David T. Hansen

Illuminates the power in bearing witness as an ethical orientation toward the world and its people. In The Witness as Educator, David T. Hansen examines the idea of bearing witness. He shows how it constitutes an ethical orientation that heeds human yearnings for justice, beauty, and meaning. He engages the work of three exemplary witnesses: W. G. Sebald, Aimé Césaire, and Walt Whitman. Sebald powerfully confronts the human costs of the violence of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Césaire evokes a creative Black consciousness in the face of European colonialism and attests to this outlook's joyous and painful development. Whitman's witness to American life, alongside his poignant testimony about caring for wounded soldiers during the American Civil War, speaks to a hope deeper than hope for the prospects of democracy. Hansen shows how these witnesses did not "choose" to write about their respective themes. They had to. The circumstances of their lives and the events of their time summoned them to bear witness. Hansen addresses how their efforts, supplemented by those of other witnesses whose testimony he incorporates, hold considerable educational promise in a world marked by continued misunderstanding and discord and yet also by great possibility.

Illuminates the power in bearing witness as an ethical orientation toward the world and its people. In The Witness as Educator, David T. Hansen examines the idea of bearing witness. He shows how it constitutes an ethical orientation that heeds human yearnings for justice, beauty, and meaning. He engages the work of three exemplary witnesses: W. G. Sebald, Aimé Césaire, and Walt Whitman. Sebald powerfully confronts the human costs of the violence of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Césaire evokes a creative Black consciousness in the face of European colonialism and attests to this outlook's joyous and painful development. Whitman's witness to American life, alongside his poignant testimony about caring for wounded soldiers during the American Civil War, speaks to a hope deeper than hope for the prospects of democracy. Hansen shows how these witnesses did not "choose" to write about their respective themes. They had to. The circumstances of their lives and the events of their time summoned them to bear witness. Hansen addresses how their efforts, supplemented by those of other witnesses whose testimony he incorporates, hold considerable educational promise in a world marked by continued misunderstanding and discord and yet also by great possibility.

In this sequel to his internationally acclaimed classic, The Call to Teach, David Hansen revisits the idea of teaching as a calling in light of contemporary expectations in education. Reimagining The Call to Teach brings to life an ethical approach to teaching that is informed by an understanding of teaching's great purpose: to help the next generation forge a spirit of mutual care and concern while supporting each student's distinctive way of being in the world. Hansen juxtaposes testimony from public school educators with ideas and examples drawn from philosophy, teacher education, research on teaching, literature, and other arts. He demonstrates that, despite pressing structural challenges in the educational system, teachers can bring their calling to life by supporting one another and by engaging in philosophical inquiry and self-cultivation. Rendered with Hansen's customary eloquence, this dynamic book will be of interest to all who care about the dignity of teachers and teaching in our time. Book Features:Provides a fresh and inspiring account of teaching as a calling.Draws creatively on a wide-range of sources, including extensive testimony from teachers.Focuses on an ethical approach to working with teachers called "bearing witness."Highlights the important place of philosophy in being a teacher and a teacher educator.Uses an accessible and engaging style with rich examples throughout.

In this sequel to his internationally acclaimed classic, The Call to Teach, David Hansen revisits the idea of teaching as a calling in light of contemporary expectations in education. Reimagining The Call to Teach brings to life an ethical approach to teaching that is informed by an understanding of teaching's great purpose: to help the next generation forge a spirit of mutual care and concern while supporting each student's distinctive way of being in the world. Hansen juxtaposes testimony from public school educators with ideas and examples drawn from philosophy, teacher education, research on teaching, literature, and other arts. He demonstrates that, despite pressing structural challenges in the educational system, teachers can bring their calling to life by supporting one another and by engaging in philosophical inquiry and self-cultivation. Rendered with Hansen's customary eloquence, this dynamic book will be of interest to all who care about the dignity of teachers and teaching in our time. Book Features:Provides a fresh and inspiring account of teaching as a calling.Draws creatively on a wide-range of sources, including extensive testimony from teachers.Focuses on an ethical approach to working with teachers called "bearing witness."Highlights the important place of philosophy in being a teacher and a teacher educator.Uses an accessible and engaging style with rich examples throughout.

The Call to Teach has been used in teacher education and educational research courses the world over. This volume celebrates that landmark text and examines the far-reaching impact of David Hansen's teaching and scholarship. Essays by international educators and scholars explore his influence on our understanding of a whole host of important themes, including the moral dimensions of teaching, educational research, teacher education, and the philosophy of education. Contributing authors from eight countries consider the influence of Hansen's ideas from the vantage point of our contemporary educational scene, and from their own unique cultural perspectives. David Hansen and The Call to Teach continues the conversation about the meaning of teaching through the concept of vocation as initiated by Hansen in The Call to Teach and examines its potential to renew the practice of teaching within today's educational landscape.Book Features:The first book to consider the wide-ranging influence of David Hansen's scholarship.An international perspective with authors from the United States, China, The United Kingdom, India, Spain, Ireland, Canada, and Norway.A collective effort to retrieve and renew the language of vocation in teaching for the purpose of teacher renewal.An afterword by David T. Hansen.

The Call to Teach has been used in teacher education and educational research courses the world over. This volume celebrates that landmark text and examines the far-reaching impact of David Hansen's teaching and scholarship. Essays by international educators and scholars explore his influence on our understanding of a whole host of important themes, including the moral dimensions of teaching, educational research, teacher education, and the philosophy of education. Contributing authors from eight countries consider the influence of Hansen's ideas from the vantage point of our contemporary educational scene, and from their own unique cultural perspectives. David Hansen and The Call to Teach continues the conversation about the meaning of teaching through the concept of vocation as initiated by Hansen in The Call to Teach and examines its potential to renew the practice of teaching within today's educational landscape.Book Features:The first book to consider the wide-ranging influence of David Hansen's scholarship.An international perspective with authors from the United States, China, The United Kingdom, India, Spain, Ireland, Canada, and Norway.A collective effort to retrieve and renew the language of vocation in teaching for the purpose of teacher renewal.An afterword by David T. Hansen.

"Rarely have I come across a book that so quickly provoked me to re-examine my own classroom behavior. There is no place to hide in this careful scrutiny of the teacher as crucial player in the daily morality tale that becomes the story of school life." -- Vivian Gussin Paley, teacher, University of Chicago Laboratory SchoolsThis book takes the reader on an eye-opening journey through a variety of elementary and high school classrooms, highlighting the moral significance of all that transpires there. Drawing on the results of a two-and-a-half year study, the authors examine the ways in which moral considerations permeate the everyday life of classrooms. In addition to providing teachers and teacher educators with a new framework for looking at and thinking about the moral dimensions of schooling, the authors also offer specific suggestions about how to look at classroom events from a moral perspective.ContentsOne. Looking for the Moral: An Observer's GuideTwo. Becoming Aware of Moral Complexity Within a School Setting: Four Sets of ObservationsThree. Facing Moral Ambiguity and Tension: Four More Sets of ObservationsFour. Cultivating Expressive Awareness in Schools and ClassroomsPostscript: Where Might One Go from Here?Philip W. Jackson is the David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor of Education and Psychology and a member of the Committee on Ideas and Methods at the University of Chicago.Robert E. Boostrom is a senior research associate of the Benton Center for Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Chicago.David T. Hansen is an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago