catapult magazine

vol. 10, num. 17 :: 2011.09.30 — 2011.10.13

From pre-schoolers through tenured professors, folks in the northern hemisphere have settled into the routines of the academic year. For many, this rhythm eventually ends, but for teachers it can last for decades. Who stands out in your story as an excellent teacher? How are you trying to be a good educator, vocationally or otherwise?

Feature

Dishes on the red sled

by L.L. Barkat

A mother reflectson what she’s learning from her home educated daughters.

If you want to teach well

by Amy Carpenter Leugs

A short lesson on listening to and appreciating children for who they are.

In search of a good education

by Tamara Murphy

A parent reflects on the privilege of choosing among a wealth of schooling options.

Editorial

Women who teach

by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma

Remembering the many women who taught me well.

Articles

The Reader’s Digest version: B.S. Education

by Carol Brennan King

A teacher shares what she’s learned from forty years of various teaching experiences.

Taking a red crayon to a white wall

by Amanda Cleary Eastep

How the students in a free writing workshop have taught the teacher.

Teacher traits

by Martin Wiles

Learning from grandma’s Sunday School habits.

The Fourposter

by Jeff Barker

Weaving the story of four decades of gratitude and glory.

I remember the names of all my teachers

by Nicole Carlin

A “difficult” student reflects on the teachers who did and didn’t treat her as a problem child.

Life changer

by Larry Farris

Remembering the pedagogy of Mrs. Schrager.

Connecting the dots

by Deborah Haak

Tracing a life full of learning experiences.

Are you having fun yet?

by Kacie Rogers

Remembering a favorite professor, beyond the first impression.

Organic chemistry

by Elisabeth Gesch

A second-career student reflects on making connections in class.

A tale of three or four teachers

by Meredith Kathryn-Case Gipson Hoogendam

Learning from the ancestral line about intuition vs. skill in teaching.

Reviews

A dangerous adventure

by Brett Beasley

A review of the book The Ignorant Schoolmaster by Jacques Rancière.

In case you missed it the first time

Under my skin

by Bridget DeYager

A period of service in Haiti leaves a language arts teacher transformed.

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be clueless

by Megan Dunham

On passing down skills in community.

Weaving the web

Becoming communities of grace

Christian Educator’s Journal

Mark Vander Vennen writes on practicing a Jubilee model of relationship in Christian schools.

Good teaching will probably be slow and boring

Comment

Alissa Wilkinson comments on a lecture by James K.A. Smith.

De-grading the grade

Ridl.com

Poetry professor Jack Ridl writes about his experiment in eliminating grades.

daily asterisk

Even in a country you know by heart
its hard to go the same way twice
the life of the going changes.
The chances change and make a new way.
Any tree or stone or bird
can be the bud of a new direction. The
natural correction is to make intent
of accident. To get back before dark
is the art of going.

Wendell Berry
“Traveling at Home” from Traveling at Home

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