By: Debbie Owen on January 10, 2024
When I was a school librarian and first started teaching middle and high school students how to do research in 2004, the information landscape was drastically different than it is now. Yes, they were using the internet, but Wikipedia was considered an unreliable, forbidden resource for any purpose at all (now, depending on your topic,…
By: Shela Sullivan on January 9, 2024
Originating from Malaysia, English stands as my third language. Fortunately, I come from an English-speaking family. My first English story book was Little Red Riding Hood. I was captivated by Little Red Riding Hood’s bravery as she walked all alone into the forest to visit her grandmother with a basket of bread. Subsequently, my academic…
By: Pam Lau on January 9, 2024
It was September 2020 when my friend, Adrienne, asked me to go public with our friendship. She wanted to know if we could work out some of our current difficulties in front of others on my podcast and in a workshop. Valuing her friendship more than my comfort zone, I agreed and we recorded an…
By: Diane Tuttle on January 9, 2024
I grew up in a chaotic home. To survive I needed to find coping mechanisms. Mine was escaping into a book. I could get lost in a story that took me to faraway places and adventures where my imagination let loose. Reading all kinds of books continues to bring enjoyment. As this semester began, I…
By: Adam Cheney on January 9, 2024
Over the course of the last year as I have been thinking of starting Seminary, I decided that I was going to increase the veracity of my reading. Last year, I read about eighty books. This year I set a goal to read one hundred and twenty. Some of these were academic, some a bit…
By: Jeff Styer on January 9, 2024
Fortunately, I was raised in a family that encouraged reading at a young age. I can still recall some of my favorite childhood books that I would return to over and over again such as More Spaghetti, I Say and The Biggest Sandwich Ever, both written by Rita G. Gelman and Mort Gerberg. Upon entering primary…
By: Russell Chun on January 9, 2024
Вас звільнили! & Велике пробудження, Your fired! & the Great Awokening Vas zvilʹnyly! & Velyke probudzhennya Introduction Part 1 – What my peers are saying. Part 2 – What others are saying Part 3 – What I learned. Epilogue: Meanwhile back at the ranch (in Colorado). Introduction – At our Christmas meal 2023, one of…
By: Kim Sanford on January 8, 2024
I first encountered the idea of Identity Politics in the Fall of 2023 when we read Francis Fukuyama’s book Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment. At the time, the concept of Identity Politics left me with a kind of hopeless feeling. That’s not to say that I saw no good in…
By: Graham English on January 8, 2024
The last few months have been humbling as my rate of learning has increased. I am mentoring a young leader who introduced me to Obsidian in early 2023. I was intimidated at first but as I played with it, I grew to appreciate the ability to connect thoughts and ideas. I have a long way…
By: Ryan Thorson on January 8, 2024
Someone recently asked me why I decided to begin a doctoral program when it seemed, at least in their eyes, completely unnecessary in my personal and professional life as a local church pastor. Since I had wrestled with that same question myself before beginning the program, I answered with a metaphor: I shared with them…
By: Tim Clark on January 8, 2024
The United States faced a political and cultural powder keg in 2020. One match that lit a national fuse was the viral video that showed the brutal arrest and death of George Floyd. In many places, racial tension that had been simmering for years instantly boiled over. Los Angeles was one of those places. John…
By: Glyn Barrett on January 8, 2024
One of my strengths and weaknesses is that I don’t particularly like leaving things unfinished. I would not consider myself a perfectionist, but leaving projects unfinished creates significant irritation. Consequently, although I have always engaged with reading, I have usually read books from beginning to end, just in case I am missing something. Fear of…
By: Travis Vaughn on January 8, 2024
In The Identity Trap[1] Yascha Mounk provides an alternative to what he calls “the identity synthesis.”[2] His alternative is liberalism[3], grounded in a philosophy that “humans are driven by their capability to make common cause with people who have different beliefs and origins rather than their membership in specific groups.”[4] Mounk argues for “universal values…
By: John Fehlen on January 8, 2024
My name is John. I identify as a white, straight, upper class, middle-aged male. Therefore, I will just shut up now. Of course, I jest. I’m just kidding. But, I do have to be honest: over the last handful of years I have more than occasionally felt like I just need…
By: Kally Elliott on January 8, 2024
Grief is complicated. There is an illustration of grief that looks like a giant ball of tangled string: one way in, a thousand tangles and loops, and finally, a way out. Years ago, someone I loved hurt me deeply. I was in great emotional pain but instead of feeling sad, I felt MAD. I was…
By: Jennifer Vernam on January 1, 2024
In his book The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time[1], Yascha Mounk outlines his belief that to right the wrongs of injustices, society has over-swung the pendulum in the opposite direction and in the process, has abdicated many of the liberal foundations that served as building blocks for modern-day democracy.…
By: Caleb Lu on December 11, 2023
“Some people just shouldn’t have kids.” This was something that I overheard in a conversation last year about how IVF(in-vitro fertilization) babies frequently end up in the NICU(neonatal intensive care unit). Their argument was simple, parents who “artificially” conceived were more likely to have fragile babies. By fragile, it was implied that these babies could…
By: Daron George on December 10, 2023
“Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is an exploration of how systems, both natural and artificial, respond to different kinds of stressors. In this review of Talibs’s book, I will focus on Taleb’s perspective on stressors as sources of information and catalysts for improvement. Central to Taleb’s idea is the concept…
By: Laura Fleetwood on December 10, 2023
Identity politics is a charged phrase these days. For some, it elicits a prideful response, for others a snicker or sneer. Regardless of whether one is a fan of identity politics, we all must acknowledge that we want to be valued for who we are. It is this desire for recognition and respect that Francis…
By: Tonette Kellett on December 10, 2023
Nassim Taleb’s book Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder was a challenging read for me this past week, perhaps because it’s the end of the semester for both doctoral work and my job at school. I’m pressured to finish my assignments, give and grade semester exams myself, and so on. Then there is this very…
