When I read I annotate my books by underlining key words and phrases and making notes in the margins. Sometimes I underline a quote that I just can’t stop thinking about. Here is another post in my series of quotes that resonate.

“Routines create buckets for healthy emotional behaviors; they become a structural assurance that emotions will be attended to.”

~The Art of Coaching Teams by Elena Aguilar

This quote jumped off the page for me. The routines mentioned above relate back to creating  norms for teacher teams in order to build behaviors that lead to high emotional intelligence. But the routines could just as easily refer to those in a classroom of students. Students, just like educators in a team or PLC, need routines and structure in order to feel safe. They need their emotions attended to, just as adult learners do.

“The process of learning how to see without judging is a skill…”

“…practice does not improve in isolation”

~Leading for Instructional Improvement: How Successful Leaders Develop Teaching and Learning Expertise by Stephen Fink & Anneke Markholt

These excerpts come from chapter four, which is about observing in classrooms and facilitating learning walks with a clear purpose. I’ve worked with enough coaches and administrators to know that learning how to observe teaching and learning without judgments is a skill that takes time, effort, practice, and feedback. But none of our practice can improve in isolation. We all need trusted colleagues, peers who can provide us with feedback that will improve our leadership in order to  impact teaching and learning.

“Failure is a part of the process for innovative teachers. Each mistake is simply another iteration on the journey toward success.”

~Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student by John Spencer & A.J. Juliani

I love this quote! We need to redefine failure in order to be innovative and creative in our classrooms and schools. Failure is that “first attempt in learning” and it provides us feedback along the way.

“We do not really see through our eyes or hear through our ears, but through our beliefs.” ~Lisa Delpit (1995) quoted in The Art of Coaching by Elena Aguilar

I am rereading Aguilar’s first book in preparation for some work with our district mentors next month and this quote leapt off the page at me. Our beliefs drive everything we say and do, whether we realize it or not. Aguilar’s advice is what led me to craft my coaching beliefs and my core values and to make them public. This quote is an important reminder to know thyself and thy impact, as Hattie’s research tells us.

“As Darling-Hammond (2013) notes, ‘Peer learning among small groups of teachers was the most powerful predictor of improved student achievement over time ‘.” ~ Intentional and Targeted Teaching: A Framework for Teacher Growth and Leadership by Doug Fisher, Nancy Frey and Stefani Arzonetti Hite

This concept is mentioned multiple times in the first few chapters of the book- teachers collaborating together on their practice can change teaching and learning. PLCs are so valuable when the work is focused on teaching and learning. The continuum proposed by Fisher, Frey and Hite ends with teachers as leaders, being able to help their colleagues learn about key elements of intentional and targeted teaching (FIT). Everyone in education can be a leader. How are you leading? How are you supporting the leadership development of others?

• What quotes have resonated with you lately?
• What do you read (or view or listen to) for inspiration?

More Quotes That Resonate

Quotes That Resonate