LEARNING EDUCATION: ESSAYS & IDEAS FROM MY FIRST THREE YEARS OF TEACHING
Specs
Second Drafts Publishing, 5X8 paperback, 120 pages, $12.75 each (+$3 shipping for first book; +$1 for additional copies in same order) ORDER
Summary
“Now began the real education…mine. Finishing my degree while teaching full-time gave me a chance few teachers get –take important education classes toward qualifying me for what I was already doing as a real teacher. Forget eight weeks of student semi-teaching; this was a daily do-or-die, trial-by-fire, multi-year, hands-on reality…and the best (and hardest) training for ‘learning’ education I would experience.”
The only formal classroom credential husband, father, and author Craig Dunham could list on his resume was teaching Bible part-time at a small classical school the year before. But his mother had been an English teacher, his grandfather had been a beloved elementary school principal, and Craig knew he loved the classroom (which is why he was applying for the job) and that he wanted to teach from a Reformed Christian worldview (which is why he was going to seminary at the same time).
References helped secure him a place among the final three candidates of the 50+ who had applied for the open Bible position at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis, but he still had to meet with administration and guest-teach a class. After a shaky interview, he taught an 80-minute Ethics class on the eighth commandment, receiving a round of student applause (a first, he was told) and a phone call later that day informing him he got the job.
Now all he had to do was figure out what he was doing…
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Year 1
Quack
Show Me the Students
Char’s Top Ten Teaching Tricks
Take a Ride on The Educator
Educator Interview: Ken Wolfe
Educational Foundations: Reading Log
On Reading, Thinking & Learning
The Ideology of Rationality
Dear Covenant Faculty
Two Million Minutes
Top Ten Things I Wish I’d Known Last Year
Summer Seminar South Dakota
Summer Seminar: A Summary
Year 2
When Teachers Dream
Thinking Teaching
Back to the Future of Human Relations
Relearning Diligence
Getting Schooled
The Contentment Equation
Articles in Practice: Grade Inflation
Teaching & Learning: Reading Log
Year 3
15-Year-Old Hopes, Dreams & Expectations
Putting the Mental in Fundamentalist
Apples to Apples: Case Study in Relativism
Worldview: A High Schooler’s Perspective
How Hard Can It Be?
Out of the Mouths of Adolescents
Why Johnny Can’t Write
Learning Education
Endorsements
“Teachers learn most of what they come to know and trust about teaching during their first three years. Craig provides an insightful and compelling practitioner’s view of the joys, pitfalls, and non-negotiables of the early years that are the building blocks of successful teaching and effective learning. His reflections will resonate with the veteran teacher, as well as encourage those beginning or establishing their careers in Christian education.” James C. Marsh, Jr., Head of School, Westminster Christian Academy, St. Louis
“How does a teacher learn how to teach? Craig answers his own question by weaving together a colorful tapestry of reflections, papers, logs, and reviews from his own early teaching odyssey. Teachers from every experiential strata will identify with his heartfelt descriptions of the highest highs and lowest lows. They will also appreciate Craig’s ultimately hopeful, redemptive tone that reminds us that the best teachers are those who love to learn. They are those who take their cues from the Master teacher who embodies the grace and truth Craig so skillfully reflects.” Donald Guthrie, Professor of Educational Ministries, Covenant Theological Seminary
TWENTYSOMEONE: FINDING YOURSELF IN A DECADE OF TRANSITION
Specs
WaterBrook Press, 6X9 paperback, 220 pages, $10 each (+$3 shipping for first book; +$1 for additional copies in same order) ORDER
Summary
“The decade of your twenties is full of important, stressful, maddening questions: What will I do? Who will I love? Where will I live? But maybe there’s a bigger question: Who am I?
The fact is, the period of time between your teens and thirties will shape a lot of your character, your calling, and your view of the world. Instead of asking, ‘What will I do?’ twentysomeones need to ask ‘Who am I?’—the real question of the twenties.
Full of personal experience and practical wisdom, TwentySomeone helps you make the most of your twenties while giving you the skills to handle common life experiences like singlehood, first jobs, getting married, having kids, and buying stuff. This is a guidebook that will help you discover who God is calling you to be.”
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 – The Question of Our Twenties: Who am I?
Chapter 2 – God Has a Wonderful (and Strange and Confusing) Plan for Your Life
Chapter 3 – Humility: Overcoming the Tyranny of Self
Chapter 4 – Integrity: Living Out Who We Are
Chapter 5 – Teachability: Learning to Learn from Anyone
Chapter 6 – Faithfulness: The Crucible of the Twenties
Chapter 7 – Money: Resisting the American Dream
Chapter 8 – Time: Using (Not Just Having) the Time of Your Life
Chapter 9 – Love: The Significance of “Significant Other”
Chapter 10 – Kids: We’d Like to Thank the Little People
Chapter 11 – Community: Living Life with All Kinds of Folks
Chapter 12 – Legacy: Rethinking Accomplishment and Success
Appendices
Endorsements
“With personal transparency and spiritual insight Craig Dunham and Doug Serven offer wonderful insights that yield great opportunities for Gospel transformation.” Bryan Chapell, Chancellor of Covenant Theological Seminary
“The decade of the twenties is one of major transition for most young adults. Unfortunately, many drift aimlessly through these critical years because they know neither the questions to ask nor the answers they need. Craig Dunham and Doug Serven have done a masterful job anticipating the questions young adults should be asking and helping them find the right answers. Every twentysomeone should profit from this book.” Jerry Bridges, author of The Pursuit of Holiness and staff member of The Navigators
“In TwentySomeone, Craig Dunham and Doug Serven generously share their journeys through their own twenties decade in a fresh, thoughtful, and practical style that builds a bridge between key questions in the young adult years and the experience of Christian faith. This book will serve as a mentor for many.” Sharon Daloz Parks, author of Big Questions, Worthy Dreams: Mentoring Young Adults in Their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith
“It’s a great book…very much right on! I was inspired.” Louie Giglio, founder of Choice Resources, parent ministry for the Passion Conferences
“Dunham and Serven have graduated from their 20s, but the joys and challenges of being 20-somethings are still fresh in their minds. In TwentySomeone, the college friends help readers find stability and purpose in what they dub ‘a decade of transition’…All readers – whether they’re 21-year-old single college students or 29-year-old married parents – will relate in some way.” Christy Simon, CBA Marketplace
“As a Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) campus minister, I am often asked, ‘What book do students heading to college need to read?’ For nine years I have had no answer. Now that book has been written. TwentySomeone…gives young adults the wisdom they need.” Ricky Jones, Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) campus minister
“Principled yet practical, this is the book I give twenty-somethings.” Jay Cline, Campus Crusade for Christ campus minister
“Craig Dunham and Doug Serven tackle this strategic decade, which begins in college and for many, stretches into career, marriage, and even kids before it is all over. I highly recommend this book not only for young people in their twenties, but also for those who work with them (and are sometimes still working through some of these same issues).” Evan Hunter, Ivy Jungle Network
“Recommended for those in their twenties, Dunham and Serven point out that it would have been cumbersome to name this book Eighteen to Thirty-eight Someone. However, it well might have been. Teenagers and adults, no matter what age, will find this book fun, interesting, and useful.” Donna Eggett, Christian Book Previews.com
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