Merianna Harrelson

I am the Pastor of Garden of Grace United Church of Christ in Columbia, SC and the Director of Consulting at Harrelson.Co. I am always looking for a good cup of coffee and a great book.

On being covered in dirt

There came a point as we were digging the ditch for the power line to go in that there really was no better way to get dirt out unless you got on your stomach and dug with your hands. The red clay earth covered you as you dug deeper. It wasn’t until after the day’s …

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On being in a ditch

I spent most of today in a 21 inch ditch running the length of a camp where we are working on a mission trip. The purpose of the ditch is to run a power line to a chapel that hasn’t had power in 40 years. As I looked at my clay-covered hands and the crew …

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Summer Reading

Having been released from the demands of 5 classes of reading, I’ve enjoyed the freedom to read from the long to read list that I’ve been building since January! Here are a couple that I’ve read that I’d highly recommend: Ender’s Game: I have to admit that I’ve never been into Sci-Fi, but I think …

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Empowered Decision Makers

Actually as teachers, you do have a choice. I know that there are so many curricular and classroom management decisions that are out of your hands, but you do have a voice and you do have a choice. When you concede and say there is nothing you can do, you are conceding your power as …

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Why a Bar Isn’t Church

It’s fascinating to me to find the number of people who are shocked by the movement of churches to meet in different locations like movie theaters, schools and bars. Maybe it’s the juxtaposition of two unlike places intersecting or negative personal experiences in the new location. I can’t say that I’m totally convinced that this …

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Value-Added teacher evaluation is not the only option

A novel approach: We address these two questions by analyzing school-district data from grades 3–8 for 2.5 million children, linked to information on their outcomes as young adults and the characteristics of their parents. We find that teacher VA measures both work and matter. Actually evaluating teachers based on their students effectiveness of success in …

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