Entrance slip #2
Palmer’s The Heart of a Teacher
Palmer’s text is extremely poetic in it’s musings about the importance of maintaining self as a teacher. I love the opening lines how he relates the ‘good’ days to adventures him and his students take on their quest to pursue knowledge, while his bad days are like something out of a bad scifi film:
- “when my students and I discover uncharted territory to explore, when the pathway out of a thicket opens up before us” (1)
- “the enemy is everywhere: in those students from some alien planet, in that subject I thought I knew” (1)
In Palmer’s eyes a wonderful teacher is not made from a cookie cutter mould. Instead each is different in their method and style of teaching. What makes them special is their strong sense of self and their presence and passion in the classroom.
I had a fantastic teacher in high school. He was not your average history teacher. He was highly educated and taught because he wanted to share his passion. He never followed the syllabus and I often wondered if he even followed the Ontario curriculum. Nevertheless, I was totally entranced. I held on to each word he said and became similarly passionate about history. He was always happy to engage me in political debates and treated us like adults.
Though I had many great teachers, I also had bad ones. Perhaps they had followed their heart into the teaching profession and lost it somewhere along the way, years before I had come into their classroom. Palmer notes that teaching is “a daily exercise in vulnerability” (8) – which is why its easy to loose your heart.
I want to be a teacher who can share my excitement and passion with their students. Though I have no doubt it will be difficult, I look forward to the challenge and privilege.
