Palmer: Courage To Teach

As a teacher, have you ever sought advice or guidance about your teaching? Yes? And many times over yes is my answer to this question! But, I believe that who and where I sought that guidance made the difference for me the next time I entered my classroom.

During the 2010 Summer Institute, I was introduced to a gentlemen/educator/author named Parker Palmer, who authored "Courage to Teach" which will be an incredible source of sound teaching guidance that I will hold in high regard as I continue to walk into my classroom. "Courage to Teach" has become a special vault of information that continuously requires me to take a relook at why I teach and why I consider myself to be a good teacher.

Palmer's message to educators everywhere is to daily take a self-inventory of our teacher's heart which is what should drive our teaching for it is the condition of our hearts' chambers of identity and integrity that acts as the main connection between ourselves, our subject knowledge, and our students. I read it. I understand it, but how will I manage to best apply Palmer's 'courage philosophies' in my classroom?

Learning what 'courage' meant according to Palmer was everything I believed teaching required of us. "...good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher" (pg. 10). Reading further, I find that there are commonalities among those good teachers who use similar techniques; "a strong sense of identity infuses their work" (pg. 11). What I sense here is good teachers connect theirself, their subject and their students to the real world. Palmer offers a variety of method ideas to make this connectedness. For example, using lectures, experiments, student collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking issues, and more. My mind is busy visualizing using these methods and how students will interact with each other and their learning experiences.

That's just it though. The planning for successful student learning is critical. Palmer agrees, but also reminds teachers that not to be fearful should a plan go awry. Palmer eloquently describes two indiviuals to convey the importance of having genuine identity and integrity, the story of Alan and Eric. I couldn't help but be reminded of the story in the Bible about a man who was granted debt forgiveness but who did not show the same courtesy to someone else; the results were unfortunate for the first man. It turns out that 'Alan' succeeds in his pursuits, where Eric does not. The model of Alan's character speaks volumes to me; I believe that is my whole purpose to teach; to teach the intangibles of identity and integrity so my students will internalize these attributes in order to contribute to human goodness in their life's journey.

"Courage" also tells me that as a teacher I can expect to have good and bad days. We all have limits, right? Students need to know I am human and will make mistakes. But the importance here is that teachers (I) need to figure out how to use those mistakes to improve my teaching for students. Palmer describes this state of emotion like this, "...there are occasions in the classroom when he can hardly 'hold the joy' but refuses to harden his heart because of his love for learners, learning, and the teaching life" (pg.1 ). Those moments of disconnectedness I have replayed in my mind too many times, but I have also used those moments to prompt discussion with my students; 'rewind' is a term I use in the classroom which allows me to reconnect with my students and reopens their heart's critical thinking discerning these situations that arise in our classroom.

Palmer uses the term 'paradox' describing how these moments of disconnectedness may be awkward for teachers; Palmer chooses to use the definition expressed by Niels Bohr, Nobel Prize physicist, explaining further that "paradoxical thinking requires us to view the world in which opposites are joined, so that we can see the world clearly and see it whole...When we think things together, we reclaim the life in the world, in our students, in ourselves" (pg. 69). The extension activity to help understand 'paradox' calls on teachers to remember a moment of teaching when everything went great one day and the next day just the opposite. Extending this activity even further, within groups, asks that teachers focus on the 'great day' and identify the strength that made this 'great lesson' an authentic learning experience (pg. 69); what a great idea to use with my high school students.

Concurring with Palmer on the topic of 'teacher-centered classroom vs subject-centerd classroom', we both agree the subject-centered classroom is the learning environment that signifies student/teacher success. Notice the language 'subject-centered'. "In a subject-centered classroom, the teacher's central task is to give the great thing an independent voice...When the great thing speaks for itself, teachers and students are more likely to come into a genuine learning community" (pg. 120). An example of this that Palmer points out is the use of digital technology to enhance students' learning. I can definitely attest to that. When you are initially engaged in learning, whatever the content, actually using the technology, the learning is everlasting.

More thoughts on building a 'genuine learning community' is appreciated by Palmer's reflections about his mentor mentioned earlier in the book. I like how Palmer describes the seating arrangement in his history classroom. Eventhough students sat in rows, the teacher was not the center, instead was the subject his teacher taught and how the students engaged in the content. The use of drama-storytelling from the lives of great thinkers and explaining their ideas of the time sparked the students' interests. Palmer called it 'active imagination' and strong statement making that spirited their notebook writing. This activity will find its place in my classroom.

As I read more ideas on how community produces successful learning, Palmer addresses what some teachers may feel that does not lend to community in the classroom. For example, "...claim that education will never achieve community in any form as long as teacher-student relations are riddled with inequalities in status and power" (pg. 141). Here it is. A topic all teachers are concerned with, me included. But, it is in Palmer's following statement about grading that hits the nail on the head. "When authentic community emerges, false differences in power and status disappear...Evaluation is one such function in education...When grades are used to make distinctions of this sort, they are simply a replication of the real-world dynamics that this approach to teaching is built on" (pg.141). Do I hear an 'Amen'?

Yes. I am all for what Palmer suggests when evaluating students' performance. For example, inventing grades that focus on learning: "allowing students to rewrite a term paper as often as they like by the end of the course ...final grade is for the last revision" (pg. 141) Palmer continues to express his preference of using student portfolios versus issuing letter grades. Portfolios is a measurement tool that I am learning more about and plan to implement beginning this school year.

In the final sections of "Courage", Palmer's passion continues to direct attention towards educational reform for the sake of human goodness and community as well as identity and integrity; he diplomatically orates the needed conditions for this reform to take place with one of many statements like: "Though the movement for educational reform has yet to achieve major goals, the images and symbols of educational reform are alive and well today in the public arena" (pg. 183). "As we find our place in the movement, we will discover that there is no essential conflict between loving to teach and working to reform education" (pg. 190). My point of view of educational reform is consistent with Palmers, in that, pursuing the identity and integrity of good teaching means always seeking those learning opportunities that will join, with equal purpose, the educational goals of both the students and the teachers.

How much I delighted in the metaphor activity Palmer used with teachers when exploring metaphors and images of who we identify ourselves with when we teach at our best. "When I am teaching at my best, I am like a _______" (pg. 152). As a final thought, I want to be like that sheepdog. As Palmer says it best, "...the sheepdog has four vital functions. It maintains a space where the sheep can graze and feed themselves; it holds the sheep together in that space, constantly bringing back strays; it protects the boundaries to keep dangerous predators out; and when the grazing ground is depleted, it moves with the sheep to another space where they can get the food they need" (pg. 153). I love the 'sheepdog' metaphor as it will be a banner going up in my class. Daily I will be reminded that it is the identity and integrity of a teacher I am called to be.