I never used to journal or “keep a diary.”

I suppose there are several reasons for this. Earlier in my life, I thought of journaling—keeping a diary—as “something girls do.” I probably came to that false conclusion because my early exposure to journaling was always limited to female examples, _The Diary of Anne Frank_ being one.

A second reason is that, sadly, reading and writing were not highly valued in my childhood home. My mother never went to college, and my father joined the military before graduating high school. They were good parents, but neither placed a premium on the development of the mind. The idea of voluntarily spending time as a teenager or young man writing in a journal without being forced to by a teacher was the farthest thing from my mind. I am reminded of the hilarious scene in Back to the Future when Doc tells the old men in the bar that in the future people run for fun:

Doc: In the future, we don't need horses. We have motorized carriages called "automobiles."

Barfly:If everybody's got one of these auto-whats-its, does anybody walk or run any more?

Doc: Of course we run, but for recreation. Fun.

Barfly: Run for fun? What the hell kinda fun is that?!

I would have said the same thing about journaling, albeit with different language!

I was wrong. History is replete with famous people keeping journals; Thomas Jefferson, Charles Darwin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Winston Churchill, to name a few. None other than George Washington kept a daily diary for much of his life, from his first surveying trip in 1748 until December 13, 1799, the day before his death.

The question is why? Why take the time and develop the discipline to journal? I believe there are at least six good reasons to keep a journal …

Stress has many causes. One cause is feeling overwhelmed with everything on our to do list, especially the ones in our head and our subconscious selves. The shear number of things to do can create stress. So can guilt when we don’t feel like we are getting enough done.

We can reduce the stress caused by being overwhelmed and by “productivity guilt.” I define productivity guilt as the guilt we feel when we don’t believe we got enough done or the right things done. Here are a few things you can do to get more done with less stress.

This is part one of a two part series on promoting effective parent and school partnerships. Part 2 focuses on Seven High-Touch Communication Strategies.

During new parent orientation, I ask parents to pray for us because we need the wisdom of Solomon in making good decisions. After all, as I tell them, “We only deal with people’s children, money, and religion: what could possibly go wrong?” 

This lighthearted acknowledgment elicits hearty laughter, creates a relaxed atmosphere, and conveys an important truth. As school leaders, we deal with three of the most important things in parents’ lives—their children, their religion, and their money. And depending on what is going on around us and what might be said in a classroom, we can throw politics into the mix. What could go wrong?!

Indeed, things do go wrong or are perceived to have gone wrong. Either way, too often parents, teachers, and administrators find themselves at odds and engaged in tension and conflict. My purpose in this article is not to address the reasons for the tensions, which are many. Instead, I will focus on practical things we can do to promote positive partnerships with parents. 

In Part 1 of this two part series, I outlined Six Principles to Promote Parent and School Partnerships. In Part 2 I am focusing on Seven High-Touch Communication Strategies. 

Good communication fosters confidence, trust, and positive relationships. Poor communication does the opposite. Promoting a positive partnership with parents is ultimately not about the programs we put in place, though those are valuable. It is about fostering positive relationships. Such relationships are best nourished by consistently and warmly engaging with parents. When strong relationships are encouraged, a strong partnership with the school forms. This is honoring to the Lord, life-on life transforming, and ultimately enhances the school’s ability to fulfill its mission.

High-touch communication is essential to developing healthy partnerships with our school parents. While we cannot always control how others communicate to and with us, we can certainly work on responding in ways that effectively address the issues at hand—as well as do our part to foster positive relationships into the future.

While technology has its place, it must be kept in its place. More often than not, our over reliance on high tech communication diminishes the effectiveness of our communication and impedes the school-to-home partnership. Here are seven specific strategies for developing high-touch communication, which if applied consistently will go a long way to fostering an enduring healthy partnership with your parents.

Having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 1 Peter 3:16

When it comes to a worldview that encourages judgmental, legalistic attitudes, it’s hard to beat atheism. Maybe that’s because it’s a perspective that hasn’t room for biblical concepts of sin, repentance, redemption and spiritual rebirth, and so has to depend on a list of externally imposed, arbitrary rules to hold society together. So it’s no surprise that in North America’s functionally atheistic society - especially in its media - legalistic, condemning judgements are the popular pastimes du jour: 

Evangelical Christians? = “BAD!”