RUNNING HEAD: Book Review on The Courage to Teach

Evan Faidley
A Book Review on
The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teachers Life
By Parker Palmer
Kent State University

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Teaching is more than just the technique and transfer of knowledge; Palmer (2007)
provides a lens into such a framework by welcoming the reader to explore the teachers inner
life and [h]ow can the teachers selfhood become a legitimate topic in education and in our
public dialogues on educational reform (p. 3). Palmer begins to explain the concept of teaching
in three parts (p. 5): intellectual, the way we think about teaching; emotional, which is the way
the teacher/student is feeling during the lesson; and spiritualthe diverse ways we connect with
life. In The Courage to Teach, teacher readers participate in an inner journey toward
reconnecting their vocation and their students.
Cornerstones of the book are talking about the teachers identity and integrity.
Eliminating the mindset that teaching is purely pedagogical technique, the facet of identity
constitutes everything that makes usfrom genetics to deeds. Integrity is referred to as the
acceptance of all that one is, which coincides with identity. In academia, it is promoted that
teachers need to split their sense of person from practice, thus suppressing the self to teach to
societys standards. Rather than dividing the self, it is encourages to embrace the emotional and
spiritual connections within ones self. By doing so, the teacher becomes truly present in the
classroom and may deeply engage with their students and their subject.
Among the reading, there are two truths about teaching: (1) what we teach will not take
until it connects with t eh core of the student and (2) we can only connect to the core of the
student when we speak to the teacher within ourselves. The complexities of connecting with
students supplement to the teachers inner development and finding ones self, thus learning
techniques that reveal rather than conceal the personhood from which good teaching derives.
Teachers choose to become teachers for several reasons: the passion of a subject, the desire to
share such a passion with others, tend to the development of knowledge I others or an interest in
shaping the next generation. To effectively do so, Palmer emphasizes the importance of having
heart while performing such tasks if the teacher should want to be authentic and influential on
others and to retain their identity and integrity.
Fear is an eminent element to the realm of teaching. It cripples learning, either in the
student or the teacher. People fear encounters in which the other is free to be themselves because
it is of human nature to want to be able to control those encounters on our own terms, otherwise
to avoid a threat on out self-view. Examples of avoiding such a threat would be students hiding
behind books; teachers behind podiums and desks; and faculty behind specialties. By

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understanding ones fear, we overcome the disconnection with the power of self-knowledge and
with the relationships between teacher and student.
Palmer concentrates on the incorporation of paradoxical concepts within education. The
majority of people think the world apart because we are trained to not voice both sides of an
issue and not to listen with both ears. Its always an either-or argument rather than a bothand. As an example, an individual is either a teacher or a counselor, not both a teacher and a
counselor. This framework ties into Palmers explanation of the six paradoxes:
The space should be bounded and open. There needs to be space for questions but the
discussion needs boundaries.
The space should be hospitable and charged. An open space needs to be hospitable so
it is not forbidding, however it also needs to be challenging.
The space should invite the voice of the individual and the group.
The space should honor the little stories of the students and the big stories of the
disciplines and tradition.
The space should support solitude, and surround it with the resources of the community.
The space should welcome both silence and speech.
Among the development of teaching and learning, community also proves to play a role.
Palmer explores three different community models: therapeutic, civic and marketing. Palmer
states that the therapeutic model places intimacy at the highest value, serving as the best therapy
for the pain of disconnection. This model exploits the trend that teaching and learning are
decreased when the therapeutic principles are the norm, because we need a standard more
encompassing than intimacy by which to affirm a relationship. The civic model focuses on a
wide range of relations among strangers; Palmer explains that the civic model is pivotal to
teaching as it engages people of different backgrounds in common work. The marketing model
indicates that educational institutions must improve their product by strengthening relations with
customers and becoming more accountable to them. Palmer discusses in detail the subject of
reality and finding truth through community and the intricate methods of doing so, including:
inviting diversity into community, embracing ambiguity for the inadequacy of our understanding
of great things, creative conflict to correct our biases about the nature of great things, etc. Palmer
concludes these ideas in a discussion of our knowledge of things around us that are great and
sacred and explains why we need to come to a fuller understanding of them.
Palmer goes on to continue to explain the importance of community in teaching. He also
goes on to explain the effectiveness of a subject-centered education. In this type of education, the

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focus of the class is not revolved around the students or the teaching, but rather on making the
classroom about the subject. In this type of classroom, it is encouraged for students to use their
own knowledge and contradict the teacher and ask questions. This can be shown by servicelearning programs or by means of digital technology. They have the freedom to learn on their
own and experience their education in different ways which makes them more interested and
engaged in the subject. Palmer states that as teachers, we should not occupy all the space with
knowledge, but to leave some open space for the students to learn on their own and expand on
their thought. By teaching this way, you serve both the subject and student by feeding them with
bits of knowledge and then showing them where the information came from and what it means.
Palmer goes on to explain how people question the theory of a learning community because they
say it cannot exist with the division of power between the student and teacher; the real struggle is
the lack of interdependence in the student teacher relationship. Both student and teacher should
rely on each other to create the ideal community.
The faculty community must communicate with each other to grow and learn as teachers.
Palmer states that if we want to grow in the practice of education, one must go to the inner
ground from which teaching comes from and to the community of fellow teachers from whom
we can learn more about ourselves and our craft. The only way to effectively evaluate a teacher
is to be there. The ground rules are to not try to fix everyones problem when in conversation but
let the person resolve their issue on their own but be there to listen. Ask questions and give your
undivided attention without making it about yourself or giving advice. Finally, we need a leader
to initiate this conversation and provide occasions where teachers among themselves or with
students can discuss their concerns. Palmer finishes by saying that this conversation is necessary
for a teacher to grow and learn about their trade and when we lead and communicate, we all have
a chance to heal and lead a new life, thus inferring that learning is for the benefit of everyone.
Palmer identifies the idea of creating movements to transform society. There are four
stages discussed in the process for a movement to happen. These stages are not always
sequential, but they can happen simultaneously. In stage one, due to a situation one may be
struggling with, the individual makes a decision to live divided no more (p. 166). Stage two,
the individuals form communities of congruence. In stage three, these communities learn to grow
a voice and start going public. In stage four, a system of alternative rewards emerges to sustain
the movements vision and to put pressure for change on the standard institutional reward

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system (p. 166). To bring about a transformative teaching experience, it is necessary to work as
a collective community and aspire to make necessary changes for the amelioration of ones self
and the life of others.
To optimize ones self as a teacher, it is not only focused on instruction technique, but
rather the internal and external forces that drive the passion, reasoning and support of becoming
not only a teacher, but a good teacher. As I reviewed the text, I found myself to grow not only in
my instructional technique, but in realizing who I am, why I teach, and how I teach; this
ultimately has led me to reflect on what kind of environment and relationship I desire with my
comrades, whether they be student, faculty or staff. As an intermediary of knowledge and
happiness, I am guided by my identity and integrity, as well as the self-reward of teaching and
collaborating with others. From self-reflections and the support of others, it has become evident
that I do indeed have the courage to teach and contribute to the differences in the world that I
seek to make.

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References
Palmer, P. J. (2007). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher's life. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.