Thomas R. Davis, Jr., Ph.D.

The teacher’s role from my perspective is not final arbiter of meaning or “sage on the stage.” Teachers are truly facilitators, encouraging mentors who create inclusive classrooms where the sharing of conflicting points of view acts as a catalyst for constructing knowledge.

Critical theorists posit that “values are not imposed by those in power but result from the communal interface and sharing by individuals whose voices have an equal right to be heard” (Gerald Gutek). Thus, students in my classes play the role of skeptics rather than passive subjects into whom timeless knowledge flows. This existentialist moment of uncertainty is what empowers learners to make their own meanings, the strength of which they must be based on critically informed objectivity––a hallmark of critical thinking and an educated citizenry.

Born and raised in the coal region of Pennsylvania, Dr. Davis relocated to the capital region when he began teaching at Central Penn College in 2012. Previously, he'd spent four years teaching English at the high school level. He also taught courses in writing, literature and film at three additional colleges for nearly eight years.

In his spare time, he enjoys golfing, playing guitar, reading, watching baseball and hiking. His current research interests include intelligent tutoring systems for writing, the preparedness gap, political rhetoric, agnotology, and distance education.