The Courage to Teach: How do We Identify Ourselves?

We recently read The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life, or rather, most of the graduate students taking the course did. On the one hand, I read the wrong book. On the other hand, the book I read, The Courage to Teach: Guide for Reflection and Renewal, gave me insight into what it was Palmer wrote of without having to read the actual book. Yes. I know. That is overly verbose. There is a point to my apparent madness.

The point is that we have to present a truthfully in everything we do. The identity we present in the classroom, whilst it is different to that which we present in the outside world, has to be equally as authentic. An authentic representation of how we present ourselves is vital in maintaining honesty. As William Shakespeare put it, “This above all: to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man” [The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. (Act I, Scene 3, Lines 78-80)].

My writing is an accurate representation of part of who I am. If you follow me on Twitter, you will know the Twitter profile is written thus: “Official Twitter: Shain Thomas: actor, social historian, blogger and entertainment journalist. #NLGJA. RTs ≠ endorsements.” This is an authentic representation of the person I consider myself. I include the hashtag for the National Lesbian & Gay Journalist Association because I am a member.

Joshua Steinberg spoke of how he performs when he is in front of his students. Being at the front of the room, as Steinberg put it, is like being on stage. I might be paraphrasing. I am not entirely sure of the exact words my fellow graduate student used.

I am not sure if I was the only one that heard Steinberg quote the Shakespeare play As You Like It; however, I understood the context in which the quote was being used: “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts” [As You Like It (Act II, Scene 7, Lines 136–139)]. We are performing even when we think we are not performing. We are always on stage. We are always in front of an audience. The students in Steinberg’s class is his audience at that given point in time.

References

Palmer, P. J. (2007). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life (10^th Anniversary ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., U.S.

Palmer, P. J. & Scribner, M. (2007). The courage to teach guide for reflection and renewal (10^th Anniversary ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., U.S.

Shakespeare, W. (2009). As you like it: (Act II, Scene 7, Lines 136–139). New York: Oxford University Press.

. – (2009). The tragedy of hamlet, prince of denmark (Act I, Scene 3, Lines 78-80). New York: Oxford University Press.