The Courage to Teach: A Guide for Reflection and Renewal

by Parker J. Palmer, Megan Scribner (Contributor)

20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION

The Courage to Teach Guide for Reflection & Renewal is a helpful companion to Parker J. Palmer's classic work on restoring identity and integrity to professional life. A superb resource for those who wish to extend their exploration of the ideas in The Courage to Teach, as individuals or part of a study group, the Guide provides practical ways to create "safe space" for honest reflection and probing conversations and offers chapter-by-chapter questions and exercises to further explore the many insights in The Courage to Teach.

The bonus online content includes a 70-minute interview with Parker Palmer, in which Palmer reflects on a wide range of subjects including the heart of the teacher, the crisis in education, diverse ways of knowing, relationships in teaching and learning, approaches to institutional transformation, and teachers as "culture heroes." Discussion questions related to the topics explored in the interview have been integrated into the Guide, giving individuals and study groups a chance to have "a conversation with the author" as well as an engagement with the text.

Genres: Teaching

176 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2007

About the author

Parker J. Palmer, Ph.D. (Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, 1969; B.A., Philosophy & Sociology, Carleton College, 1961), is a teacher and activist whose work speaks deeply to people in many walks of life. His writing has been recognized with ten honorary doctorates and many national awards, including the 2010 William Rainey Harper Award (previously won by Margaret Mead, Paulo Freire, and Elie Wiesel). He is founder and senior partner of the Center for Courage Renewal.

Reviews

[Samantha Barts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowza! I am approaching my first year teaching since graduating with my education degree and my school purchased this book for all their teachers on staff. I started out reading this as an assignment but quickly grabbed a pen and started underlining and writing what stood out. Thirty one notes later… yes, 31! This was a great read and I would recommend to anyone who teaches/works with children, teens, college students—it’s all in there!

My top two notes:
• Protect your student’s solitude by inviting truth and not violating their vulnerability!
• Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique. It should be defined by the identity and integrity of the teacher!

[Natalie Davey · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I am a teacher at heart, and I am not naturally drawn to the rough-and-tumble of social change. I would sooner teach than spend my energies helping a movement along and taking the hits that come with it. Yet, if I care about teaching, I must care not only for my students and my subject but also for the conditions, inner and outer, that bear on the work teachers do. Finding a place in the movement for educational reform is one way to exercise that larger caring...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.”

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me a month to read. Not that it was difficult to get through. There is just so much about the teacher's life packed into this text. I needed to take my time so I could absorb the ideas suggested by Palmer. It helped that I participated in a Courage to Teach retreat prior to starting this book. Both the retreat and this text offer hope and guidance for all educators.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great companion to The Courage to Teach, especially good if you plan a study group of the book.

[Melissapalmer404 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent PD read.