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Parker J. Palmer. The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life. 10th Anniversary Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. 248 pp. Cloth: $27.95. ISBN: 978-0-7879- 9686-4.
Parker Palmer's volume is intended for both traditional and nontraditional teachers, for those who experience both the joy and pain of being an educator. K-12 teachers, university faculty and college student affairs practitioners, physicians, and clergy represent some of the groups who have embraced Palmer's ideas, as is evident in the work he has done with them and the honors he has received from them.
The core of this new edition is identical to the first; the introduction and seven chapters are reproduced verbatim. In the introduction, Palmer describes the highs and lows of the classroom experience and the need for teachers to know themselves. He regards technique as something teachers use until the real teacher arrives, and he views the book as a vehicle for "helping that teacher show up" (p. 6).
Chapter 1 contains a basic premise of the book: "Good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher" (p. 10). Yet, according to Palmer, "the more one loves teaching, the more heartbreaking it can be" (p. 11). Palmer believes teachers lose heart "because teaching is a daily exercise in vulnerability" (p. 17). Moreover, in an academic culture that honors the objective, talking with each other about such struggles, a focus on subjectivity, is discouraged.
Chapter 2 explores the role of fear in education. Palmer charges, "Fear is what distances us" (p. 36) from colleagues, students, subjects, and ourselves. Therefore, he considers exorcising fear to be a vital step toward revitalizing teaching and learning. This chapter includes Palmer's classic story of "The Student from Hell." As he learns more...