When I saw this title on the list of book options, I immediately knew that this would be the one I'd choose to read. I can recall my first days of grad school when Leann introduced her EDAE 520 course with a passage titled "The Tao of Conversation". I really enjoyed that reading and was hoping this book was by the same author, but alas, not so. Nonetheless, I'm anxious to begin and trust that it will contain many gems of wisdom.
Having completed my first two semesters in the Adult Education and Training program, it is becoming apparent to me that, first and foremost, an adult educator must "know thyself", and be true to that self in the classroom. Other books I have read (Ken Bain's What the Best College Teachers Do and Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach) have influenced my thinking in this regard. It is liberating to find that I don't have to be detached from my students, that I can utilize the wisdom of my years and share in the learning that goes on in my classroom.
I'm hoping that this book will help me to elaborate on my philosophy of teaching that I began to develop this past semester in EDAE 620. I'm anxious to get started.
