Every profession that attracts people for reasons of the heart is a profession in which people, and the work they do, suffer from losing heart.

Teaching holds a mirror to the soul. If I am willing to look in that mirror and not run from what I see I have a chance to gain self knowledge and knowing myself is as crucial to good teaching as knowing my students and my subject. In fact, knowing my students and my subject depends heavily on self knowledge.

First, the subjects we teach are as large and complex as life so our knowledge of them is always flawed and partial. No matter how we devote ourselves to reading and research, teaching requires a command of content that always eludes our grasp. Second, the students we teach are larger than life and even more complex. To see them clearly and see them whole and respond to them wisely in the moment requires a fusion of Freud and Solomon that few of us achieve.

This book is for teachers who have good days and bad and whose bad days bring the suffering that comes only from something one loves... when you love your work that much, and many teachers do, the only way to get out of trouble is to go deeper in.