Teaching Requires Inner CouragePalmer’s ThesisThe Landscape of SelfTeaching Takes “Heart”Teaching Requires VulnerabilityTeaching and its RewardsTeaching as a Performance to Mask Fear (False Teaching)The Teacher WithinThe Authority to TeachPalmer’s Practical AdviceTeaching Requires Inner Teaching Requires Inner CourageCourageThe Courage to TeachThe Courage to Teachby Parker J. Palmerby Parker J. PalmerPalmer’s ThesisPalmer’s ThesisTeaching involves a “tangle” of three elements.Teaching involves a “tangle” of three elements.–Subject: “complex … our knowledge of [our subject] is Subject: “complex … our knowledge of [our subject] is always flawed and partial.”always flawed and partial.”–Student: “even more complex … to see them clearly Student: “even more complex … to see them clearly … and respond to them wisely … requires a fusion of … and respond to them wisely … requires a fusion of Freud and Solomon that few [can] achieve.”Freud and Solomon that few [can] achieve.”–Self: “We teach who we are … [intellectually, Self: “We teach who we are … [intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually].”emotionally, and spiritually].”Good teaching “joins self and subjects and Good teaching “joins self and subjects and students” and guides us “on an inner journey students” and guides us “on an inner journey toward more truthful ways of seeing and being.”toward more truthful ways of seeing and being.”The Landscape of SelfThe Landscape of SelfIntellectual: “the way we think about teaching Intellectual: “the way we think about teaching and learning”and learning”Emotional: “the way we and our students feel as Emotional: “the way we and our students feel as we teach and learn”we teach and learn”Spiritual: the “ways we answer the heart’s Spiritual: the “ways we answer the heart’s longing to be connected with the largeness of longing to be connected with the largeness of life”life”Teaching Takes “Heart”Teaching Takes “Heart”““Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher.”integrity of the teacher.”–““My ability to connect with my students, and to My ability to connect with my students, and to connect them with the subject, depends less on the connect them with the subject, depends less on the methods I use than on the degree to which I know methods I use than on the degree to which I know and trust my selfhood.”and trust my selfhood.”–““Good teachers possess a capacity for Good teachers possess a capacity for connectedness.”connectedness.”Good teaching takes “Good teaching takes “heartheart in its ancient sense, in its ancient sense, as the place where intellect and emotion and as the place where intellect and emotion and spirit … converge.”spirit … converge.”Teaching Requires VulnerabilityTeaching Requires Vulnerability““Teaching is a daily exercise in vulnerability.”Teaching is a daily exercise in vulnerability.”–““I need only parse a sentence or work a proof on the I need only parse a sentence or work a proof on the board while my students doze off or pass notes” or board while my students doze off or pass notes” or surf the internet.surf the internet.–““As we try to connect ourselves and our subjects with As we try to connect ourselves and our subjects with our students, we make ourselves, as well as our our students, we make ourselves, as well as our subjects, vulnerable to indifference, judgment, subjects, vulnerable to indifference, judgment, ridicule.”ridicule.”““Teaching [occurs] at the dangerous intersection Teaching [occurs] at the dangerous intersection of personal and public life.”of personal and public life.”Teaching and its RewardsTeaching and its Rewards “ “One of teaching’s great rewards is the One of teaching’s great rewards is the daily chance it gives us to get back on the daily chance it gives us to get back on the dance floor”dance floor”“the dance … in which the “the dance … in which the old empower the young with their old empower the young with their experience and the young empower the experience and the young empower the old with new life.”old with new life.”Teaching as a Performance to Teaching as a Performance to Mask Fear (False Teaching)Mask Fear (False Teaching)““[Tompkin’s Question:] ‘How did it come to be [Tompkin’s Question:] ‘How did it come to be that our main goal as academicians turned out that our main goal as academicians turned out to be performance?”to be performance?”““[Tompkin’s Answer:] ‘Fear of being shown up for [Tompkin’s Answer:] ‘Fear of being shown up for who you are: a fraud, stupid, ignorant, a clod, a who you are: a fraud, stupid, ignorant, a clod, a dolt, a sap, a weakling, someone who can’t cut dolt, a sap, a weakling, someone who can’t cut the mustard.’” the mustard.’” – Jane Tompkins’s Pedagogy of the DistressedThe Teacher WithinThe Teacher WithinTwo truths about teachingTwo truths about teaching1.1.““What we teach will never ‘take’ unless it connects What we teach will never ‘take’ unless it connects with the inward, living core of our students’ lives, with the inward, living core of our students’ lives, within our students’ inward teachers.”within our students’ inward teachers.”2.2.““We can speak to the teacher within our students We can speak to the teacher within our students only when we are on speaking terms with the only when we are on speaking terms with the teacher within ourselves.”teacher within ourselves.”““Deep speaks to deep, and when we have not Deep speaks to deep, and when we have not sounded our own depths, we cannot sound the sounded our own depths, we cannot sound the depths of our students’ lives.”depths of our students’ lives.”The Authority to TeachThe Authority to Teach““We are mistaken when we seek authority outside We are mistaken when we seek authority outside ourselves, in sources ranging from the subtle skills of ourselves, in sources ranging from the subtle skills of group process to the less than subtle method of social group process to the less than subtle method of social control called grading. This view of teaching turns the control called