Chapter 2: Suffering and the Contemplative Gaze in Teaching

Abstract

In this chapter, Steel reflects upon his experiences first as a young boy, and then later as a high school teacher in order to understand the nature of suffering in the teaching profession. Beginning with a discussion concerning the meaning of contemplation or theoria, Steel’s inquiry next takes up the classical, three-part distinction between the suffering of “natural evils,” institutionalized or structural suffering (including suffering at the hands of others), and suffering that is self-caused. Steel’s chapter concludes with an investigation of the role that “suffering of the Beautiful” plays in all genuine and transformative learning experiences, and how this suffering is related to contemplation.