Our current political discussions fail on a consistent basis and seem to get us nowhere. Lately, when I hear people from two different political persuasions discuss a sensitive political topic, it most often devolves into name-calling, interrupting, shouting, sarcasm, disrespect, and general rudeness and hostility. Where Has All the Civil Public Discourse Gone? And it… Continue reading Why Our Political Discussions Fail
I believe that the practice of wonder has the potential to change our life profoundly for the better and that the classroom is one of the best places to practice it. Mrs. Nagel, my fourth grade teacher, was a master of cultivating wonder in the classroom. Wonder and Education At the beginning of the year,… Continue reading The Power of Wonder in the Classroom
This post is about the love we have been looking for. And it starts with a lesson that some middle school students once taught me. Dignity and Respect Middle school students taught me some of the most important things I know about love. Before becoming a college philosophy instructor , I was a middle school… Continue reading The Love We Have Been Looking For
This is my twenty-second year of teaching, and I think I may have finally figured out what I am doing: I'm teaching my students to be maladjusted. Many years ago in my student teaching, I was taking an educational philosophy course. The defining question of this class was “What is the purpose of teaching?” Student… Continue reading Teaching My Students to Be Maladjusted
