“Having a high-quality teacher, even for one year, can have a tremendous impact across many measures” (pg 7).

“How do we accomplish lofty goals? . . . We engage in rigorous, ongoing self-reflection about our professional responsibilities” (pg 13).

“Doing the right thing matters: self-reflection matters more” (pg 14).

“The difference between learning a skill and being able to implement it effectively resides in our capacity to engage in deep, continuous, rigorous thought about that skill” (pg 15).

“We’re better served when we’re oriented toward a learning goal (learning strategies to better address the needs of individual learners) rather than performance goals (increasing the percentage of proficient students on a unit of assessment)” (pg 19).

“Intentional thought contributes to effective teaching” (pg 21).

“Being unaware is not a sign of weakness; it’s only a sign of weakness if you don’t do something about it” (pg 47).

“Education is famous for its pendulum swings that create a chorus of ‘This too shall pass’ in the staff lounge. We’re actually promoting the idea you should learn as much as you can about every initiative so you can better evaluate the effectiveness of each” (pg 47).

“An enormously important key for building intentionality into your repertoire is to write it down. All of it” (pg 53).

Grade: A

Time does not heal. Nor does it make us better, necessarily. Intentional time with constant reflection is how we heal, how we grow, and how improve. This book is a great reminder how to do that, as leaders, teachers, and individuals.

For more on . . .

-N- Stuff : Books : Reading Log