Habits of Hope: Educational Practices for a Weary World

by Todd C. Ream (Editor), Jerry Pattengale (Editor), Christopher J. Devers (Editor), Amos Yong (Foreword by)

Overview

In the world of education, disorientation and uncertainty has been increasing for several decades, with the Covid-19 pandemic only exacerbating preexisting challenges. Christians called to academic vocations need authentic hope to sustain them in their work"”and they need to be able to share that hope with a weary world.

Habits of Hope explores a Christian understanding of hope and how it applies to the work of educators, administrators, scholars, and others in academia. Essays by master practitioners focus on six key educational practices and describe how these practices can cultivate hope within educators as well as among their students and everyone they serve:

• integration
• conversation
• diversity
• reading
• writing
• teaching

Contributors include Hans Boersma; Kimberly Battle-Walters Denu; Kevin G. Grove, CSC; Cherie Harder; Jon S. Kulaga; Philip Graham Ryken; David I. Smith; and Jessica Hooten Wilson.

Christian hope, these thinkers are convinced, has two fundamental characteristics: it's tied inextricably to the world to come, inaugurated by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and it's active in its very nature. Habits of Hope combines theology and practical application to help educators find hope and infuse it throughout every area of their work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781514010693
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	11/12/2024
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.43(d)

About the Author

Christopher J. Devers is assistant professor of education at Johns Hopkins University and a senior fellow for the Lumen Research Institute.

Born and raised in Southern California, Todd C. Ream serves at Indiana Wesleyan University as University Professor, Executive Director of Faculty Scholarship, and Senior Fellow for Programming for the Lumen Research Institute. He also serves as Senior Fellow for Public Engagement for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and as Publisher for Christian Scholar's Review.

Jerry Pattengale serves at Indiana Wesleyan University as university professor and codirector of the Lumen Research Institute.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Amos Yong

Introduction: An Expectation of the World to Come
Todd C. Ream, Jerry Pattengale, and Christopher J. Devers
1. The Cross Our Hope: The Hope of Education
Kevin G. Grove, C.S.C.
2. Past, Present, and Future: Integration as a Hopeful Educational Practice
Philip Graham Ryken
3. The Way of Words: Conversation as a Hopeful Educational Practice
Cherie Harder
4. Inclusive Excellence: Diversity as a Hopeful Educational Practice
Kimberly Battle-Walters Denu
5. Reading for Deification: Maximus the Confessor's Hopeful Pedagogy
Hans Boersma
6. Prophets and Poets at the Apocalypse: Writing as a Hopeful Educational Practice
Jessica Hooten Wilson
7. "Arduous and Difficult to Obtain": Teaching as a Hopeful Educational Practice
David I. Smith
Conclusion: The Habitat of Hope
Jon S. Kulaga

Contributors
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Hope is not theoretical. It is a practice and a choice. Habits of Hope reminds us that while there is real suffering in our world and on our campuses, Christian higher education can and should make the active choice to cultivate hope to honor our relationships with God, one another, and our communities. The diverse authors and insights in this volume provide a pathway to hope for us to follow, inspired by our faith."

Molly A. Schaller

"Hope can be simultaneously ubiquitous and elusive, familiar and amorphous, profound and cliché, but as the contributors of Habits of Hope remind us, real hope is absolutely indispensable in educational contexts. Whether you are encouraging readers to think about hope from biblical, theological, psychological, equitable, or practical perspectives, Habits of Hope is required reading for those who see Christian hope and transformative educational outcomes as inseparable."

Beck A. Taylor

"Habits of Hope brilliantly illuminates the transformative power of hope within Christian higher education. With profound insights and practical wisdom, this book serves as a guiding light for educators and leaders, seamlessly integrating hope into their daily work. It not only encourages but empowers individuals to navigate the challenges of our current world with a movement filled with the hope of Christ."

Deana L. Porterfield

"With the myriad threats and challenges facing students and teachers today, the landscape of formal education often feels more life-draining than life-giving. Hope is desperately needed in this space. Habits of Hope offers just this, not by introducing new educational techniques or interventions but by sketching a spiritually and theologically rich vision of hope and exploring how we might teach and learn in light of it. This is a stimulating and edifying work."

Jason Baehr

"Habits of Hope offers a transformative road map for students and teachers navigating today's challenges. The essays in this book present a vision of education oriented toward the end of communion with God. When interpreted through the lens of Christians hope, the practices of reading, writing, and conversation become habits that cultivate holiness. A great, thought-provoking, and inspiring read for such a time as this."

Edgardo A. Col+¦n-Emeric

"Habits of Hope offers a transformative road map for students and teachers navigating today's challenges. The essays in this book present a vision of education oriented toward the end of communion with God. When interpreted through the lens of Christians hope, the practices of reading, writing, and conversation become habits that cultivate holiness. A great, thought-provoking, and inspiring read for such a time as this."

Edgardo A. Colón-Emeric

"In a time of cultural collapse, this collection inspires hope as faithful obedience but also an antidote for a weary age. This hope is not a fleeting wish, but a purposeful, spiritual assurance that can be cultivated in practices for teaching, writing, learning, conversation, and considering the other. In these inspiring habits of hope, we see the vital contribution Christian education might offer the world."

Michael D. Hammond

"During this cultural moment where discord and division dominate the contemporary landscape, it is essential that educators at all levels provide learning experiences that cultivate the virtue of hope in the lives of our students. By drawing on the wisdom of a diverse group of authors, this volume offers judicious insights into a variety of educational practices designed to resist fear and despair and nurture human flourishing. I encourage faculty, administrators, and church educators to engage with this timely text."

Kim S. Phipps

"Habits of Hope brilliantly illuminates the transformative power of hope within Christian higher education. With profound insights and practical wisdom, this book serves as a guiding light for educators and leaders, seamlessly integrating hope into their daily work. It not only encourages but empowers individuals to navigate the challenges of our current world with a movement filled with the hope of Christ."

Deanna L. Porterfield