1st Edition
The Courage to Learn Honoring the Complexity of Learning for Educators and Students
It takes courage to engage in the kind of deep, transformational learning that so many people need in their lives, and this book is designed to help find and nurture that courage in learners, including those that are engaged in facilitating the courageous learning of others. Inspired by Parker Palmer’s classic book, The Courage to Teach, the authors have carefully examined the learning side of the teaching and learning relationship, and this book shares the resulting wealth of knowledge and experience with readers.This book is informed by Palmer’s observation that the conversations in teaching can be organized around four questions: what, how, why and who. In this book, the authors center learning instead of teaching as they ask: What is the content of learning? How do we learn? Why is it necessary, what motivates us? And, who is the self that learns?The authors have engaged in conversation with adult learners across the lifespan, representing different ages, social/economic levels, and approaches to learning. Drawing on these discussions, their own experiences, and the scholarly literature, they weave a tapestry with threads of learning and teaching, story, and analysis that serve as warp and weft. The authors pay tribute to the learner’s journey in the fullness of the process and name the distinct forms of courage that learning takes. In the concluding chapter, the authors explore the implications for educational practice, and offer guidance for any educator wishing to bring a Courage to Learn conversation to their community.
Biography
Marcia Eames-Sheavly is an ICF Certified Integral Professional Coach and Circle of Trust (R) facilitator prepared by the Center for Courage & Renewal. Marcia has been the recipient of two national writing awards, along with receiving the American Horticultural Society's Great American Gardener Teaching Award, the highest teaching honor given by this society; the Innovative Teaching Award, offered by Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for creativity in undergraduate teaching; the Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship, by the Cornell University Public Service Center for excellence in service learning, and most recently, the Professor of Merit award, given by College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 2020, particularly distinguished as an award nominated by the senior class. Paul Michalec is currently a Clinical Professor at the University of Denver and the Morgridge College of Education. In 2005, Paul became a Circle of Trust (R) facilitator prepared by the Center for Courage & Renewal. He regularly leads Courage-informed retreats and professional development for educators, clergy, community activists and health care providers. In 2015, Paul was honored for his teaching when he was named the University of Denver's Distinguished Teacher. In 2020, Paul completed a Master of Theological Studies from the Iliff School of Theology. Paul is an active blogger exploring the interface between the deep calling to teach and institutional imperatives that often lean toward external measures of efficiency and effectiveness. Catherine M. Wehlburg, Ph.D. is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Psychology at Athens State University in Athens, Alabama. Prior to this appointment, she served as a Senior Fellow at AAC&U. Dr. Wehlburg has held many administrative and academic roles over the past thirty years as Founding Dean for Sciences, Mathematics, and Education at Marymount University; Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness at Texas Christian University; and Department Chair of Psychology at Stephens College. She has been recognized for her work in student learning outcomes assessment by being elected president of the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE) and received their Outstanding Achievement Award. Dr. Wehlburg currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief for New Directions for Teaching and Learning.
“Not long after I published The Courage to Teach (1997), people started saying, ‘Now we need a book about the courage to learn.’ It’s taken twenty-five years, but it was well worth the wait. This beautiful and important book by three gifted teachers is rich with insights into the way we experience various approaches to learning—insights that can help all of us who labor in these vineyards become better teachers and learners. The authors lift up learners’ voices that are so often missing when we educators talk with each other about the art and craft of pedagogy. The result is invaluable guidance on how we can enrich the learning environment for a wide range of participants. Equally valuable is their guidance and modeling of how we can renew our own courage to learn. Please read this book. You, and those in your care, will be glad you did.”
Parker J. Palmer, author of The Courage to Teach, Let Your Life Speak, and On the Brink of Everything
