Summer break lends itself to much introspection in the process of resting and recuperating from a long academic year. It is in these quiet times that I revisit my questions about my identity as an educator and scholar. One vehicle for this is Parker Palmer’s book, The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life (Jossey-Bass, Inc., 1998). I pick up the book time and again, reading sections that make sense for me and help me reevaluate where I am in the scheme of things. In this column, I want to introduce one central theme of Palmer’s work in hopes of inspiring graduate students to think about identity and personal integrity in this profession we call the academy. In that spirit, I invite you to send comments and/or questions for the next column that are prompted by the ideas here in the hope of a dialogue that will benefit all of us.
The subject of identity in Palmer’s work appears in the context of teaching, but it most certainly applies to scholarship as well. As graduate students consider possibilities for positions in teaching or research institutions, questions of personal identity and the degree to which it can be compromised are not clearly or adequately addressed. Palmer writes,
Encounters with mentors and subjects can awaken a sense of self and yield clues to who we are. But the call to teach does not come from external encounters alone — no outward teacher or teaching will have much effect until my soul assents. Any authentic call ultimately comes from the voice of the teacher within, the voice that invites me to honor the nature of my true self.
For Palmer, the questions this poses are these:
When we listen primarily for what we “ought” to be doing with our lives, we may find ourselves hounded by external expectations that distort our identity and integrity. There is much that I ought to be doing … but is it my vocation? Am I gifted and called to do it? Is this particular ought a place of intersection between my inner self and the outer world, or is it someone else’s image of how my life should look?
I look forward to your replies! Send them directly to me at kcameron@pittstate.edu to be compiled for the next column where we will look at Palmer’s work on fear in our profession.
Best wishes,
Kathleen A. Cameron, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Justice Studies
Social Sciences Department
Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg, KS 66762