A class can be seen as forming a larger unit of mind, a unit that becomes its own context, and this context can become the scene not only for an error-correcting but also a growth-producing process. Perception is always a comparison between at least two messages, and what is perceived is the difference between them. This principle is critical to teaching, since much of what is called teaching style depends on how differences are elicited and used. One way to create a positive context is by creating shared experience between students, teacher, and text by means of storytelling. Sharing creates connections to bridge differences and make them less threatening. If this creation of common ground is successful, then these transactions become habitual, and an ongoing community or group is formed. A safe space is also created, one in which members of the group can take larger risks and share wider experiences. In both literature and composition classes, this leads to a stochastic process, a form of interaction between parts of the mind. The process begins in each individual's mind, then continues as the differences between students emerge as a result of shared responses. Students listen, and compare their own interpretations to those of others. The effect of these comparisons is both to make a story problematic rather than transparent and to precipitate debate. Rather than emphasizing the knowledge or wisdom obtainable from a work, emphasis is placed on the processes students can master that are used to compose talks, classes, essays, dialogues, or new selves. (CRH)