Teaching in a Distant Classroom: Crossing Borders for Global Transformation
"There are few people who are qualified to write a book like this. And there are few books that inform, challenge, persuade and entertain like this does. Mike Romanowski and Teri McCarthy have delved deep and produced a stimulating and essential text for those called to Christian teaching across the globe. Don't leave home without it!" (Dr. Elaine Storkey, Vice President, University of Gloucestershire, president, Tearfund, and director of training and education, the Church of England Church Army)"There is no other book quite likeTeaching in a Distant Classroom.For years I've been mobilizing young people and retirees to go overseas and teach. I wish I could have put this book in the hands of every one of those young people and retirees that I've mobilized! The book is brutally honest about integrity issues as well as other problems likely to be encountered. While it gives great 'how-to' advice for flourishing in a crosscultural situation, it also deals with foundational questions like pedagogy, philosophy and worldview." (Howard Culbertson, D.Min., professor of missions, Southern Nazarene University)"This is an exciting and instructionally directional book about the most challenging, strategically most potent and yet largely neglected mission field--the university classrooms of our globally interconnected and yet religiously and culturally diverse world. From the wealth of their pedagogical wisdom, plethora of their crosscultural experiences and the depth of their kingdom commitments, the authors persuasively argue and richly illustrate how important knowing is for going and understanding is for teaching. My advice to all who are missional in their international teaching: this book must be read before going and taken along for self-evaluating reference." (Dr. Peter Kuzmic, Eva B. and Paul E. Toms Distinguished Professor of World Missions and European Studies, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and founding president, Evangelical Theological Seminary, Osijek, Croatia)"I sure wish I could have read this book before I began teaching in Nigeria. It's better to learn from its authors than from Hard Knocks University!" (Chuck White, Ph.D., Professor of Christian Thought and History, Spring Arbor University, and Visiting Professor, University of Jos, Nigeria)"Written from passionate hearts aflame for Christ and his kingdom,Teaching in a Distant Classroomis the most authentic, relevant and inspirational professional guide available today for those considering teaching abroad. An inspirational challenge and complete resource for all who teach, this book should be required reading for all Christian college students considering teaching overseas." (Stephen D. Livesay, Ph.D., president, Bryan College)"As president of a Christian college I very strongly recommendTeaching in a Distant Classroomto students interested in international missions (teaching or otherwise) and to all Christian faculty members in the U.S. Romanowski and McCarthy provide practical insights and heartwarming narratives that will help students decide whether teaching abroad is for them and, if so, help them prepare to do so well. All faculty members should read it because it will help them think through what it means to be a Christian who teaches. This book, which could actually be called a survival guide, is invaluable for students who sense God's call to teach overseas as a Christian missionary and for faculty who find themselves increasingly confronting diverse and conflicting worldviews in U.S. classrooms.  It should be on every Christian campus in the nation." (Dan Struble, Ph.D., president, Montreat College)"Teaching in a Distant Classroomis a valuable introduction to college teaching as crosscultural ministry. Indeed, as a former college provost who cares a great deal about teaching Christianly, I think that it could be valuable for college teachers anywhere, including Christian colleges in the United States! These days, all college teaching is 'crosscultural ministry.' It is remarkable how little guidance newly minted Ph.D.s have received in the art and craft of good teaching, even if they have some university teaching experience. This book offers valuable introductions to these topics, and much more, including the life of learning as a genuine calling from God, the cultural assumptions behind much of Western college teaching and what it means to be an authentic ambassador of Jesus Christ in all of one's life. This is a wise and practical book, and I hope that many Christian professors will read it." (Joel Carpenter, Ph.D., director, Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity)