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Published articles:
At Your Service - Lessons in Leadership
- Charles E. Wheaton, Ph.D.
Servant
Leadership in “Curriculum in Context” and “Personal Excellence,” 2002.
The
Beaver Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, “Curriculum in Context,” Winter 2005.
High
School Athletics - Is the Tail Wagging the Dog? “Leadership Information,”
Spring 2005.
Where
is family structure in the WASL/AYP results? “Leadership Information,”
Spring 2006.
Blessed Are Those Who Hunger
“The Living Pulpit,” January 2007.
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Those
interested in purchasing the book, can find it at Dorrance Publishing, Inc. or online at a
variety of book stores.
The
book, “At Your Service: Lessons in Leadership” includes lessons from servant
leadership and other emerging models of leadership. It
provides a wealth of information on leadership theory and various styles of leadership
that have been identified throughout the literature and those that are currently in use. The lessons include the importance of understanding
the culture of an organization and the use of power. The
definition of servant leadership that is explored has been adapted by Spears from the work
or Robert Greenleaf. The key elements of
servant leadership, as identified by Spears are listening, empathy, healing, awareness,
persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of others,
and building community. Each of these key
leadership elements are described in detail.
Identification
of effective applications of servant leadership principles in the fields of business,
education, religion, and the public sector are also described.
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In
an article on Discipleship, Wheaton pointed out:
It’s
easy to write these words, to read them, and it’s easy to say them. It’s
easy to profess my Christianity and to attend my chosen church worship service on Sunday.
But am I really willing to do as Bonhoffer suggests or as is written in
Luke 9:23-to take up my cross every day and follow Him or do I have excuses why I
can’t or reasons why only certain people are worthy of the love of Christ?
Discipleship means what Paul advocates in Hebrews 13:3; “Remember those in prisons as
if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were
suffering.”
In
an article on the families that we have today:
Where is Family Structure in the NCLB Accountability Model?
By
Charles Wheaton, Ph.D.
The
evidence is consistent, positive, and convincing: the family is a child’s first and
most influential teacher not only during school years but also on through life.
Whether we accept it or not, the definition of “family” has changed.
Therefore, educators must change as well. NCLB (No Child Left Behind)
provides a fitting occasion for schools to evaluate the way we work with families.
The programs schools offer must recognize, respect, and accept the value of
all families regardless of structure, income, educational level, or cultural backgrounds.
Our
task is to provide an education for the kind of kids we have, not the kind we used to
have, or want to have, or the kids that exist in our dreams. Sure, you say, but the
kids of today are more like Teddy than “The Beaver.” Most likely you
remember “The Beaver,” but you may be less familiar with Teddy. Teddy is
the boy from the poignant story, “Three Letters from Teddy” by Elizabeth
Ballard. It was in the fifth grade that this seemingly hopeless boy won the heart of
his teacher who was determined not to like him. Just before the Christmas holidays,
each student brought a gift to share with their teacher. Teddy’s gift was a
couple of special mementoes from his mother who had passed away a couple of years earlier
(a rhinestone bracelet and a partially used bottle of cheap perfume).
This event and gesture by Teddy changed the heart of the teacher
who from that day forward immersed Teddy in positive attention and encouragement.
This new view of Teddy and her change in her teaching behavior
led to several successful milestones in Teddy’s life, which in turn bred more
success. The power of this teacher’s encouragement and attention
took Teddy from a dirty, despairing child to a career as a medical doctor.
Professional
Learning Communities:
Building
and Sustaining Effective Work Teams
by
examining
Culture,
Leadership, and Evaluation
Charles
Wheaton, Ph. D.
(The
following is an excerpt from this paper on Professional Learning Communities.)
Culture
as a Key Element of Effective Work Teams
One
of the most important elements to consider in any organization is the set of beliefs and
traditional practices that are unique to that organization. This is most commonly referred
to as the culture of the organization. Consideration of the culture is critical in
assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of teams, the leadership practices that promote
effective teams, and the functioning of different models of effective teams that might be
used in the work place. Robbins & Judge (2007, p. 572-573) define
organizational culture as “a system of shared meaning held by members that
distinguishes the organization from other organizations.”
It
is essential that people understand what makes up an organizational culture, how it is
created, sustained and learned. This understanding will enhance our ability to
explain and predict the behavior of people at work. Senn and Childress
suggest: “All change initiatives must pass through the Jaws of Culture – most
get chewed-up, spit out, and forgotten long before they ever accomplish their objectives.
The jaws consist of the major cultural barriers that form the ingrained habit
patterns of company and individual behavior” (1999, p. 8). Given this
statement, it is imperative that organizations become knowledgeable and sensitive to the
existing culture.
Love
One Another
By
Charles
E. Wheaton, Ph.D.
December
2010
The following are excerpts from an unpublished article:
We
are convinced that Jesus’ primary message was one of justice where He preached love,
forgiveness, peace, kindness, hope, and grace. So
how do we as Christians endorse or even contribute to the malicious actions of our
politicians who are suppose to be our representatives?
We just completed one of the most expensive and mean-spirited political campaigns
in the history of our country. I thought we
were in the worst economic times in our history. How
can we say we are unable to afford health care and education when millions of dollars are
spent on campaigns while at the same time, people are homeless and starving and cannot
afford to take care of basic health needs.
Throughout
all of this, candidates from all of the parties invested millions of dollars on demeaning
ads that were designed to show that they were more righteous than their opponent. There’s something wrong with this picture. How can one be so righteous while at the same time
be slinging mud? Someone missed the part from
Ephesians that says, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is
useful for building up, as there is need to, so that your words may give grace to those
who hear.” Woe! I didn’t catch any adherence to those words in
the recent campaign ads.
Many
of us profess to live by Christian values but if so, do we not believe these words that
Peter said in Acts? “I now realize how
true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear
Him and do what is right.” I’m
feeling pretty fortunate about this because I’m pretty sure I don’t fit into
some of the categories that my political representatives feel are most worthy.
This is hard work and may not be possible to accomplish in a lifetime. But we are not asked to be perfect. That won’t happen. What we are asked to do is look at the many
examples Jesus gave us and through our family, friends, co-workers, and community to use
our talents to the best of our ability in our specific time and place to bring the kingdom
of God closer to our lives on this earth. Most
of us fall short on so many counts but by being attuned to the examples cited above on a
regular basis, I am certain I could do a better job.
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