1 1 Teaching and Learning to Teach as Principled Practice Linda R. Kroll Tomás Galguera My mind has struggled to name the terror in my repeated attempts to present well-considered lessons to a classroom of energetic yet challenging students. Half of my struggle is against myself and my own expectation that I can’t handle such “difficult” kids. A portion of my struggle is comprised of sheer exhaustion and the emotional cost of repeatedly putting myself out there; scrambling to quickly learn to crawl, stumble, walk, and then run in the 40-yard dash that is the construction of a new teacher’s knowledge of the world and work of an educator. Certainly I struggle with the enormity of a small classroom full of 35 fifteen-year-olds and the intricacies of how to both keep their attention and teach them something. Finally, there is the emotional toll of caring so much about what my students and I are experiencing, both apart and together. ❖ ❖ ❖ 01-Kroll.qxd 5/27/04 4:09 PM Page 1