The seed of learning germinates outside the classroom, is fertilized within it, and then continues its growth and maturation throughout life. A teacher's task, then, is to nudge students towards a discovery both of the enchantment of literature—its sheer seductive power—as well as its inherent ability to illuminate big and enduring moral questions—the questions with which each individual or society inevitably grapples.  Students thrive best in a literature class when they realize that literature is as broad and variegated as life, and that it can speak vitally to their own interior lives. As they contemplate the mechanics of a literary work as well as the tools writers deploy in the evocation of their fictive universes, students are bound to recognize the saliency of their own memories, the importance of their own experiences and stories. 

A teacher of literature ought never to set out to funnel answers into students. It is enough to encourage students to pose questions that trigger an inquisitive, probing spirit. They empower students to become passionate participants in the deliberative and focused inquiry that lie at the heart of the pedagogical process.

The classroom experience is at its most powerful when it activates the student’s curiosity and liberates her/his voice. Car stickers are often trite, but teachers should become fans of one that reads: “Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.” A teacher should add: “Especially then.”