In this article, the authors explore the notion of difficulty and the vital role it can play in the learning journey of student teachers, both with respect to their own and their students' educational maturation. Confronting today's popular but flawed American reductionist learning models, the authors explicate the opportunity for deeper learning provided by a proactive engagement with, rather than suppression of difficulty. Thus, difficulty is seen not as an impediment to learning but as a source of motivation and impetus for a deeper, transformative learning. In addition, the authors present a theoretical framework for this alternative approach to learning developed to guide the students in reconceptualizing teaching and learning, promoting what Salvatori (2000) calls a "pedagogy of difficulty" (p. 81). (Contains 1 note and 4 figures.)