Teaching

I have a lot to say about teaching and I’m not nearly done.

A High School History Teacher Writing About Teaching

In 2018, I wrote a few posts about teaching on Medium:

• ‘You’re a Racist!’ Four Steps to Avoid Panic When Someone Calls You a Racist. June 14, 2018
• I Busted Some Cheaters and the Cheating Got Worse. April 7, 2018
• I Said ‘I’m Glad You’re Asking’ and My Student Replied ‘I’m Sorry.’ March 19, 2018
• Authority Versus Authoritarianism in the Classroom. March 11, 2018.
• The Teaching Profession Can Be Saved from Its Downward Spiral. March 4, 2018.

My most important writing about high school teaching remains the teacher-biography I wrote about my friend and colleague, Devin J. Ayers. Devin passed away suddenly in January 2017 but will always be remembered as an exemplar of anti-authoritarian teaching and as a poetic iconoclast. The book is titled Unbounded Joy: The Life of a Teacher and I hope that I will one day find a publisher to help bring Devin’s experience to a wide audience of aspiring educators. There’s a lot to learn from this inspirational figure who dreamed of teaching while working in a cranberry processing factory and then got his chance for seven beautiful years. You can get a small sampling of Devin’s teaching on one of his websites and also read one of his short fiction pieces on Belletrist.

Future Writing About Teaching

After completing my PhD in History, I would like to write a monograph on history teaching. I remain inspired by one of my professors from my Masters program, Sam Wineburg. Sam’s work on historical thinking will always serve as a touchstone for me and I hope to contribute to this ongoing conversation. I’m hoping to dig in to questions on how historical content in particular connects to intrinsic motivation, curiosity, and self-empowerment.