Events explore ethical questions of teaching

Contact: Mark Schwerin

KALAMAZOO--A philosopher-educator will take listeners on an ethical quest into the realm of the classroom during two upcoming events at Western Michigan University.

Dr. Chris Higgins will speak at 7 p.m. Monday, April 9, in Room 2008 of the Richmond Center and 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 10, in the University Center for the Humanities in Knauss Hall. Higgins is assistant professor of philosophy of education in the Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he also holds appointments in the Center for Translation Studies and the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory.

Higgins' April 9 presentation, titled "Teaching as an Ethical Quest: Pitfalls and Possibilities," will explore what draws people to the work of teaching and sustains them within that demanding practice. His April 10 talk is titled "The Good Life of Teaching: An Ethics of Professional Practice" and will offer an opportunity to meet with Higgins in an informal discussion of the themes from his April 9 talk, focusing on his book "The Good Life of Teaching." Both are free and open to the public.

In addition to serving as assistant professor, Higgins holds appointments in the Center for Translation Studies and the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory at Illinois. He also serves as coordinator of the Program in Philosophy of Education, as associate and review editor for Educational Theory and as director of the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative. His book, "The Good Life of Teaching: An Ethics of Professional Practice," was recently published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Higgins' presentations are co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, the Department of Teaching, Learning and Educational Studies and the University Center for the Humanities.