"Introduction" to Palmer's The Courage To Teach

"This book is for teachers who have good days and bad, and whose bad days bring the suffering that comes only from something one loves. It is for teachers who refuse to harden their hearts...(Palmer, 2002, pg. 2)."

Well, "Amen" to that. Every emotion that I experience in my vocation is similar to relationships that I have with friends and family members: pain, frustration, sacrifice, joy, love, forgiveness, and on and on. So many ideas presented in this chapter struck a cord with me because teaching is so incredibly demanding, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Palmer writes on page 2, "As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject, and our way of being together." My experience today is a perfect example of this. When I went to my fourth period class, the lesson ran smoothly but there was an emotional disconnect with the material because I was tired and preoccupied with other responsibilities. My first thought after class was "Gosh, I wonder what's wrong with my girls today. They didn't seem to be as involved in the conversation as they normally are." I realized that it really had very little to do with them and more to do with me. I had indeed been thinking about how exhausted I was and the many Dean responsibilities that I had to before I left work today. Because I was able to identify that so quickly, my next class was able to make deeper connections with the material, simply because I spent 15 minutes alone during lunch to readjust my thinking.

Palmer writes on page 7, "They do not care what graduate school you attended, who chaired your dissertation committee, or how many books you have written, but they quickly sense whether you are real, and they respond accordingly." Granted my high school students are interested in where I went to school, they really don't respect or want teachers who are emotional disasters or distant aliens. They want teachers who are familiar and comfortable with their inner terrain and have clear boundaries with students. Palmer adds in this chapter that if he can provide any practical tips and tricks to help teachers stay focused and grounded in class, and I can't imagine anything being as healing and centering as regular, deliberate prayer.