The Courage Not to Teach

Words of courage and hope that safeguard a teacher's self-worth
and inspire inner reflection Kim Young-chan, a teacher who has devoted more than thirty years to the classroom, distills a career's worth of experience and insight on education, teaching, and schools into a single volume. Having served as homeroom teacher, department head, master teacher, vice principal, and principal, he has spent decades contemplating what it truly means to be a teacher, what makes a great lesson, and what kind of place a school should be. The Courage Not to Teach shares the process and fruits of that reflection with fellow educators—those who strive every day to teach well yet find themselves bruised and questioning in the classroom.
Each chapter opens with a single keyword: courage, faith, growth, overprotection, reform, trust, challenge, empathy, and more. Through these keywords the author reexamines attitudes toward education and life, seeking renewed courage and resolve. Together, the thirty-six keywords trace the worries and challenges he has navigated throughout his teaching career.
The idea the author emphasizes most is the one in the title: the courage not to teach. In today's era of excessive instruction, he believes that education works better when teachers learn to let go. Rather than lessons and assessments that pour out knowledge and information, schools need teachers who wait—teachers who give children room to think for themselves, to grow, and to learn from one another. Filled with honest experience and candid reflections on education, The Courage Not to Teach will reignite the courage and passion that help teachers stand firm beside their students once more.