"The genuine concern for teaching and being a teacher is palpable [...] Fundamentally this book is written with a concern for a better kind of teacher education. This book is a must read for all working within the field." 

-Deirdre McGillicuddy, Assistant Professor of Education, School of Education, University College Dublin, Ireland

"The Educator and The Ordinary is a timely argument for building philosophical ethics in teacher education. O'Brien reminds us that training teachers isn't only about laying emphasis on professionalisation and standards of practice, it's about the value we create when we provide teachers with useful knowledge that helps them to make better, more morally capable decisions."  

-Naziya O'Reilly, Lecturer Primary Education, Leeds Trinity University, UK

This book creates a unique discursive environment to consider how initial teacher education can support student teachers in practical and personal senses, in what they can do and who they are. What is it to care? To develop our voice? To educate in beautifully risky ways? Engaging with the philosophy of Stanley Cavell, Gert Biesta and Nel Noddings, central capabilities of the educator are suggested: Acknowledgement, Autobiography, Imagination, Interruption, Attention and Uncertainty, culminating in the essential, unifying capability of The Ordinary, underpinned by Complexity and Hope.

This book will appeal to those interested and engaged in initial teacher education, professional development and support from early years to higher education and practicing educators. It aims to enrich theoretical as well as practical discussion, to influence how we live, how we think, and how we treat each other.

Elizabeth O'Brien is Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Maynooth University, Ireland. Her research interests lie in philosophy and theory of education, curriculum studies, and teacher education. Elizabeth is passionate about living well in educational worlds, and explores the roles reading and the arts can play through her research and teaching. She is co-author of Dancing in the Dark: A Survivor's Guide to the University and co-founder of the Philosophy of Education Reading Network.