Bird Droppings March 19, 2025
A spiritual side to teaching.

“Solitude does not necessarily mean living apart from others; rather, it’s never living apart from oneself. It’s not about the absence of other people – it’s about being fully present to ourselves, whether we are with others or not. Parker Palmer

Dr. Parker Palmer is an innovator, speaker, retreat leader, author, and traveling teacher. He is a senior associate of the American Association for Higher Education and an advisor to the Fetzer Institute. Parker Palmer received his Ph.D. from the University of California. I was first introduced to his writing in 2001 by a friend who was my principal. He recommended his book, The Courage to Teach, and I have given away several copies over the years.

Teachers choose their vocation for reasons of the heart because they care deeply about their students and their subject matter. But the demands of teaching cause too many educators to lose heart. Is it possible to take heart in teaching once more so that we can continue to do what teachers always do – give our heart to our students? Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach

I have been teaching for fifty in public schools, working and training in industry, and seven years of teaching in private schools before IDEA set in about fifty years now in teaching and training. I have watched teachers burn out, and some have fizzled out. There is a slight bit of difference between burn and fizzle. Someone who burns out is putting their all into what they do, and someone who fizzles out is taking up space and probably should not have been there. I have watched creative teachers, starting with great enthusiasm, succumb to the teaching blues and boredom. They come in full of zeal and borrow premade transparencies from their next-door neighbor within a semester because they no longer have the time to create new ones.

“Bad teachers distance themselves from the subject they are teaching – and, in the process, from their students. Good teachers join themselves, subjects, and students in the fabric of life. Parker Palmer

I have considered teaching an art form for many years, and I believe it is a place where a person’s soul is laid bare, for better or worse, as you teach whatever subject you happen to be teaching. As Palmer indicates, if you genuinely want to connect with your students, you must open your heart, and this is a difficult task for many. It takes a particular person to be a good and effective teacher. Parker Palmer, in his writing, discusses how teaching is a community effort. My thoughts reflect on John Dewey and his insights into education as a social phenomenon and, more critically, a necessity.

As I argue that good teaching is always and essentially communal, I am not abandoning my claim that teaching cannot be reduced to technique. Community, or connectedness, is the principle behind effective teaching; however, different teachers with diverse gifts create a community in surprisingly diverse ways, employing widely divergent methods. Parker Palmer

Throughout my life’s journeys, I have used a word whose connotation is plural, as I have been in several directions before arriving at my current position. I have found that we find peace with ourselves in happiness and solace. The quote I started with today reflects on solitude, a few moments each day in a spot I have selected away from the house with a view across a large pasture. I can reflect on my day or my day ahead and ponder sitting and listening to the sounds about me. I claim this spot as sacred, and some will scuff how you can say it does not have a church or religious affiliation. I titled my writing today’ A Spiritual Side to Teaching,’ and these two words intertwine as I look at them and ponder further.

“Sacred means, quite simply, worthy of respect.” Parker Palmer

Since I returned to teaching, it has been about respect and trust. I have done this by building relationships with students; in my opinion, that is one of the most critical aspects of the teaching process. It is not simply a curriculum and a book or several books; it is relationships. I view what I do each day as a spiritual endeavor, bringing new ideas to students who may not have had the opportunity previously to understand or experience this knowledge. It has been nearly twenty years since I wrote a trust scale for a human development course I was taking. It follows a similar concept I had read about in Dr. James Fowler’s book, The Development of Faith. We start as trusting and soon learn not to trust, only to eventually return to total trust. It takes good and great teachers to help along the way. I was thinking about the new week ahead and the few days left this week; both positive and negative will come my way. I tend to focus on the positive and avoid spending too much time dwelling on the negative. I hope each of you can take a moment to reflect, and please keep all those in harm’s way on your mind and in your hearts and always give thanks. namaste.

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,

Mitakuye Oyasin

(We are all related)

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