Hester, Joseph P. 1939–

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Hester, Joseph P. 1939–

PERSONAL: Born December 19, 1939, in Newton, NC; son of Joseph Lee and Thelma (Robinson) Hester; married Patricia James (an educator), December 16, 1959; children: Michael James, Christopher Lee. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Lenoir-Rhyne College, B.A., 1961; Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, B.D., 1964, Th.M., 1967; University of Georgia, Ph.D., 1973. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Methodist. Hobbies and other interests: Watercolor painting, travel, fitness workouts.

ADDRESSES: Home—3844 Dover St., Claremont, NC 28610. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and educator. Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC, assistant professor of philosophy, 1972–75; Catawba County School System, Newton, NC, teacher, program director, and curriculum specialist, 1975–2001; retired, 2001. Adjunct professor at Lenoir-Rhyne College and Appalachian State University, 1978–88; University of Connecticut, summer lecturer, 1983, 1984. Arkansas Ingathering of Teachers of the Gifted, director, 1985; International Conference on the Minority and Culturally Different Gifted Primary Student, organizer and director, 1992; State of North Carolina, member of state team for improvements in the education of the gifted and talented, 1994–2001.

AWARDS, HONORS: International Creative Scholar Award, Torrance Center for Creativity Research, 1995.

WRITINGS:

North Carolina: Its History and Significance (teacher workbooks; with filmstrips), Southeastern Visuals & Classroom World Productions (Maiden, NC), 1982–85.

(With Philip F. Vincent) Philosophy for Young Thinkers (student workbooks and teacher guides), Trillium Press (New York, NY), 1983–88.

(With Doug Marlette and Don Killian) Cartoons for Thinking, Trillium Press (New York, NY), Volume 1, 1987 Volume 2, 1989.

Dropout Prevention Education, Trillium Press (New York, NY), 1989.

Teaching for Thinking, Carolina Academic Press (Durham, NC), 1994.

Bridges: Building Relationships and Resolving Conflicts, New View Publishers (Chapel Hill, NC), 1995.

Encyclopedia of Values and Ethics, American Bibliographical Center-CLIO Press (Denver, CO), 1996.

Thinking Maps: Mentor Training Guide, Innovative Learning Group (Raleigh, NC), 1998.

(Editor) Character Education through Story: K-6 Lessons to Build Character through Multicultural Literature, Character Development Publishing (Chapel Hill, NC), 2000.

Talking It Over: A Workbook for Character Development, Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD), 2002.

The Ten Commandments: A Handbook of Religious, Legal, and Social Issues, McFarland & Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2003.

Public School Safety: A Handbook with a Resource Guide, McFarland & Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2003.

Ethical Leadership for School Administrators and Teachers, McFarland & Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2003.

(With H. Darrell Young) Leadership under Construction, Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD), 2004.

Contributor to books, including On the Edge and Keeping on the Edge, edited by E. Paul Torrance, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 2000; and The Future of Creativity, edited by Andrie G. Aleinikov, Scholastic Testing Service (Bensenville, IL), 2002. Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Southern Journal of Philosophy, North Carolina Science Teachers Journal, Middle School Journal, Thinking: Journal of Philosophy for Children, and Mission.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Leadership Reflections, meditations on life, character, and values; "Learning to Lead," a three-book series on activities that promote leadership development, for elementary, middle, and high schools, with H. Darrell Young; An Ethic of Hope: Christian Ethics.

SIDELIGHTS: Joseph P. Hester told CA: "Being trained in both theology and philosophy, I began writing because of my interest in developing ideas and concepts, arguments and defenses. I first published in professional journals.

"Conceiving an idea to write a philosophy curriculum for the public schools, I took the opportunity to become public-school-certified in 1974 and then immersed myself in teaching in the public schools and the North Carolina Governor's School Program. This ultimately led to my becoming a curriculum supervisor and director of programs for the gifted. It also led to my writing the fifteen-book series Philosophy for Young Thinkers, a project that took ten years to complete because of the demands of my work. My other books came as problems arose for which I could find no solution that fit our school system. Books in critical thinking, conflict resolution, ethics and values, and character education followed each other from 1994 through 2001.

"With my retirement in 2001, I continued to write about topics of interest. The books for McFarland & Company on the ten commandments, public-school safety, and ethical leadership were ideas that had been incubating for many years. For a number of years I also assisted H. Darrell Young, a businessman from Atlanta, Georgia, with the development of his ideas on leadership. I was pleased and honored to rewrite much of the material and add over forty activities to the manuscript. These activities were based on my research and writing in the area of critical thinking and problem-solving.

"Recently I have slowed my writing schedule and have enjoyed taking several workshops on watercolor painting, a hobby in my youth and now a passion which I can enjoy in my retirement. My wife and I love to travel and have spent time on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, an extended trip to Nova Scotia, a dive in Key West, Florida, and a week in Savannah, Georgia. We also plan a trip into the Deep South and look forward to visiting many of the old colonial and Victorian homes along the Tennessee River and the Mississippi River. I live and work by a simple philosophy: the best is yet to come. I am optimistic that at least twenty more years of writing, painting, and travel await my anxious mind.

"I have been preparing my memoirs for my two sons and their children. I have titled this escapade into the past 'The Gift of Purpose.' I firmly believe that there is a purpose for everyone, but we have to remain open to life's experiences and lessons and allow this purpose to seep into our consciousness. Like Plato's analogy of the cave, we probably couldn't handle all of it at once—first the shadows, then the stars, and then the sun. Too much too soon and we become blinded by the light of greed and personal enhancement. Purpose is much more subtle and requires listening to the small voices, not just the loud ones."