Curriculum is a medium through which intellectual curiosity and personal development can be shared; the relationship between student and teacher provides a foundation on which deeply satisfying learning can be built. This article addresses how teacher-student relationships bear on students' learning experiences and their concurrent efforts to form their emerging identities. Despite the fact that many secondary educators are not convinced that forming relationships with students has much to do with learning, the author argues here that teachers cannot attempt to cultivate teenagers' intellects while leaving behind their emotional development. It is in recognizing and respecting the inextricable link between the two that teachers can make considerable academic impact. The study on which this article is based reveals that relationships--personal mentoring connections between teachers and students in high school--represent powerful and creative efforts to cross the widening chasm between adults and teenagers. These relationships are not simply special additions for those who engage in them. Rather, they constitute learning opportunities of their own, unique components of the developmental process, and a potential for community-building at school. (Contains 11 notes.)