Palmer’s The Courage to Teach: ‘Good teachers possess a capacity for connectedness.’ They “weave” the connections between themselves, their subjects, and their students on ‘the loom of the heart.’ How does that image speak to you? What is your experience of trying to hold the tension of these connections in your heart?


Connectedness between ourselves as the teacher and our students in our classroom help make a bond between us that gives us the ability to care for each student and to work our hardest to teach them. Some tensions that arise may be inward such as feeling as if I am not helping them properly or well enough. I want to see each student succeed, but there may be times when some students do not achieve their greatest potential. I cannot let that bring me down, but must continue to learn different strategies to reach different types of students. I think as a teacher I need to have an earnest desire to see my students succeed, but I must also remember to not let it get to me if they do not. It's difficult, but  must be done or else I will focus too much on what has been done and not on what could be and should be done for next time.