To truly improve education, we begin at the center of the universe: a single student walking into a classroom for the first time. She is uncertain about what this experience will be. She is overwhelmed. She is also full of potential she doesn’t yet know she has. Our goal is to shape everything she will experience in this room toward one end. Every activity, every bit of homework, every interaction with the teacher and other students will contribute to her intellectual and personal growth and prepare her for life. She will learn the essential content of this course so that it is integrated into her being, so that it has meaning for her, so that it is useful to her.
Beyond this, she will learn the skill of learning, becoming conscious of the process, knowing and working with her own strengths and weaknesses. She will learn to trust her own intrinsic drive to excel at what she does. She will learn the pleasure of learning with others, of socializing with a purpose, of belonging to something larger than herself.
If we do our jobs right as teachers, she will become a resilient learner, willing to push through new challenges, recover from failures and learn from mistakes. When she leaves school at last, she will be a self-directed, metacognitive learner, able to read deeply, think critically, and express herself clearly. She will be a trustworthy team member, able to collaborate well. She will be a good citizen who takes her responsibilities seriously and uses freedom wisely. She will, in short, be prepared to live a fulfilling and productive life.
Our goal is to be constantly aware of the learning process she is experiencing, and to be responsive to what she needs to continue growing intellectually and personally. All our decisions must be seen through this filter.
What must we change to accomplish this goal? Everything.
Every classroom structure, every strategy, every lesson plan, every test, every interaction—all of it now has a new purpose. All of it is driven by a new set of beliefs. All of it must therefore must be shaped accordingly. How that will happen is what this book is about.
If this sounds like a daunting task, don’t panic. This book will guide you through the biggest structural considerations with lots of examples from teachers in a wide range of disciplines. There is also another book available on this website, “This Changes Everything”, which is a collection of stories about my experiences as a classroom teacher, along with reflections by students and other teachers about their experiences going through the same transformation you are embarking on. This website also includes video clips of classroom activities, teachers implementing new strategies, and workshops in which these ideas are being discussed, as well as a library of useful forms and strategies. There is also an educational blog and a podcast.
Finally, you will find that much of what you already do — your activities, materials, textbooks, etc. — will still be useable throughout this transition. Often, there will simply be a shift in focus and intent in how your materials are used. All of it will be grounded in the Prime Directive, an excellent and trustworthy guide.
You should assume that this process will take several years, and perhaps longer. The issue of pacing yourself appropriately is addressed in the final chapter of this book, “Implementing Ideals in the Real World”. How much time your transformation will take will depend a great deal on how far you dive into this new approach and how much support you have among your colleagues and administrators. It will depend even more on how much you trust your students to give you advice and feedback on the changes you are implementing. The best evolution is co-evolution.
There is no reason to wait. This transformation is practical and doable. It is based on decades of experience in the classroom, working with dedicated, creative teachers in every discipline. Once you begin this process, it will become self-propelling. The most serious challenge confronting you is that this change requires rethinking your fundamental beliefs about school and the nature of your practice as a teacher — no small matter. But with courage and perseverance, it can be done. There is no more important task.
Let’s get started.
