Planning and Preparing
Fall is going to be busy!
I turned the calendar page to August last Friday and had a minor freakout moment. It’s not that I’m dreading the coming school year—quite the contrary, actually! But it’s going to be a busy one, full of new adventures. How about you, friends? Doing okay? I hope you, like me, are excited about the planning and preparing, even if you haven’t really started it just yet. For me, the work is underway! And the beginning of the year will be upon us soon.
I’m teaching a few courses this fall that I’ve taught many times before: World Regional Geography (part of the Core program at Dordt, and required for all elementary education majors) and Issues in Education (the “intro” course for our Master of Education program) are ones I have pretty well dialed in at this point. I continue to tweak them a bit every time a teach them, as it’s new for the students, but I never want them to get stale for me. I’m teaching Technology, Identity, and Community (one of the options students can choose for their Core capstone course) for the third time this year, and it continues to evolve, but I’m feeling good about that one too.
I also have a brand-spanking-new course that I get to teach this fall, which is always a delight! This one is part of our new Computer Science endorsement: Methods of Teaching Computer Science in High Schools and Middle Schools. As a former computer science teacher and absolute tech nerd, I’m excited for putting my plans into action for this one. It’s always a little humbling to try things out for the first time, so my plan is to be very flexible with the things I think we will do, and try to tailor the course to the interests of the small group of students I have taking the course.
I’ll continue serving as Department Chair, which brings me a lot of joy. There is something deeply satisfying for me about trying to clear the path for my colleagues so they can do their work at a high level. And they sure do! This is a solid team, and I’m so grateful I get to serve alongside them.
And then, there’s all the other fun little extra things I get to do alongside my main vocational calling of teaching and leading the department. My new book (all about AI for Christian educators) is now well into the editorial process, and I’m again having a great experience working with Wipf & Stock. My editor and I are hoping for a launch mid-fall, which is pretty amazing if you know anything about academic publishing. I’m excited to share more with you about it! I’ll keep you posted with updates as I can.
I have the episodes of season 3 of my science podcast, It’s Good to Be Smart! written up and ready to record, as soon as I get the time to actually sit down in front of the microphone. And I’m definitely looking forward to rejoining Matt and Abby as we plan to get back at it, recording new episodes of Hallway Conversations later this month. You can find both shows on all the podcast apps, and I hope you’ll subscribe so you’ll never miss an episode!
I also have a busy speaking schedule lined up for this fall, leading professional development sessions, and keynoting conferences. I’ll be working with educators in Alabama, Michigan, California, Washington, Iowa, South Dakota, Alberta, and Indonesia—some of these in person, and some via webinar. Topics range from playful pedagogy, to AI in education, to teaching Christianly, to infusing a little mystery into your teaching practice, and all of this through a “we GET to do this!” kind of lens, of course. (My schedule for fall is full, and my schedule for spring is nearly full, but I have do have space for a few more webinars in the spring, so if you’re interested, check out the speaking and presenting page on my website.)
So, yes…it’s going to be a busy fall for me! I suspect it will be a busy fall for you too, even if it looks different than mine. Blessings to you, friends, as you begin pondering, planning, praying, and preparing for the new academic year. May you feel equipped, encouraged, empowered, and excited for the good, God-delighting work you GET to do!
Dave’s Faves
Here are four things I’m absolutely loving right now that I hope you might love too…
Dave’s Fave #1: Radiolab podcast
Radiolab is one of my can’t-miss podcasts. It is always intriguing, and each episode is a fascinating blend of science, history, and human interest. Take this recent episode entitled “Galaxy Quenching”—it tells the story of astrophysicist Charity Woodrum, and the work she is doing to learn about how galaxies die…and how this helped her process an incredible personal tragedy as well. I recommend it for your listening pleasure, and for your own learning!
Dave’s Fave #2: Walking my dog
He is so energetic, and so sniffy, and he gets me out and moving twice a day.
Dave’s Fave #3: Sweet corn
It’s those glorious few weeks towards the end of every summer where sweet corn is on the menu several evenings each week.
Dave’s Fave #4: Zephyrus by the Oh Hellos
The Oh Hellos are (probably) my favorite band right now—fantastic acoustic folk rock. They have a series of EPs that came out between 2017 and 2020 that are based named for the four winds of Greek mythology. The Zephyrus EP was a big part of the soundtrack of writing my latest book. The sixth track, “Soap,” is one of my very favorites! Give it a whirl, and drop a comment to let me know what you think.
The Last Word!
I recently got a report from my publisher about sales of my first book, Always Becoming, Never Arriving: Developing an Imagination for Teaching Christianly. Nearly 800 copies are out in the world now, which is utterly amazing to me.
If you haven’t read the book yet, you can find it on Amazon, Bookshop.org, and the Wipf & Stock website. I’ll also have copies available at most of the in-person events I’ll be at this fall, and I’ll get you a deal if you buy it in person. :-)
If you have read the book, can I ask a favor of you? Would you be willing to give it a rating on Amazon? An even bolder ask: if you’ve read it and found it beneficial, would you consider writing a review? Those things truly do help authors get more copies in front of potential readers, and I would be immensely grateful.
Grace and peace to you all, friends, as you continue becoming the educator God has called you to be. May you be blessed with the imagination to see the work—demanding as it is—as the truly joyful service that we GET to do!
Insightful 🙌 we talk of the same stuff so you are recommended to any one who subscribes to me!!!!👌let’s spread the word of the good