A teacher in a differentiated classroom does not classify herself as someone who ‘already differentiates instruction.’ Rather that teacher is fully aware that every hour of teaching, every day in the classroom can reveal one more way to make the classroom a better match for its learners.

As a teacher, it is your job to make explicit whatever you though was implicit

We need to develop a robust set of tools - strategies and routines - that help us address student variance. It's easy to come to rely on two or three "trusty" instructional strategies like worksheets and lectures. Those are of little help in planning for a variety of student needs. As we develop a better toolbox, we're empowered to meet students where they are.

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.

When challenge and skills are in balance the activity is its own reward

The best educators I have met never stop asking questions. Some of them have taught for forty years and continue to be energized by new possibilities.

In differentiated classrooms, teachers begin where students are, not the front of a curriculum guide.