From Library Journal
"It's the teachers, stupid!" With this simple play on Bill Clinton's rallying cry from 1992, Intrator (education, Smith Coll.) identifies the most important element in any proposal for educational reform. "Teachers," he argues, "have a colossal influence on what happens in our schools and, if we want to have successful schools, we must attend to the factors that influence the teacher's commitment to what he or she does in the classroom." This collection of essays by K-12 teachers, teacher educators, and college and university faculty members draws on the work of Parker Palmer (who has written the foreword), which examines issues related to the teacher's "heart," i.e., his or her commitment to teaching as a vital and creative enterprise and the personal and institutional factors that can serve either to support or to undermine that commitment. Successfully building on Dan Lortie's Schoolteacher, completed over 25 years ago, these essays look at the "intrinsic rewards" of teaching as a profession and consider how they can be sustained, especially given that extrinsic rewards, such as salary equity with other professionals, remain problematic. This collection will appeal to followers of Palmer's inspirational writing about teachers and to fans of similar works, such as William Ayers's To Teach. Scott Walter, Washington State Univ., PullmanCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Review
"...a high-quality work..." (Human Given, Summer 2002)


Review
"...a high-quality work..." (Human Given, Summer 2002)


Review
"Stories of the Courage to Teach powerfully reminds us that this nation's schools and colleges are blessed with many good teachers and that we must be willing to respect, support, and deeply listen to them. It also indicates that teachers must also learn to listen to themselves. Our history books are filled with examples of the efforts of committed education employees who helped to make this country what it is today. Stories of the Courage to Teach challenges today's teachers to see themselves not only as school employees, dedicated to serving children, but as leaders in their schools and communities." --Bob Chase, president, National Education Association

"Articulate teachers recounting with great candor and imagination just how beautiful their calling is, also how challenging, depleting, and lonely it can be, and what to do about it. This outstanding and highly inspiring book offers cool, clear, and nourishing water from the wellspring of the heart, where all teaching originates, and will serve as both a reminder and guide for teachers at all levels to return over and over to the source and nourish what is deepest and best in themselves as they nourish what is deepest and best in their students and their schools." --Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor of medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are and coauthor of Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting

"Finally, a book for, by, and about REAL teachers. A book that reveals the pain as well as the joy, the shadow as well as the light. A book that is not another how-to cookbook, but a book that creates hope and promise and inspiration through its truth-telling." --Dr. Sally Z. Hare, Singleton Professor of Education, Coastal Carolina University

"It is the mark of every Golden Age that children are placed at the center of society and teaching is considered the most important profession. By this standard, we in the United States have a very long way to go. If we ever succeed in this cultural transformation, few will have contributed more than Parker Palmer." --Peter M. Senge, author, The Fifth Discipline and Schools That Learn

"The teachers' stories herein-told in frequently elegant prose and with palpable passion-serve to remind us of two things: the remarkable gifts present in our public school educators, and what constitutes the heart of true teaching. Intrator's ability to evoke their voices as well as to deeply hear them has created an unforgettable gift to the profession and to those who have been led to believe that education is nothing more than yet another business enterprise." --Marianne Novak Houston, public school teacher with forty years of classroom teaching experience and recipient of the Milken Educator Award

"A book for troubled times in teaching. This powerful and moving collection of essays argues that we must join the values of the heart if teaching is to transcend the punishing pressures, of one-size-fits-all juggernaut of school-reform mania. A must-read for teacher educators, principals, and school board members!" --Jay Casbon, dean, Graduate School of Education, Lewis & Clark College

"[This book] is a must-read for educators who often feel depleted from the demands of teaching and isolated from colleagues. Rediscover your purpose and passion for making a difference in the lives of children through stories of real people who teach with courage and integrity. There is something essentially human in these pages that speaks to the hearts of teachers who are disillusioned, depleted, and discouraged. You simply must reconnect with your identity, your true self, that spiritual being who felt called to teach children. It is powerful because it is the truth, spoken from the hearts of teachers who share a common experience." --Paula Naegle, Nevada Teacher of the Year

"Teacher voices must be heard, and teacher wisdom about the needs of children must be heeded. It has always been from the teachers who speak from their hearts that we find the best solutions to improving our schools. Our job as policymakers is to listen." --James B. Hunt, Jr., governor of North Carolina for four terms

"The core relationship in learning is between the student and the teacher. [This] book reminds us just how vital the forces of heart and spirit are to teaching and learning." --Wendy D. Puriefoy, president, Public Education Network


Book Description
This book is a collection of essays, written by teachers at every level of practice, that honors the hearts of all teachers who struggle to reconnect with the source of their vocation. These teachers have found ways to serve their students, rekindle their passion for teaching, connect in life-sustaining ways with colleagues, and work towards creating educational institutions that seek to be places that, as Parker J. Palmer writes, "bring more light and life into the world." Their warm, practical, funny, and wise stories will provide inspiration, companionship, and hope to teachers who strive to reclaim the courage to teach.


From the Publisher
"Stories of the Courage to Teach powerfully reminds us that this nation's schools and colleges are blessed with many good teachers and that we must be willing to respect, support, and deeply listen to them. It also indicates that teachers must also learn to listen to themselves. Our history books are filled with examples of the efforts of committed education employees who helped to make this country what it is today. Stories of the Courage to Teach challenges today's teachers to see themselves not only as school employees, dedicated to serving children, but as leaders in their schools and communities." --Bob Chase, president, National Education Association "Articulate teachers recounting with great candor and imagination just how beautiful their calling is, also how challenging, depleting, and lonely it can be, and what to do about it. This outstanding and highly inspiring book offers cool, clear, and nourishing water from the wellspring of the heart, where all teaching originates, and will serve as both a reminder and guide for teachers at all levels to return over and over to the source and nourish what is deepest and best in themselves as they nourish what is deepest and best in their students and their schools." --Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor of medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are and coauthor of Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting "Finally, a book for, by, and about REAL teachers. A book that reveals the pain as well as the joy, the shadow as well as the light. A book that is not another how-to cookbook, but a book that creates hope and promise and inspiration through its truth-telling." --Dr. Sally Z. Hare, Singleton Professor of Education, Coastal Carolina University "It is the mark of every Golden Age that children are placed at the center of society and teaching is considered the most important profession. By this standard, we in the United States have a very long way to go. If we ever succeed in this cultural transformation, few will have contributed more than Parker Palmer." --Peter M. Senge, author, The Fifth Discipline and Schools That Learn "The teachers' stories herein-told in frequently elegant prose and with palpable passion-serve to remind us of two things: the remarkable gifts present in our public school educators, and what constitutes the heart of true teaching. Intrator's ability to evoke their voices as well as to deeply hear them has created an unforgettable gift to the profession and to those who have been led to believe that education is nothing more than yet another business enterprise." --Marianne Novak Houston, public school teacher with forty years of classroom teaching experience and recipient of the Milken Educator Award "A book for troubled times in teaching. This powerful and moving collection of essays argues that we must join the values of the heart if teaching is to transcend the punishing pressures, of one-size-fits-all juggernaut of school-reform mania. A must-read for teacher educators, principals, and school board members!" --Jay Casbon, dean, Graduate School of Education, Lewis & Clark College "[This book] is a must-read for educators who often feel depleted from the demands of teaching and isolated from colleagues. Rediscover your purpose and passion for making a difference in the lives of children through stories of real people who teach with courage and integrity. There is something essentially human in these pages that speaks to the hearts of teachers who are disillusioned, depleted, and discouraged. You simply must reconnect with your identity, your true self, that spiritual being who felt called to teach children. It is powerful because it is the truth, spoken from the hearts of teachers who share a common experience." --Paula Naegle, Nevada Teacher of the Year "Teacher voices must be heard, and teacher wisdom about the needs of children must be heeded. It has always been from the teachers who speak from their hearts that we find the best solutions to improving our schools. Our job as policymakers is to listen." --James B. Hunt, Jr., governor of North Carolina for four terms "The core relationship in learning is between the student and the teacher. [This] book reminds us just how vital the forces of heart and spirit are to teaching and learning." --Wendy D. Puriefoy, president, Public Education Network


From the Back Cover
"Though regard for teaching is a lost tradition, teaching, miraculously, is not a lost art. Every day in classrooms across the land, good people are working hard, with competency and compassion, at reweaving the tattered fabric of society on which we all depend." —From the Foreword by Parker J. Palmer Teaching is a calling, a vocation that requires constant renewal of the mind, heart, and spirit. Teachers come to the profession inspired by a passion to help others learn. They are drawn to education by an ethic of service and a mission to make a difference in the world. Good teachers care, and they keep finding ways to connect with students. Despite working in a system that often leaves them feeling exhausted, depleted, and vulnerable, they do not check their hearts at the door. This book is a collection of essays, written by teachers at every level of practice, that honors the hearts of all teachers who struggle to reconnect with the source of their vocation. These teachers have found ways to serve their students, rekindle their passion for teaching, connect in life-sustaining ways with colleagues, and work towards creating educational institutions that seek to be places that, as Parker J. Palmer writes, "bring more light and life into the world." Their warm, practical, funny, and wise stories will provide inspiration, companionship, and hope to teachers who strive to reclaim the courage to teach. Stories of the Courage to Teach has its genesis in Parker J. Palmer's The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life. Since its publication in 1997, this book has struck a chord with teachers who felt burned out and weighed down by the educational system in which they work. The Courage to Teach helped them to begin to recover the joy of teaching; in this volume teachers who have been touched by this message take Palmer's words to heart and explore the inner landscape of their lives as educators so that they can once again teach from their hearts.


About the Author
Sam M. Intrator, assistant professor of education and child study at Smith College, is the son of two public school teachers. For many years, he was a public high school teacher in Brooklyn, New York, Vermont, and California.

FROM OUR EDITORS

In 1997, Parker J. Palmer set teachers' heads nodding all over America with his book The Courage to Teach, which described the obstacles that educators face every day as they seek to teach. Dr. Samuel J. Intrator, himself the son of two public school teachers, has collected the personal stories of instructors who in the face of adversity dared to follow their dreams. Both inspiring and wise, the personal essays in this anthology don't just honor; they instruct.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Teaching is a calling, a vocation that requires constant renewal of the mind, heart, and spirit. Teachers come to the profession inspired by a passion to help others learn. They are drawn to education by an ethic of service and a mission to make a difference in the world. Good teachers care, and they keep finding ways to connect with students. Despite working in a system that often leaves them feeling exhausted, depleted, and vulnerable, they do not check their hearts at the door.This book is a collection of essays, written by teachers at every level of practice, that honors the hearts of all teachers who struggle to reconnect with the source of their vocation. These teachers have found ways to serve their students, rekindle their passion for teaching, connect in life-sustaining ways with colleagues, and work towards creating educational institutions that seek to be places that, as Parker J. Palmer writes, "bring more light and life into the world." Their warm, practical, funny, and wise stories will provide inspiration, companionship, and hope to teachers who strive to reclaim the courage to teach.

Stories of the Courage to Teach has its genesis in Parker J. Palmer's The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life. Since its publication in 1997, this book has struck a chord with teachers who felt burned out and weighed down by the educational system in which they work. The Courage to Teach helped them to begin to recover the joy of teaching; in this volume teachers who have been touched by this message take Palmer's words to heart and explore the inner landscape of their lives as educators so that they can once again teach from their hearts.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal