In this article, the author writes from the vantage point of a teacher-educator who has been engaged in the process of formal education all her life. While she has always loved the learning process itself, she has often felt a deep sense of alienation on many of the educational landscapes she has traveled. Her own alienating experience of schooling, and her discomfort with the "technically correct" model of teacher education that leaves compassion outside the classroom door have been the impetus for her finding ways to build a learning community within her pre-service teacher education classes. In this article, she discusses the following: (1) why teachers should be concerned about building classroom community; (2) how a learning community is defined; and (3) how teachers can create a learning community.