ABSTRACT
Students tell us that they love and respond to the passion of their teachers. What does this word mean in a world where passion is now meretriciously claimed by politicians, service industries and governmental businesses? This chapter explores the astonishing paradox that passion is an agonized concept, rooted in suffering and associated with death and torment, albeit of a transformative kind. The enduring relevance of this metaphorical concept emerges from the archaic backdrop of struggle and personal commitment. Its positive agency in learning and teaching, however, is negated by educational structures that make teachers and students anxious.
