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| ELAINE BROUWER |
Great Aunt Nora, who earned her degree in primary education in 1923, was Elaine's first inspiration to enter the teaching
profession. As a child Elaine can remember sitting in Aunt Nora's kitchen witnessing her passion for teaching
and learning. The first stirrings of vocation were awakened (although, one has to admit that career paths for girls
were considerably more limited then than now).
After having been trained to teach secondary Math and German and sent on to her first job with the advice - "Don't smile until Christmas",
Elaine found herself teaching Math and German, yes, but also advising cheerleaders (an ill fit for those of you who know Elaine!) and
coaching girls basketball. It took all of one practice session to realize that while Iowa girls basketball played half
court, girls basketball in Washington was full court. So began a long history in Christian education.
Elaine's work in Christian education, be that in the classroom or teaching teachers, can be strung together with one
persistent question - "What would Christian schooling look like if it were radically biblical?" That question took her down many
paths including earning a Masters of Education Degree at Seattle Pacific University, which included 5 Alta Vista courses
organized by Dr. Al Greene, and the founding of Covenant Christian School, a small "alternative" school that served many young
people over a 10 year period.
Peace, justice and creation care, passions that shape her work in Christian education, are also passions in her daily
life leading to organic gardening, food composting with wormbins, rain water catchment, volunteerism, and film and
food-fueled discussion groups.
When asked to introduce her self, Elaine minimizes other descriptors in favor of "a grandmother of nine wonderful grandchildren".
Elaine's CV
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| TIM KRELL |
Tim's call to teaching was subtly planted in his mind very early by his mom who was also his fourth grade teacher. Her mom was also
a teacher so, more than likely, there is some genetic encoding at work. He was raised on a farm in eastern Washington where
he picked up the unquenchable need to be outside. His most creative ideas come to mind when moving about on a long walk
or a bicycle ride. Moving to think is something he discovered later on in his career in education. Current brain
research confirms that exercise positively affects human learning.
Two of his greatest teachers are his sons now twenty-six and twenty-three. Jonathan, the youngest, was instrumental in dislodging
Tim from a complacent, traditional view of teaching and learning. Whereas Brian played the school game with finesse
and flair, Jonathan was the thinker. Unfortunately, school does not always provide time for thinking, and he was often left
behind in the frantic pace of racing between subjects. Brian's self confidence and courage to try new endeavors is a trait
Tim shares. His combination of seeing bright students struggle in traditional schooling and the courage to look for renewal
in education led to the beginning of Praxis, a project oriented approach to learning for middle school students.
In 2008 after thirty years teaching and providing leadership in secondary schooling, Tim was called to a time of transition
and new beginnings. His passion to infuse curiosity and wonder back into learning communities keeps him busy reading,
reflecting and journaling to sharpen a single-minded focus on courage, renewal and reform in Christian schools. He
wonders what schools would look like if they were structured to keep students curious to learn about Christ and creation. He
joined Alta Vista because it provides a community straining to help schools live out a completely Christian vision of learning.
He currently works half time for Alta Vista envisioning its sustainable future, teaching and leading workshops, and
engaging in a new initiative with international Christian schools. When the sun's out, you'll often find him pedaling
around Seattle on a bicycle.
Tim's CV
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| JOHN VAN DYK |
In August, 1963 John Van Dyk moved from being a logger in BC to teaching ancient history, German and English in Ripon Christian High.
How did this happen?
While visiting his brother, a pastor on Vancouver Island, John read an article bewailing the shortage of teachers in Christian schools.
He took a hard look at his life: high school dropout, college in three years, MA leading to loss of his faith. And now, logging
with a rough bunch. Was this the Lord's call for his life?
As a Gideon's fleece, he contacted three Christian high schools still looking for teachers. Within a week he was called
from "the bush" and standing in front of a Freshman English class for non-college track students. He was a natural. Besides
discovering his vocation at Ripon, John also met his future wife Susan who became his faithful partner in his service to
Christian education. Together John and Sue make choices for their life's journey, strongly aware of implications these choices
have for persons suffering from poverty and injustice around the world.
John earned a doctorate at Cornell University, and served Dordt College for many years, both as a professor and as Director of the
Dordt College Center for Educational Services. John has since retired from Dordt College and has joined Alta Vista. John has
written numerous articles and several books.
When John is not globe-trotting helping Christian schools, he enjoys identifying wildflowers and trees, visiting children
and grandchildren, and helping Sue garden. Conversations are often interrupted as John identifies a kinglet or wren.
John's CV
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| LARRY REYNOLDS |
Larry Reynolds set off on his first teaching assignment armed with an English major and ready to share his love of literature with his
high school students. It was the turbulent 60's and he soon realized that his real love for teaching was his intersecting with the
lives of his students. English became the medium for students to express and understand themselves and the world they live in.
A master's in English opened the door to teach at a Christian college in Iowa, but Larry soon discovered he missed his involvement
with students on the high school level. When he was encouraged to join the education department by his academic dean, he responded
with enthusiasm. Little did he realize that this new direction would end up involving him in a myriad of activities outside of
the typical Christian school - such as being a teacher's aid in a migrant school and teaching an Outward Bound graduate course
on the Green River.
Larry's role in education, which involved supervising student teachers in a variety of K-12 schools, confronted him with a sad
reality. Teachers who had completed excellent teacher-ed programs often abandoned many of their original goals for teaching when
they felt the crush of the everyday demands of the classroom. He also noted that some education courses seemed to be preparing
students for a world that no longer existed. This turned his focus to working with teachers in the "trenches."
Aging parents (and missing the Pacific Northwest) initiated a move from teaching in Iowa to join a publishing company in Seattle. Within
a year of this move, Al Greene (Larry's mentor in his early years of teaching) recruited him to join Alta Vista's board-a tremendous
opportunity and blessing which allows him to work with an organization that develops programs and services to help teachers
(and their schools) become the teachers they feel God is calling them to be.
Now retired from the publishing world, Larry and his wife Judy make many cross-country trips to visit their four children and twelve
grandchildren in Wisconsin, Michigan and Texas. They evidently stayed in the Midwest too long.
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