kevinwhector

I'm completely risk averse. I don't want to make people mad or, worse, say something that hurts them. I'm obsessive. I don't like change. So why am I on Twitter? Because a trusted friend told me that it's actually a great place to build and maintain community. I hope he's right!

@MatthewSitman Well, I used to go out in a Mustang. 302 Mach One in green.

You want to feel old after 42 years? Keep dropping the hammer and grinding the gears

In fact all rocks are also rocking.

@catjonathantran Hooray for Duke!

The center-left's long run on power made Stanley Hauerwas' call for the church to be the church counterintuitive, outrageous and blasphemous. That run is over and the Time of the Church is here. To that end I return to Duke this summer as Professor of Theology.

@fitchest Definitely not (a). Yikes. Forgive me for being blunt, but I wouldn’t trust any Christian who took that as their goal. (That’s distinct from trying to write a book that ordinary folks might find helpful.) But I don’t think either of these is the real goal!

BEST-SELLER? Should my goal be in writing a book, to a.) to write a best-seller, or b.) write a book that will be read by serious Christians, who can then build up and lead the church into a maturity for our time and our culture, which of course limits my audience. Discuss :)

@_kungfuchang Bebop just around the corner! 😁

So far I’ve listened to the following: Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (1959) Birth of the Cool (1949-50) John Coltrane Giant Steps (1960) Blue Train (1957) I have previously heard: Miles Davis- Bitches Brew (1970) and John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (1965)

getting in my jazz bag this year

@bartonkyle Delayed clarification of the year nominee! 😁

@kevinwhector *NOT to create drama, sorry

Who is the greatest living theologian? Only two ppl I hear consistently described as such are: 1. Rowan Williams 2. DB Hart Who else would you add to the runnings?

@FellipeDoVale1 Wow—wonderful news! Congratulations!

I’m headed to England! Excited to join the faculty of Trinity College in Bristol.

@McKinleyAn Thank you so much for these kind words!

@MatthewSitman I rarely see someone who matches my level of pettiness. Thanks for sharing this! 😁

"If it should ever happen that the world comes to a place when Alfred A. Knopf is the only publishing company left and I am the only author, then that will be the end of the world of books." Maclean is one of my heroes, and now he is even more of one.

Knopf rejected A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, and Norman Maclean loved to tell the story of getting a letter from them asking to get first crack at his next novel. "Well, well, well," he narrated it in an interview. And then he wrote this back to them:

@jwilson1812two I’m a huge fan of my Ironclad Box Handler gloves. They’re durable, comfortable, and provide spiderman-like grip. I use them for everything—not just helping people move!

@RaymondBonwell This is a really kind comment, and it’s also perceptive: I had been wondering whether this sort of approach needs to be separated out from the Connector, since I’ve seen a lot of great teachers who I’d characterize as Encouragers!

@kevinwhector Might I suggest the Encourager, the teacher who stands alongside the learner, and helps them to make connections. I personally observed and witnessed that facet in your classroom, @kevinwhector (along with your evident role as Enthusiast).

Types of Good Teacher (a non-exhaustive list): 1. The Enthusiast: this is the kind of teacher who gets really excited about ideas--in books, in class discussion, in their minds, wherever. Examples include Meghan Sullivan, Jonathan Tran, and Stanley Hauerwas.

@NotDerekEstes Ooh, I *love* the idea that you could identify your colleagues as epitomizing some of these types…and I really, really love the fact that you all appreciate these different approaches to your shared project!

@kevinwhector All of the philosophers here care very deeply about teaching, but that gets expressed quite differently for each of us. It’s almost humorous how much of a stereotype we each are on your taxonomy.

Very helpful thread for teachers. I lean Connector myself, though on a good day I really tap into Explainer also. As Kevin mentions, all are important for any good teacher though. Thankful to be in a Philosophy Department at Pepperdine that features all of these archetypes.

@ulrichlehner which then helped me think differently (and a bit more positively) about my own.

@ulrichlehner Thanks so much! I started thinking about this recently because I was trying to come to terms with the discrepancy between my teaching persona and that of my favorite teachers. And that got me to thinking about lots of great teachers I’ve known and their different personas…

@SamObiWon I think that’s where I am, too! I’m ultimately an enthusiast, though, because I find explanations so exciting. 😁

@kevinwhector I like this thread and your categories. I see this in the various instructors I know. I think I tend toward Enthusiast & a bit of Explainer mixed in.

@womeninchurch Thank you! It’s sort of surprising to hear that you and @MattThiessenNT identified with this. Makes me feel a little better about it! 😁

@kevinwhector Kevin, 100% ditto to your last point. Laughed so much when I read it. This was such a helpful thread.

@AOHSUsometimesY HA! Nice! My kind of rpg. 😁

@kevinwhector Also very important to have all five represented on your D&D team. It's not a successful campaign if the monsters aren't _learning_

My favorite teachers have almost always been Disciplinarians. I've always wanted to be a Disciplinarian. But at the end of the day, I'm more of an Enthusiast than anything else, so I'm learning to be okay with that.

I don't think someone can be a really good teacher unless they're pretty good at all of these things. This is true of each of my examples. But my hunch is that most good teachers are especially "at home" with one of them, and that this serves as their primary teaching persona.