CHAPTER 2 Embracing Connections: Integrating Essential Elements

Paradoxical thinking requires that we embrace a view of the world in which opposites are joined, so that we can see the world clearly and see it whole. Such a view is characterized by neither flinty-eyed realism nor dewy-eyed romanticism but rather by a creative synthesis of the two …. The result is a world more complex and confusing than the one made simple by either-or thought—but simplicity is merely the dullness of death. When we think things together, we reclaim the life force in the world, in our students, in ourselves.

—Parker Palmer The Courage to Teach

DIANA IS AN EIGHTH-GRADE SCIENCE TEACHER IN A RURAL SCHOOL district. She has been teaching for more than 25 years. From the moment our interview started, we knew that we were encountering someone who “thinks things together.” In our interview Diana used the word connection over and over. She believes that making new connections between ideas has many important payoffs. She told us it provides a sense of control over your life, a sense of peace within yourself, and a sense of life satisfaction.

Diana not only connects ideas; she also connects with people and makes connections between people. As Diana spoke of her love for her subject and her students, we found ourselves drawn to her as we were drawn to Kelli. At the outset of our interview, Diana said something that seemed linked to the enthusiasm we were experiencing. She told us she was not interested “in a life of survival.” She is not happy to “just exist.” She said, “I want to flourish.”

Diana told us she also wants her students to flourish. Like Kelli, helping her students become lifelong learners is a central part of Diana’s life purpose. She believes that this purpose can be fulfilled only if she is constantly learning, and she believes that learning is accelerated and deepened by making connections at every level.