2023 is drawing to a close and what a year it’s been! It’s that time of the year where everyone is recapping the good stuff—and sometimes less-than-good stuff—that happened in the year. I figured I might as well give it a whirl as well. So here goes: this final newsletter of the year is going to be all “Dave’s Faves!”
So read on to find five collections of my top three faves in several categories…
Dave’s Fave Podcasts for 2023
I listen to quite a few podcasts! This list is actually perennial favorites…
Dave’s Podcast Fave #1: Dear Hank & John
The Brothers Green (Hank and John, obviously) are famous for many things other than just their podcast, but this one delights me every time I listen. This podcast is “two brothers answering your questions, giving dubious advice, and bringing all the week’s news from both Mars (the planet) and AFC Wimbledon (the fourth-tier English football club.)” They are silly goofballs, occasionally poignant, and always cleverly seeking to spread some joy and do some good in the world. You won’t regret listening in weekly on their witty banter—and despite their supposedly “dubious” advice, there are often thoughtful nuggets of truth. You can access the show here: Dear Hank & John, or in your favorite podcast app.
Dave’s Podcast Fave #2: What Roman Mars Can Learn about Con Law
Podcasting legend, Roman Mars, started this show with his friend and neighbor, Elizabeth Joh (who also happens to be a professor of Constitutional Law at UC Davis) in thick of former-President Trump’s term to help him make sense of what Trump’s actions as President meant for the country—and to help us all learn a little more about the U.S. Constitution in the process. Whatever your feelings about the former President, I can almost certainly guarantee you will learn things about current events, what the Constitution truly says, and how legal scholars, politicians, and the Supreme Court actually function. Episodes release sporadically, but it is a delight for me everry time a new one shows up in my podcast feed. You can access the show here: What Roman Mars Can Learn about Con Law, or in your favorite podcast app.
Dave’s Podcast Fave #3: The Last Archive
Harvard history professor, Dr. Jill Lepore, started The Last Archive in 2020, asking the question “Who Killed Truth?” Each season unfolds thematically around a big question, and explores history in a way that isn’t typically taught in history classes. With season four in 2023, former production assistant, Ben Naddaf-Hafry has taken over the recording duties, and his earnest storytelling is every bit as enjoyable as dr. Lepore’s. Every episode has surprises and twists, and there are more than a few mysteries to uncover in this incredible archive! You can access the show here: The Last Archive, or in your favorite podcast app.
Dave’s Fave Books of 2023
2023 included the reading for pleasure since completing my doctorate in 2017! This past summer especially included a lot of reading joy, and less so in the fall, due to my very full schedule, but I’m hoping to keep it up as we move into spring. (If you’re interested, I do share short book reviews on my “professional” Instagram every time I finish reading one, so feel free to follow along over there.) While I read a bunch of great books this year, here were my top three:
Dave’s Book Fave #1: Educated by Tara Westover
This was almost certainly the most fascinating book I read this year. Educated is the memoir of a young woman growing up in a fundamentalist Mormon family of survivalist preppers, “homeschooled” (I use that term loosely…because it was really “no schooled”), coming of age in an environment of physical danger and abuse…and then leaving it all behind to go to college, eventually study at Cambridge, and earn a PhD in history. ABSOLUTELY ENGROSSING is the only way I can describe it. Some parts were so brutal and hard to take in, but it is an incredible story of resilience, learning, growth, and determination. I’d say it’s not for the faint of heart, but I highly recommend it! (Many thanks to my good friend and colleague, Abby De Groot, for suggesting this one!)
Dave’s Book Fave #2: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
When Breath Becomes Air...you guys, this book literally made me weep. The author is a doctor, a neurosurgeon who is in a lifelong journey of meaning, grappling with the deep questions that we all eventually face that surround life and death. And this all becomes even more poignant after he is diagnosed with cancer—which is why he wrote the book: to tell the story of his own journey as a way of helping others grapple with these same big questions. The book is sad, and funny, and encouraging, and profound—the kind of book I kept thinking about long after I had returned it to the library. With deep thanks to my former-student-turned-colleague, Sara de Waal, for recommending it to me…and now I recommend it to all of you as well!
Dave’s Book Fave #3: The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch
OH MY, this book is such a good one! My friend and colleague, Justin Bailey recommended this one to me a year and a half ago, and I read it then. It was the spark for the new course I taught this fall about Technology, Identity, and Community, and the students who took that course with me also reported that was a winner.
Crouch is not a technophobe, but he does call into question an awful lot of what we just “assume to be true” about life in this highly technological culture we find ourselves living in. He calls us to a counter-cultural way of being that helps us see technology as a servant than a master. I highly recommend this book to you; it might be the most important book about technology and culture I’ve read since grad school. More than that, it will help you ask the question, “What kind of life am I looking for?”
Dave’s Fave Conferences for 2023
This is pretty nerdy, I guess (but, hey…I’m an academic…) I love presenting at conferences, but I especially love presenting with friends! I had three great conferences I got to present at with friends this year…
Dave’s Conference Fave #1: Christian Deeper Learning
In March, I got to present a session with my pal, Peter Welle, at the Christian Deeper Learning Conference at Surrey, British Columbia. Our session, “Teaching as Storytelling” tapped into our shared love of music!
Dave’s Conference Fave #2: American Educational Research Association
In April, I had the privilege of heading to Chicago to present a roundtable session alongside my friend, Matthew Wilson. We’ve been collaborating for several years in research around the myth of so-called “digital natives,” as well as more productive alternatives, such as digital citizenship, and my current interest in digital fluency. AERA is a massive conference, so we were delighted to have our respective papers picked up for this roundtable! It was a great session with robust discussion about equipping learners for the digital age.
Dave’s Conference Fave #3: Christian Educators Association
In November, I had the joy of recording a live episode of the Hallway Conversations podcast with my partners in crime, Abby De Groot and Matt Beimers at the Christian Educators Association conference in South Bend, Indiana. What a fantastic group of passionate Christian educators! And we took a little time to have a walkabout in downtown Chicago since we had some extra time before catching our flight back to Iowa.
Dave’s Fave Professional Experiences
One of my good friends who is not an educator sometimes asks me, “Why do you do all those extra things??” I think what he means is that I wind up doing lots of “extra” stuff beyond my job…that I also absolutely LOVE. Here are three big ones for me this year…
Dave’s Professional Fave #1: Writing a book!
I can’t wait to actually have this one in print—hopefully sometime in early 2024! (My editor has it now, and I should be hearing back any day now…) But I’ve had the joy of using it in draft form with nearly 100 students in my Introduction to Education courses this past fall and spring, and they found it a helpful and encouraging read!
Dave’s Professional Fave #2: Presenting professional development workshops!
I absolutely love working with PreK-12 teachers to help equip and encourage them! In 2023, I presented sessions at six different schools in Iowa, Kansas, and Minnesota. Topics ranged from teaching science, to assessment practices, to educational robotics, to creating a classroom environment that prioritizes creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. (If you’d like me to come work with your school’s staff, I’m totally open to this! Check out my speaking and presenting page for more information.)
Dave’s Professional Fave #3: Professional reading and discussions!
Along with about a dozen of my colleagues at Dordt, we won an internal grant to help us continue developing our perspective and pedagogy. We decided to read works by the inimitable Rich Mouw, President Emeritus of Fuller Theological Seminary. We read a book authored by Mouw every month, and then meet up for a book discussion—we call it “Mondays with Mouw.” It’s a fabulous way to both build community and continue to develop as scholars!
Dave’s Fave Places to Visit with His Family
I love traveling with my family. We had a few lovely adventures this year…
Dave’s Travel Fave #1: Florida Beaches!
Our family tradition is too have the high school graduate choose the location of our family vacation. My daughter chose Florida, and we had a fantastic time! Got to visit both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and plenty of things to do in between them…
Dave’s Travel Fave #2: Walt Disney World
Okay, I guess Florida is a two-for, because we did the theme park vacation, which was so much fun, I may be becoming a Disney adult. Hollywood Studios was my favorite park, in no small part because I’m an absolute StarWars nerd, and it absolutely did not disappoint. (See this post from earlier this year about that adventure entitled A Little Disney Magic?")
Dave’s Travel Fave #3:
No snow, which was nice for the travel, but didn’t feel as Christmassy as one might expect, but we enjoyed a quick trip to Minneapolis to watch the Guthrie Theater’s production of A Christmas Carol. (Which was amazing, of course!) We also took in a little art, some great food, and some final Christmas shopping.
The Last Word!
What a year it’s been. Looking back, there were hard time, for sure. But there were so, so many happy, joyful, delightful times:
Tuesday morning coffee with my friends at the Fruited Plain Cafe.
Teaching middle school Sunday School at my church.
Singing karaoke with new friends.
Pedaling 2274.08 miles on the gravel roads of Northwest Iowa.
Playing Mingo (music bingo) with friends at a local watering hole.
Re-reading the Hobbit for at least the 7th time.
Developing and teaching a new Core capstone course, and getting my students to play along with all of my crazy teaching techniques—and getting great feedback from them too!
Seeing my daughter graduate from high school, and begin college…and start navigating “empty nester” life. (Which has been great, for the most part.)
Co-teaching Introduction to Education with my friend and colleague, Barb.
Taking dozens and dozens of walks through the Dordt prairie with my dog.
Winning several weeks of our trivia league with my awesome team (shoutout to M.J.S & the 3Dz!)
Traveling with friends and family.
I hope you can reflect back over your year and find similar moments of joy—both big and small things. Enjoy the change of pace of the holiday break, friends. And may your new year be full of adventures and joy!