The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal

I first became acquainted with Parker J. Palmer's writing through his book, "The Courage to Teach," which focuses on teaching at all levels and emphasizes how the best teaching and learning happen when teachers and students speak personally out of their unique engagement with a subject. Teaching is a personal sharing of encounters with a subject, and it works when it invites students to become aware of and join the dialogue.In this book, co-written with physicist Arthur Zajonc, the authors focus on higher education and encourage faculty to engage in collegial conversations, across the disciplines at their institutions. Palmer and Zajonc hope these conversations will build awareness of this personal dimension to all learning and in this way transform colleges and universities.Their ideas are very appealing to me, though I have to add a skeptical note. In my own experience, such conversations are more likely to work among colleagues who are already aware of and committed to exploring this dimension. Others may see the whole idea as superfluous. It would be interesting if through conversation faculty coming from person and more subject-centered perspectives could explore and mutually respect each others' positions, but I'm not sure I or this book know how to make this happen.

It’s a strong advocacy for an alternative education based on “new sciences”, blending interdisciplinary proceedings in teaching and learning. An integral education implies wide range of virtues and qualities, such as morality, aesthetics, emotion, devotion, spirituality etc. At the universities only cognitive abilities receive some attention, putting aside other essential references for a good formation of young beings. The Authors try hard to argument in favor of a radical renewal, appealing to other pedagogies in higher education institutions, insisting upon “the heart of higher education” as being formation, not training. We can easily understand the argument, but it will be very difficult to convince faculty, who is quite resistant in changing its comfort zone. One problem is that such thinking doesn’t fit in scientific method smoothly, because it appreciates measurable formalisms and empiricisms. For exempli, contemplative pedagogy – coming from Oriental inspiration – sounds marvelous, but it is seen as esoteric at best. An the end, we have to accept that higher education is not a kind of “education”; rather, it is flat training for cognitive aims.

Parker Palmer, in my opinion, is one of my favorite authors. Education of everyone is a top priority with me. Every child should have at least a high school education and more if possible.Parker in his book talks about a new way of educating that I think every place of education should follow his teachings.Have always felt that we missed the boat in higher education in particular in that it was always about the head and not the heart. When people teach they should consider the heart, the whole body and not just the head when they teach.Parker gives us a new way of teaching that has been tried and proven successful. He gives you examples where his ideas have been applied and been successful and everyone benefits, not just one person.His methods can also be used in other places other that in schools of higher education. They can be used in churches, businesses, small groups and many other places.I highly recommend Palmer's methods and in small way I have seen this work myself in small groups, etc.This is a must read for those who love to learn and how to love and show respect to others in the process as well as to teach others.

This is a beautiful look at what higher education can be, and must be, if we are to have an informed and thoughtful citizenry. By Parker J. Palmer and Arthur Zajonc.

I enjoyed reading this book. This concept of integrated learning makes sense. I enjoy Palmer's writing style because he interweaves research in with excellent storytelling. It feels like your receiving advice from a great uncle at the breakfast table.

Item was just as described; fast deliver.

very good

As always Parker Palmer's chapters are full of rich and challenging insights. I bought the book largely for Palmer's insights. Arthur Zajonc's material was far less inspiring: he has a tendency to pontificate and his limited knowledge of the extensive recent discourse on educational research and theory was patently obviously. I understand why Palmer drew Zajonc into the dialogue, but I think the book would have been far stronger with a more education-trained dialogue partner. Buy the book for Palmer's chapters.