Episode 064: Teaching Who We Are

Our check-in today is about the different rhythms of summer; Matt starts us off with the myth of “summers off” for teachers, but we recognize that we do have different opportunities with the coming of the summer months. Late bedtimes, smoothies for lunch, and changing exercise routines–we have lots to enjoy with the coming of summer!

Our main topic of discussion today comes from Matt’s recent re-reading of Parker J. Palmer’s impactful book, The Courage to Teach. (Which is one of Dave’s very favorite books ever.) A central concept in the book is one we’ve mentioned on the show before: “teaching who you are.” Matt shares a passage from the book that introduces Palmer’s idea of teacher identity, and we take a little time to think out loud together about what this means for us, and how it shows up in our own practices. We hope you’ll be encouraged and inspired by listening–and that it might spark a hallway conversation for you with a colleague about your own teacher identity.

• Parker Palmer’s book, The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of the Teacher’s Life is one every educator should read. You can order a copy here: Amazon link