As children's challenges and needs climb at an alarming rate, teachers are called to a new pedagogy, called to move beyond the barriers of the past. Moreover, to meet the needs of all learners effectively, teachers must relate to children in new ways that transcend the obstacles that have long stood in the way of meaningful learning. All children, particularly special needs children, homeless children, and neglected and abused children, need a special brand of caring, trust, compassion, and high expectations. Such children need transcendence in their relationships with teachers. In a transcendent relationship, teacher and learner go beyond their traditional interactive roles and both may undergo a "turning point" in which their life goals are altered. Caring, trust, mutual respect and love are characteristics of transcendent relationships. This discussion will analyze how transcendent relationships are mutually beneficial for both relators and how frequently the impact of such relationships is profoundly positive. The life-long relationship between Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan is viewed as a paradigmatic example of the transcendent teacher-learner relationship. The implications of such relationships and their significance for learning scenarios that otherwise may be handicapped by teacher-learner alienation and estrangement, learner non-engagement and non-ownership of the learning process are also discussed. Through the exploration and analysis of the stories of those who have enjoyed such relationships, this discussion identifies: the qualities and characteristics that have been indicative of transcendent atmospheres and interactions, how transcendence in teaching-learning relationships has been invited and facilitated, how learning has been broadened and enhanced by the presence of transcendence, how transcendent relationships have facilitated the development of learning communities, and how transcendent phenomena affects relators. (Contains 1 footnote.)