEO of Chick-fil-A restaurants, addressed our high school students. This month, we are privileged to have Dr. Os Guinness[2] as our keynote speaker.

Several years ago, at my previous school, I was privileged to secure Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia as a guest speaker. Our students read several of his books prior to his lecture and had prepared questions for discussion after Justice Scalia’s presentation. Our seniors were honored to have a private reception with Justice Scalia after his presentation.

We have just confirmed that Dinesh D'Souza has agreed to speak to our faculty and students in 2009. I share this information with the hope that it will stimulate visionary thinking as we consider how to create world-class Christian schools. The video clip (CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE a Video of a recent DEBATE) is a wonderful example of how God can use a Christian to defend The faith and spread the Gospel.

Response:

Have you had special guest speakers whom you would recommend?

What are the challenges, "dangers" of having guest speakers?

Would you ever invite speakers who were totally against your school's philosophy and mission, e.g, the ACLU et al? Why or why not?

---

Endnotes:

[1] Dr. Lennox is a graduate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and took his doctorate there in 1970. Then for 29 years he was Reader in Pure Mathematics at the University of Wales from where he has a D.Sc. He is currently a Research Fellow in Mathematics at Green College, Oxford, and a Senior Fellow of the Whitfield Institute. John has lectured extensively in Europe, both Western and Eastern, including many visits to Russia as a guest of the Academy of Science. John is very involved in the science-religion debate, having been active in Christian work since his student days. For example, he gave the Whitefield Institute annual public lecture in 1998 on the topic "Is the watchmaker really blind?" in which he challenged the materialistic atheists like Dawkins et al.

[2] Dr. Os Guinness was Educated in England, he did undergraduate studies at the University of London and postgraduate studies at University of Oxford, where he graduated with a D.Phil. in the social sciences from Oriel College. He has written or edited more than twenty books, including The American Hour (Free Press, 1993), The Call (Word 1998), Time for Truth (Baker 2000), Long Journey Home (Doubleday 2001), and Unspeakable: Facing Up to Evil in an Age of Genocide and Terror (HarperCollins, 2005).

Technorati Tags: Wordview , Debate , Apologetics , Christianity , Atheists , Atheism , Speakers , World-class

Click to read full article>>>