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For many years, Parker Palmer has worked on behalf of teachers and others who choose their vocations for reasons of the heart but may lose heart because of the troubled, sometimes toxic systems in which they work. Hundreds of thousands of readers have benefited from his approach in THE COURAGE TO TEACH, which takes teachers on an inner journey toward reconnecting with themselves, their students, their colleagues, and their vocations, and reclaiming their passion for one of the most challenging and important of human endeavors.

This book builds on a simple premise: good teaching cannot be reduced to technique but is rooted in the identity and integrity of the teacher. Good teaching takes myriad forms but good teachers share one trait: they are authentically present in the classroom, in community with their students and their subject. They possess "a capacity for connectedness" and are able to weave a complex web of connections between themselves, their subjects, and their students, helping their students weave a world for themselves. The connections made by good teachers are held not in their methods but in their hearts — the place where intellect, emotion, spirit, and will converge in the human self — supported by the community that emerges among us when we choose to live authentic lives.

BONUS: Includes an audio CD featuring a 45-minute conversation between Parker Palmer and his colleagues, Marcy Jackson and Estrus Tucker from the Center for Courage & Renewal. They reflect on what they have learned from working with thousands of teachers in their "Courage to Teach" program (www.CourageRenewal.org)and with others who yearn for greater integrity in their professional lives.

Average Customer Rating:

THE COURAGE TO TEACH: Exploring the Inner Landscape of A Teacher's Life	Customer Rating:
Great book which is helpful to younger teachers to give them more positive perspective and to older teachers to help rekindle the flame of their beginning years. Book seller was great and accomodated a shipping change at the last moment. Everything went very well.

The Courage to Teach	Customer Rating:
I loved this book. Parker Palmer is addressing something that other books and inservices don't and that is the integrity that's at the heart of all teachers. He offers advice and encouragement to those who care so deeply and give so much to their students.

A must read for anyone who teach at any level	Customer Rating:
If teaching is part of your life's work, then this is a must read. It is both spiritual and practical in its wisdom and demands for authenticity.

A gift to all dedicated educators

Customer Rating:

This book is a gift to all dedicated educators. Parker Palmer's thoughtful text, The Courage to Teach, has been updated and expanded for this, his tenth anniversary edition. I love the CD that comes with it. I used this book in my graduate course last fall and my students really enjoyed reading it and discussing Palmer's ideas. One student commented, "From Parker Palmer I've learned how to think more critically....I find myself spending much more time thinking before speaking. Not just in class but in LIFE!" All of us who work in classrooms need to consider the impact of our words on others. This book is an excellent guide to understanding that it is not technique but one's identity and integrity that make a difference in the classroom.

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life

Customer Rating:

This new edition is a welcomed reminder of the eloquent and insightful invitation Parker Palmer issued ten years ago to educators to go inside themselves and rekindle the passion that originally drew them to teaching. I am delighted to know that in the past ten years this work has evolved to include others in professions of the heart--namely everyone. This is a profoundly thoughtful and engaging book for anyone.