A Thought For Tonight...

Practical Theory

Who I am: Chris Lehmann

What I do: Principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA (Opening 9/06).

What I did: Technology Coordinator / English Teacher / Girls Basketball Coach / Ultimate Coach at the Beacon School, a fantastic progressive public high school in Manhattan.

Email: chris [at] practicaltheory [dot] org.

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Gary Stager about New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement
Tue, 31.08.2010 05:14
I may have linked to the
wrong Merrow article -
http://takingnote.learnin
gmatters.tv/?p=4433


Gary Stager about New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement
Tue, 31.08.2010 05:05
Dear Chris:

We've had this discussion
privately, so I hope you
don't mind that I involve
the [...]


Julie Strong about New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement
Mon, 30.08.2010 13:35
I'll be curious to see
how #5 evolves. In
independent schools we
rarely lack for parent
[...]


dcollins about New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement
Sat, 28.08.2010 07:32
Those are great things to
look forward to! At my
alternative school, I'm
looking forward to seeing
[...]


Andrew Marcinek about New Year... New Challenges... New Goals... New Excitement
Sat, 28.08.2010 06:42
I am sure it will be very
weird vibe without your
original class in the
building, but now you
have [...]


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< Perhaps We Can Hope | Take Action: Stop Bill 363 >

Sunday, February 8. 2009

A Thought For Tonight...

As we all rush to change the world, and as we hear more and more about a sense of urgency to change our schools, let us remember that what we don't know... about our kids, about learning, about what lies ahead of us... vastly outweighs that which know. And let us always be humbled by the enormity of the task in front of us. It is that humility that allows us to hear the smallest voices around us, be it the voice of the quiet student too afraid to voice her confusion or our own voice -- the voice of doubt in the back of our mind that forces us to question even our most core beliefs over and over again.

Let us be passionate, but never blind.

(This is what happens when I listen to folk music late at night.)
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Posted by Chris Lehmann in General Ed, School 2.0 at 21:39 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0)

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Great post. Couldn't agree more. Humility is always a good place to start any venture.
#1 Jabiz aka Intrepid Teacher (Link) on 2009-02-10 00:40 (Reply)
When I think back across all the teachers I have known or worked with, there is one group that stands well above even some really good teachers. These are the teachers who I have admired most. It took me some time to figure out what it was that set them apart (as many of the things they did were also done by many other good teachers) but the conclusion I came to was humility. This one trait, on top of the skill sets that good teachers have, took these folks to the top of my list.
#2 Rick Biche (Link) on 2009-02-10 03:58 (Reply)
Fantastic post! I wholeheartedly agree. It reminds me of how enlightening it is to listen to passionate, dedicated, veteran teachers who can share stories about their adventures in education...digging in with everything they have to try to change the world...the moments when humility and reflection steered them well.

(By the way, I have no doubt that some of the talented educators I've crossed paths with have indeed changed the world.)

Story time, reflection, humility and focus...all with the folk music playing in the background. :-)

Thanks for the inspiration.
#3 Joan Gallagher (Link) on 2009-02-10 14:15 (Reply)
Yes... but....

As we rush to change the world, we face people who are blindingly sure of their dumb ideas and don't have enough humility to doubt themselves. They call loudly for "reforms" that have no chance of working. They have no qualms about sloganeering and twisting the truth to suit their cause. They demonize children, parents, and teachers on their way to implementing their bad ideas, and then blame those same people when it fails.

They have no voices of doubt, no quiet moments, and no shame about their tactics. How do we reconcile this? Are thoughtful people with subtle ideas doomed to mummer their way into polite obscurity?

Maybe be need to put down the guitars and be louder, bolder, and more sure of ourselves.

Reasonableness is seen as acquiescence.
#4 sylvia martinez (Link) on 2009-02-12 12:27 (Reply)
Yeah... I worry about that a lot, too.
#4.1 Chris Lehmann (Link) on 2009-02-12 12:56 (Reply)

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