KAPPA DELTA PI – International Honor Society in Education
Convocation 2013
October 24-26, 2013
Dallas, Texas

If you have arrived at this page from an external link, we invite you to also visit our Home page, the Our Programs page, and the other pages on this website.

Dr. Jeff Goldstein, NCESSE Center Director, is giving the Keynote address at the 49th Biennial Convocation for KAPPA DELTA PI, the International Honor Society in Education, to be held in Dallas October 24-26, 2013.

Keynote Address:

A Teacher’s Gift – Nurturing Exploration in Our Children

We remember that magical time when our children first begin to express themselves, that moment marking the beginning of an unending stream of questions. In our children we can see our humanity — our innate curiosity — and recognize the obvious … that we are born to explore.

We are also born evidence-based learners with a need to poke our corner of the universe in every way we can, and see the evidence it presents us. It is how we reveal the operation of nature, and how we fit into this greater landscape.

As teachers it is our charge to nurture and extend these innately human gifts, placing high value on those skills that enable human exploration – ownership in learning, joyful inquiry, critical thinking, and the ability to navigate an interdisciplinary landscape in quest of an answer. It’s not about the acquisition of knowledge … it’s about promoting journey. It is how we enable the explorer, regardless of discipline, to take the human race to places we’ve never been. And more generally it is the best gift we can give the next generation so they are prepared for the 21st century job market, and most capable of addressing myriad issues we face as a community, a nation, and a planet.

Links to some relevant essays by Dr. Jeff in advance of the conference:

A very personal thank you to teachers everywhere.
The Art of Teaching (at Huffington Post)

Our place in the greater universe and the sacred role of teachers.
The Nature of Our Existence