Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Joe L. Kincheloe

Joe Kincheloe left his tenured position at LSU-S in 1989. I was enrolled in his and Joe Green's doctoral program in curriculum theory, given in connection with LSU, Baton Rouge. Though I often thought about him these past 19 years, I wasn't in touch with him, but did proudly note and sometimes read his many publications: books, journal articles, book-chapters re education and curriculum theory. He was in the CUNY system (NYC) from 1998-2005...I know he added to the luster of my alma mater. Today Dr. Joe Green phoned to tell me that Dr. Kincheloe had died of a massive heart attack while at a conference in Kingston, Jamaica. He was 58 years old.
Its difficult to imagine a world without him, without his passionate support of an educational system that was intellectually exciting and socially just. I know that my semesters with him changed for the better the way I view the world, how I read, listen and work. He was one of the few teachers I've ever had who made academia an adventure. His classroom was alive and challenging with informed debate, with imagination, with constructive ideas, with a magnifying glass of what is. I wish for every student a teacher like Joe Kincheloe. My condolences to Shirley Steinberg, his wife and partner of the past 19 years.

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