Before I begin to explore what it means to be an influential teacher and to examine how the combination of the three key concepts of spirituality, justice and education can impact on my role as a teacher, I believe I need to firstly look at why I wanted to be a teacher.
Teaching was not my dream job from a young age. I didn't know what I wanted to do until I got into my final years of study at secondary school. I was well aware of the areas which interested me and that I was passionate about but it wasn't until two specific teachers had an influence on my life that I knew I wanted to teach. Palmer (2007) explains that mentors often have an influence on a person's decision to teach. He suggests that it is not necessarily what techniques they used or the subjects they taught but rather their capacity to awaken truth and draw out qualities in the student that they hadn't previously experienced. This imprint of good teaching is something that is long lasting and even when the content they have taught is forgotten, the memory of the positive learning experience and influence remains (p. 22).
In my experience, the two teachers which had the most impact on my life and future both shared traits that led to my discovery of wanting to become a teacher. They both were passionate about the subjects they taught, showed care and interest in me, always made time for me and listened to me. They also both believed in me and encouraged me throughout my schooling even once they no longer taught me. I am thankful for their influence on my life and my decision to become a teacher. I am lucky enough that they are now my colleagues as I now teach at the school that I was once a student. Their influence not only helped me to discover what I was called to do with my life but has stirred in me the goal to hopefully have the same positive influence on students in the future.
Palmer (2007) challenges his readers to think about their vocation and whether it is an authentic call of the voice of the teacher within, honouring the nature of our true selves. He probes the reader to question whether they are listening to what they 'ought' to do as a career or what they are being called and are gifted to do (p.31). To be able to answer this question which I believe is central to being able to be a successful educator, it is important to understand and examine what he means by the teacher within.
Exploring the inner landscape of a teachers life allows us to return, grounded and renewed, to the outer landscape of our lives. Having taken heart in the work which we are called, we can give our heart once again to our students, our colleagues, our schools and our world- a world where heartlessness yields only to gifts and graces that come from within (Palmer, 2007, p. xviii).
The underlying concept in Palmer's book 'The courage to teach; exploring the inner landscape of a teacher's life' is highlighted in its title. The inner landscape is a concept that is new to me and Palmer (2007) suggests that is often unasked or examined by many people in the world of education (p.4). Despite not being openly spoken about often, Palmer (2007) claims that exploring inner self is vital in a teachers effectiveness in the classroom. He discusses that teaching emerges from one's inwardness, in a positive or negative way and that we project a condition of our soul on our students, subjects and our way of being together. He justifies that if we don't know ourselves, we can't know who our students are and that the more familiar we are with our inner terrain the more surefooted our teaching and our lives can become (pp.2-6). Thinking about this in relation to the concepts of spirituality, education and justice, I believe that we can't truly incorporate these vital concepts into our educational practices until we have explored our own inner landscape. We need to have looked within to determine who we are, what we stand for and where God exists in our lives so that we can present ourselves truthfully and with vulnerability to our students.
Palmer (2007) poses the question, how can schools educate students properly if they don't encourage teachers and support them in exploring their inner lives (p.6). I feel blessed to be at a school that is creating opportunities for us to start to explore these concepts. We have great Christian leaders within the school who have read this book and I am aware that they have discussed it in their leadership meetings. Staff members have opportunities to complete their Masters of Education which includes undertaking this unit and also any teacher that is applying to gain higher professional stance within our school (level 13) also need to complete this course to be successful. I am glad to be a part of a school that is encouraging us to explore our inner landscape and I think it is exciting to look to the future where we will be able to start having open discussions at school as more and more staff complete study in this area and learn about Palmer's work and the influence his ideas can have on education.
"... by addressing it openly and honestly, along and together, we can serve our students more faithfully, enhance our own well-being, make common cause with colleagues, and help education bring more light and life to the world" (Palmer, 2007, p.8.)To start to think and explore our own inner landscapes and to apply it to our teaching we must look at two vital areas of our inner lives; identity and integrity. Palmer (2007) explains that good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher and their capacity for connectedness. He suggests that good teachers share one trait; a strong sense of personal identity infuses their work and they join their self, their students and their subject in the fabric of their lives. He reveals that although the methods by which teachers use may vary, the connections made by good teachers are held not in their methods but in their hearts (pp.10-11). As a student I can remember that the classes in which I felt I learnt the most and enjoyed more were lead by teachers that connected with us. It didn't matter if they were lecturing or conducting experiments, it was more about the teacher and less about the method. This capacity to connect, as Palmer explains, depends not on our technique but on how much we know ourselves and trust our selfhood.
When looking at my identity and integrity and how this influence who I am as a teacher, I have a lot to learn and believe that this is an ongoing discovery. I am still learning who I am and how my life and experiences have influenced me. I know that I have been blessed with a Christian family, who made sacrifices to enable me to attend a great school, with Christian values and beliefs. I have been kept from major harm and suffering and raised in a home that has helped me to develop my personal faith. Although I know there is always more to learn about who I am, I know I have a purpose and I believe that being a teacher is what I am called to do. I believe I work with integrity, however I still feel there is more to learn about what this truly means. I also feel I would like to discover more about my identity and who I am to help students to then be able to explore their own identity.
Palmer (2007) states "If a work is mine to do, it will make me glad over the long haul, despite the difficult days" (p.31). I believe this is my calling. Although, I know I am still a young teacher, I truly love my job and feel blessed to have the opportunity to have an impact on the lives of young people every day.
