The third chapter of Palmer talks about the paradox in teaching and learning. He describes the paradox as a whole as the inner tension felt in the heart of every teacher, competing and tugging between laughter and pain, joy and sadness, commitment and apathy. He fiercely embraces the soul of the professor: “teaching... can only be expressed in the form of paradoxes”. Push them while pampering them, inspire them while giving them time to think, challenge them while celebrating their established riches. Parker's description highlights the true tension in the hearts of teachers, balancing the forces of emotion, identity, intellect, and truth. Palmer discusses six major ideas of paradox in teaching. Palmer's first idea is that the space be delimited and open. In the classroom, students must have the freedom to access knowledge without restraint. However, if rules and structures are not established, things can become chaotic. For example, the rules of sports like football and hockey allow for structure in the game that allows for engaging (related) play. On the pitch itself, players are open to creativity, in their unrestricted dribbling, passing and shooting (open). The space in between is where football excellence happens. The second example of Palmer's paradox is hospitality versus a "burdened." Students must feel safe in a classroom for learning to occur. However, students should not feel safe enough to get up and take a nap. Our learning environments must be electric. When I teach students in my classroom if they hang their heads I say, “You can sleep at home!” » Creating an engaging and safe environment requires a keen sense of the nature of students and the ability to know when a break is not necessary but mandatory....... middle of paper...... living off money isn't smart or safe, but buying someone a coffee or sandwich or helping out at a soup kitchen is a healthy form of social justice. Add a parable about Lazarus and students have a healthy balance between God's compelling word and openness about how we can serve Jesus in our lives. Overall, Palmer's description pairs well with the calling of teaching through another lens of teaching and learning and that is virtue. Virtue is not a balance with another vice but a golden mean between two extremes. For example, courage is not balanced by gluttony, but rather courage is a happy medium between laziness and recklessness. The inner landscape of a teacher is filled with many similar paradoxes, which inspire them to take the middle path, to inspire students to discover their material, ask questions and continue their learning throughout their lives..