The Courage to Teach

1. Teaching is a courageous act of heart and mind

We teach who we are.

Teaching is personal. It requires us to bring our whole selves - intellect, emotions, and spirit - into the classroom. Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; it comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher. This involves knowing ourselves, our subjects, and our students, and creating connections between them.

Courage is essential. Teaching exposes our vulnerabilities and fears. It demands that we confront our inner landscape, including our shadows and limitations. By doing so, we can tap into our authentic power as educators and inspire our students to do the same.

• Key aspects of courageous teaching:
  • Self-awareness and self-reflection
  • Vulnerability and openness
  • Willingness to connect deeply with students and subjects
  • Embracing uncertainty and complexity

2. Good teaching comes from identity and integrity

Identity lies in the intersection of the diverse forces that make up my life, and integrity lies in relating to those forces in ways that bring me wholeness and life rather than fragmentation and death.

Know thyself. Good teaching emerges from a strong sense of personal identity and a commitment to integrity. This means understanding our own story, values, and motivations, and aligning our teaching practice with them. It's about being authentic and true to ourselves in the classroom.

Integrity in teaching. Integrity involves wholeness - integrating all aspects of ourselves in our work. It means being consistent in our beliefs and actions, and having the courage to stand up for what we believe is right in education. This integrity provides a solid foundation for connecting with students and subjects in meaningful ways.

• Elements of identity and integrity in teaching:
  • Self-knowledge and self-acceptance
  • Alignment of personal values with teaching practice
  • Consistency between words and actions
  • Courage to be authentic in the face of institutional pressures

3. Fear undermines teaching and learning

Academic culture builds barriers between colleagues even higher and wider than those between us and our students.

Recognize fear's impact. Fear is pervasive in education, affecting both teachers and students. It manifests as fear of failure, judgment, vulnerability, and change. This fear can lead to disconnection, competition, and a focus on external measures of success rather than authentic learning and growth.

Overcome fear through connection. The antidote to fear in education is building genuine connections - with ourselves, our students, our subjects, and our colleagues. By creating safe spaces for vulnerability and authentic engagement, we can transform fear into a catalyst for learning and personal growth.

• Ways to address fear in education:
  • Cultivate self-awareness and emotional intelligence
  • Create safe, supportive learning environments
  • Encourage risk-taking and embrace failure as part of learning
  • Foster open dialogue and genuine connections
  • Model vulnerability and authenticity as educators

4. Embrace paradox to think the world together

Paradox is another name for that tension, a way of holding opposites together that creates an electric charge that keeps us awake.

Paradox as a tool. Embracing paradox allows us to transcend either/or thinking and engage with the complexity of reality. In education, this means holding seemingly contradictory ideas in tension - such as structure and freedom, individuality and community, or content and process.

Thinking the world together. By embracing paradox, we can develop a more holistic and integrative approach to teaching and learning. This involves recognizing the interconnectedness of all things and helping students see the world as a complex, interdependent system.

• Key paradoxes in education:
  • Individual growth and community development
  • Tradition and innovation
  • Subjective experience and objective knowledge
  • Certainty and uncertainty in learning
  • Discipline-specific focus and interdisciplinary connections

5. Create space for the community of truth

To teach is to create a space in which the community of truth is practiced.

Beyond teacher-centered or student-centered. Palmer advocates for a subject-centered approach to education, where teachers and students gather around a great subject or idea. This creates a "community of truth" where all participants, including the subject itself, have a voice.

Design learning spaces. Creating this community requires intentional design of physical, emotional, and intellectual spaces. These spaces should be bounded yet open, hospitable yet charged with critical inquiry, and supportive of both individual voice and collective wisdom.

• Elements of a community of truth:
  • A great subject at the center
  • Active engagement of all participants
  • Respect for diverse perspectives
  • Rigorous inquiry and dialogue
  • Balance between individual and collective learning
  • Connection to the larger world beyond the classroom

6. Connect with the "grace of great things"

When we are at our best, it is because the grace of great things has evoked from us the virtues that give educational community its finest form.

Reverence for subjects. The "grace of great things" refers to the power and beauty inherent in the subjects we teach. By approaching our subjects with reverence and wonder, we can inspire the same in our students and create a deeper, more meaningful learning experience.

Evoke virtues through great things. Engaging with great ideas, questions, and phenomena can evoke important virtues in both teachers and students. These include humility, courage, empathy, and a sense of awe and wonder at the complexity of the world.

• Ways to connect with the grace of great things:
  • Approach subjects with genuine curiosity and enthusiasm
  • Highlight the broader significance and relevance of topics
  • Engage with primary sources and authentic materials
  • Encourage students to wrestle with big questions
  • Create opportunities for direct experience and observation
  • Foster interdisciplinary connections

7. Foster good talk about good teaching

Good talk about good teaching is what we need—to enhance both our professional practice and the selfhood from which it comes.

Break the silence. Many teachers work in isolation, rarely discussing their practice with colleagues. Palmer argues for creating spaces and opportunities for meaningful dialogue about teaching, where educators can share experiences, challenges, and insights.

Focus on inner work. These conversations should go beyond technique to explore the inner dimensions of teaching - our motivations, fears, joys, and personal growth. This requires creating safe, supportive environments where teachers can be vulnerable and authentic.

• Elements of good talk about teaching:
  • Regular, structured opportunities for dialogue
  • Focus on both successes and challenges
  • Exploration of personal and professional dimensions
  • Use of protocols to ensure productive conversations
  • Inclusion of diverse perspectives and experiences
  • Connection to larger questions of educational purpose and values

8. Engage in movements for educational reform

Movements are more likely to fine-tune reality than to give rise to a brave new world.

Understand movement dynamics. Educational reform often happens through social movements rather than top-down institutional change. Palmer outlines four stages of movement development: individual decision, community building, going public, and creating alternative rewards.

Find your place in the movement. Educators can contribute to reform by identifying where they fit in this movement process. This might involve personal transformation, building communities of like-minded colleagues, advocating for change publicly, or creating new structures to support reform efforts.

• Stages of educational reform movements:
  1. Individual decision to live "divided no more"
  2. Finding and building communities of support
  3. Going public with reform ideas and practices
  4. Creating alternative reward systems

9. Educate the new professional for transformation

We need professionals who are "in but not of" their institutions, whose allegiance to the core values of their fields calls them to resist the institutional diminishment of those values.

Beyond technical training. Educating new professionals requires more than teaching technical skills. It involves developing their capacity to navigate complex institutional environments while staying true to their core values and the ethical foundations of their profession.

Cultivate change agents. The goal is to produce professionals who can work effectively within institutions while also having the courage and skills to challenge and transform those institutions when necessary. This involves developing critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and the ability to navigate complex systems.

• Key elements in educating the new professional:
  • Ethical reasoning and decision-making
  • Systems thinking and institutional analysis
  • Personal development and self-reflection
  • Leadership and change management skills
  • Collaboration and community-building
  • Balancing professional expertise with broader societal concerns

Last updated: January 24, 2025