A gifted teacher has an unfailing eye for magical classrooms & loses sleep over anything less than the highest quality.

I have little interest in a surgeon who says, "I learned that when I was in medical school. Why should I revisit it?" or who says, "I've done that operation the same way for ten years. Don't bother me with new approaches." I see teaching in the same way.

Plan to be better today, but don't ever plan to be finished

We need teacher educators who regularly spend a great deal of time in classrooms so they have a deep understanding of where they students will teach.

Sometimes educators suffer from the "I already do that" syndrome. In those cases, we feel inadequate if we admit we have a distance to go as learners of our craft.

[Students] often have a "We can figure this out - don't just tell us" attitude. In that way, they can be less patient with "traditional" approaches to teaching.

In my experience, professionals who are best in any field approach their work with humility. They know that their work is more than just a job. It's an exploration of life. Even on days when they feel most confident, things can go wrong. Sometimes even the good things that happen are a mystery - a surprise. There are always elements outside our control. That's humbling - or should be.