ABSTRACT
Amidst all the other experiences in a teacher’s life, there are those occasional moments of meaningful connection with students. The teaching space is a space in which vulnerability and doubt are potential. And students bring a vital part of themselves, the part who has chosen to be a student. For students, this may represent the drive to get a needed degree, passion for the discipline, or a longtime, closely held personal goal. Moreover, there is something essential about learning in connection as different from learning alone. In the course of life, each person builds a basic inner sense of his or her ability to act—of empowerment—as a result of the experience of seeing that he or she can have an impact on others. Often, at least some of our motivation to teach was ignited by consequential interactions we experienced as students with our teachers and mentors.
