Notes from a Reluctant Blogger: Why Write It If Nobody Will Read It?

This morning, a local pastor was sharing a reference to Clive James' Substack titled "Diary of a Failed Comedian." Part of the pastor's application was about how hungry we all are for various versions of "likes," via social media or other venues. 

That got me thinking of the previous pandemic-era blog that I maintained for about two years with over 100 posts. To borrow a line from a famous western, "It seemed like a good idea at the time." I think some posts were good and some where duds, and I might have helped or encouraged a few people in the process. In a reckless moment of resignation as the cha-cha of my high school teaching routine returned to "normal" levels of busyness, I deleted the blog and didn't save all of my posts. Did that action make me a failed blogger? With the everpresent deluge of Substack posts and blogs, I've become a reluctant blogger. 

Developing Rigor AND Mental Health Support in the College Classroom

Preparing essential discussions about post-pandemic education with first-year college students... 

July 2024 Update: These sessions did go well. Additionally, those three questions have related well to discussions about AI in our courses and what sort of appropriate "friction" (a.k.a. difficulty or struggle) students should encounter when learning at the college level in order to flourish academically, socially, and personally. All sorts of discussions have connected to this book and issues of growth, challenge, grit, motivation, purpose, and more.

In preparation for February and March (2024), I'll be leading an interactive book review with local community college instructors and professors in different disciplines. The topic is rigorous learning and mental health in the college classroom. The book is Improving Learning and Mental Health in The College Classroom by Robert Eaton, Steven V. Hunsaker, and Bonnie Moon. I've been reading, rereading, side-researching, and discussing the book with others since I stumbled across it in our local library last fall. The book is a timely, humble, and helpful contribution to discussing an elephant in the room: How do we maintain expectations for what rightly should be college-level learning while recognizing and realistically responding to the mental health challenges of our first-year students? 

Better Thinking as Thanking

 Happy Thanksgiving! 

I never realized how controversial that greeting could be until I entered the world of contentious grownups. Details aside about those controversies and contentions,  I'm thinking of my own bent toward grumbling, quarreling, discontentment, and occasionally all-out-despair. I'm thankful for writers from previous generations who return us to being thankful for just existing. G.K. Chesterton comes to mind for lifting up my thoughts and affections: “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." 

May you enjoy that highest form of thought in the days and months and years to come!

Life after High School English Teaching: Phasing through Semi-retirement

For high school teachers who are "midway in our life's journey" or nearing the end of your teaching career, I encourage you to watch Riley Moynes' TEDTalk on "How to squeeze all the juice out of retirement." This talk can prepare you for some retirement transitions that aren't always so pleasant yet hold much potential for growth and flourishing. Even if so-called retirement seems far away, there are some good things to start thinking about in terms of how you can flourish in these later years.

Moynes sets up the following (not-always-sequential) four phases of retirement:

1. Vacation

2. Grief & loss

3. Trial & error 

4. Renewal 

Is Rhetoric Helpful?

Is rhetoric helpful? Well, that depends on what kind of rhetoric and what kind of approach to rhetoric we take. Everything that I have read from the late Wayne Booth's works leads me to say that rhetoric can not only helpful but essential to long-term flourishing in our relationships. Likewise, good rhetoric can benefit our communities and society at large. Booth is especially helpful for understanding rhetoric because he can clearly distinguish between good and bad versions of rhetoric. 

Developing a Rhetoric of Rhetorics

Wayne Booth's The Rhetoric of RHETORIC continues to serve me well by challenging me to become a more thoughtful communicator, teacher, learner, and human being. We all need that challenge. Likewise, we need to consider thoughtfulness as more than mere intellectual activity but also as the well-intentioned consideration of others. Booth was not only a rhetorician who focused on ways to communicate well but also an ethicist who sought ways to treat others well, especially through thoughtful listening as well as speaking and writing. Basically, Booth wanted his students, readers, colleagues, and conversational partners to feel valued as human beings. With such an aim, he invites us all to seek better understandings of rhetoric.