A teacher who facilitates the process serves the role of a midwife who assists in bringing this new life into existence. The image of a newborn child was actually used by Martin Buber in discussing the nature of human interaction at its most significant and meaningful level. It demands nothing of what is past. An I-Thou relationship, according to Buber, is one in which an individual relates with his or her total being to another total being in a genuine meeting. This type of a relationship is at the heart of deep teaching, requiring the teacher to be absolutely attentive and completely present to his or her students.
Deep teaching is characterized more by mood than by method.
A sense of freedom and a spirit of joyful inquiry are essential to this mood. While deep teaching is intense, it can also be playful. This freedom is evident in the types of questions entertained and the scope of ideas explored. Freedom encourages risk-taking in inquiry and often leads to new ways of thinking and expression. For teachers and students, there is probably nothing as exhilarating as the emergence of insights laced with creativity, imagination, and personal relevance.