The Courage to Teach – Parker Palmer
Palmer addresses the spiritual component of teaching. His chief concern is integrity, a teacher’s internal and external consistency. He insists that teachers can only do this in community. I read it after having multiple Christian educators recommend the book. I understand what they see in it, but I think the book is ultimately more of a provocation to good works (ala Dreher) than an illumination of an unseen path. I don’t know that you get a path from Palmer’s book. You mainly get the assurance that what you’re doing matters and that it’s okay to approach your subject in a way that honors it, the students learning it, and yourself. In comparison to secular pedagogy, Palmer is spiritually attuned. A true Christian educator would start with God and glorifying him. Covenantally, the book is about REPRESENTATION (all teaching involves a hierarchical relationship) and ETHICS.
RECOMMENDED if you want a chance to test your pedagogical commitments.
Experiments in Criticism 