Kevin Stilley

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September 22, 2008 by kevinstilley

A Warning For My Students

When I was doing corporate training it was common for us to keep a bag of candy close by to throw at trainees from time to time.

“Good answer.  Have a Hershey’s Kiss.”  Toss, catch, unwrap, eat.  It broke any monotony and kept trainees on their toes.

I have been thinking about how I can implement a similar training/educational scenario for the students in the college classes I teach.  My classes can at times be rather large so I think I am going to have to modify my approach. Rather than a sack of candy, I think I am going to invest in a paintball gun.

“Smith, John Q., what did Aristotle have to say about Plato’s metaphysical dualism?”

The room grows silent as student Smith, John Q. considers his response. His pause extends a little too long. It is apparent that he has not read pages 66-87 of A.H. Armstrong’s An Introduction To Ancient Philosophy. So, I deftly reach into my briefcase, pull my new 08 Spyder MR2 to my shoulder, and squeeze the trigger.

Thwap! Thwap! Thwap! Three paintballs slap into the chest of student Smith, John Q. The monotony is broken, and there is plenty of incentive for students to do their assigned reading prior to the next class session.

Pedagogy at its best!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: assignments, Blog, classroom, Education, paintball, pedagogy, Reading, training, western civilization

June 16, 2008 by kevinstilley

Little Blue Plug, Not Little Brown Jug

Little Blue PlugI keep a little blue plug on my desk. It is there as a reminder to me not to do something stupid. Not that it really works (as is evidenced by me catching a scorpion Sunday night and bringing it into a colleagues office as a gift), but that is the intention nonetheless. Why a little blue plug? It is a Quickport Cat5e Jack for a wall outlet into which a network cable was inserted for a software training class to have internet access. I got up to get coffee, wasn’t watching where my feet were going, [Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Blog, cable, cabling, CAT 5e, female, Internet, male, network plug, Quickport jack, security, software, Stories, training, wall socket

June 14, 2008 by kevinstilley

They Call Me Dad

family photo father's dayOver the years my wife has done many wonderful things for me. One of the finest was that she trained our kids to welcome me home at the end of a long day at work. When our firstborn was just a toddler I would step through the door and hear her shout out “Dad’s home!” Parker would come running, with plenty of hugs and kisses.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Blog, celebration, dad, Father's Day, fathers, love, marriage, parenthood, Parenting, training

May 30, 2008 by kevinstilley

Girls Shouldn’t Just Wanna Have Fun

Parker & KevinGirls shouldn’t just wanna have fun, and neither should anyone else. Consider this story told by J.P. Moreland in The Lost Virtue Of Happiness which he co-authored with Klaus Issler;

When my daughter’s eight-grade team was being creamed in a soccer game, the coach said at halftime, “Girls, don’t worry about the score. The reason we play soccer is to have fun; so let’s try to have a blast during the second half and go home happy whatever the final result.” That coach reminds me of Cyndi Lauper’s song “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” He was mindlessly parroting the cultural mantra that pleasurable satisfaction is the goal of life. The reasons my wife and I wanted our daughter to play soccer where to learn how to win and to lose, to cooperate with others, to sacrifice for a long-term goal, which requires delaying instant gratification, and — well, you get the picture. What was really sad was not simply the coach’s speech, but the fact than none of the parents so much as batted an eye at his counsel.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Blog, character, citizenship, Cub Scouts, Cyndi Lauper, Family, fitness, fun, goals, happiness, J. P. Moreland, training, Worldview

May 27, 2008 by kevinstilley

Grace In The Workplace

I asked Peter Drucker, … “Peter, why are you a Christian?” …He says, “Ken, there’s no better deal.” I said, “What do you mean?” And he said, “Who else has grace?”

The above was related by business consultant Ken Blanchard. I have been listening to a series of recordings on developing teams and Blanchard was giving a presentation on “Developing People: Giving and Receiving Feedback” when he made the above statement.

I believe that in all my years, which included a lifetime in church, a decade of training managers and a stint teaching business at the college level, that is the very first time I have ever heard anyone speak of “grace” as a leadership model. I am hoping to flesh this out a bit and thought I would throw the door open to you for suggestions. Two questions that I have are (1) what Biblical passages would relate to this premise?, and (2) what would a “grace based leadership model” look like in a secular business?

Anyone care to share your thoughts?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: business, christian, development, grace, Jesus, Leadership, management, mission, mobilization, Praxis, strategy, teams, training, vision

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