Dennis R. Rader

Dr. Dennis R. Rader (August 6, 1946 - February 14, 2013) was an American educator, writer, and philosopher of education. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and spent most of his writing career in Frankfort, Kentucky. He also served as an Education professor at Kentucky State University.
Rader wrote on topics concerning the value of education in democracy, and how democratic values manifested in educative processes. His writing was often critical of the structures through which contemporary education took place, though Rader's writing often vigilantly steered away from assigning blame to any specific authoritative individuals, rather criticizing the overarching structures which gave room to allow negative influence to take hold of authoritative figures within education. He was also interested in the value of intuition in education, which he termed 'gumption'. Rader's style of writing was known for its considerably down-to-earth, simple approach to explaining progressive philosophies of education, often through the use of colorful pictures or fractal art on nearly every page of his books, under the conviction that such pictures allowed the creation of particular metaphors within the reader's mind which stimulated the creative and critical cognitive processes while reading, thus further engaging the reader beyond text alone.
Later in his work, with books like Learning Redefined, Rader became particularly interested in scientific advancements in neurology, and how the neurological sciences connected to educative processes. Rader also began to explore approaching education while encouraging an active, participatory philosophy between the student and teacher, and advocated for students to be constantly involved in the world of nature in order to experience creative stimulation. Rader was also interested in the effects of postmodern thought in educational philosophy, which he explored in The Three Little Pigs in a Postmodern World.

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