Anyone who works with new teachers must let them know that they should not have to make a choice between bringing up test scores or promoting lifelong learning. Mentor teachers must show beginning teachers how to be "passionate teachers," which the author defines as living a life as a reflective educator, making it a priority to build positive relationships with students, creating a classroom community in which students share responsibility for their own learning and the learning of their peers, nurturing a climate that focuses on learning rather than rules, developing strategies that grow from students' emerging strengths as learners rather than by dwelling on learning deficiencies (Sizer, 1992). Becoming a passionate teacher means more than merely being passionate about skills, content, and the habits of mind they may wish to engender in their students. First and foremost, it means making a commitment to recreating oneself as an educator--and continuing that regenerative process throughout a career. In this article, the author shares his experience working with beginning teachers and student teachers where he has demonstrated the habits of a reflective practitioner--living a life of inquiry, reading the research, and analyzing his practice to make more of an impact on student learning. (Contains 2 notes.)