Posing Questions—Part I: Better a Good Question than an Answer!Posted on October 18, 2013 by David RhoadsWhat is it about a good question? What happens when the question itself becomes a fascination?It may be a question that names a puzzle to be solved or a conundrum to be contemplated. It may put the finger on a piece of evidence necessary for understanding. It may point to a contradiction that problematizes or complexifies our thinking. It may challenge our fundamental assumptions. It may be a question to which there will be no certain answer. It will probably be a question that leads to other questions. But when you get a good one, it is clearly better to have a good question than an answer!…
Hospitality in the Classroom—Part III: Modeling the PracticePosted on October 5, 2013 by David RhoadsIn this post I will provide a number of the specific ways I have personally tried to answer: “How can I create an atmosphere where people were free to speak and learn without being anxious or fearful?” These practices may seem obvious, but they go far to create a classroom culture where learning can affectively occur….
Hospitality in the Classroom—Part II: A Legacy of HospitalityPosted on September 25, 2013 by David RhoadsAt its simplest level, the image of hospitality relates to our homes. If I imagine the classroom to be my home, how would I act if I had guests?Actually, hospitality is a lost art in our society….
Hospitality in the Classroom—Part I: A Key IngredientPosted on September 14, 2013 by David RhoadsI learned a teacher’s hospitality from the best-loved teacher at Carthage College, Dudley Riggle. Dudley is one of the finest human beings I have known. He has a profound theology of grace, and everything he does is informed by it. He is a quiet, unassuming person who thinks carefully through everything he says and does. He was the chaplain at the college, and he preached some of the best sermons I have ever heard….
Teaching as Vocation—Part III: Formulations to RealityPosted on August 13, 2013 by David RhoadsThe following excerpts of David’s upcoming book, Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach: Reflections on Education as Transformation through Dialogue (Fall 2013 ), are used by permission of Wipf and Stock Publishers.To a person, my elementary, middle, and high school teachers in the small western Pennsylvania town of Hollidaysburg were conscientious and cared about us.Depressurizing StudentsI recall one typifying moment in which I went to a ninth grade history teacher, saying that I was afraid I might be having a nervous breakdown—going to school, doing homework, working 25 hours a week in a barber shop as an apprentice, being in the school band, and practicing for a school play at night. What Miss Ruck said to me (words I clearly recall) was unbelievably liberating and healing…