The midwife is still my favorite metaphor for teaching. I’ve written about it before in the newsletter—lots of years ago now—but it continues to influence the way I think about teaching. I don’t think there’s a metaphor that more aptly captures the complexity, power, and richness of the dynamic relationship between teachers, students, and learning. The metaphor is not original with me, and although I have read some quibbles in the literature as to who first proposed it, I first encountered it in a 1986 Harvard Educational Review essay by William Ayer. Here’s some of my current thinking about how the midwife mirrors all that a good teacher should be.