Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

I buy and read used books. I judge the previous readers by the quality of their marginalia.

Much that one “knows” about school is a misconception.

No IT professional wants users of their systems to be ineffective and complaining, but often they are.

Many who hired are as IT professionals in schools have training and expertise that gives them deep knowledge of IT but they find the strategies that were effective in those other businesses and industries are not as effective in schools.

What isn’t expected isn’t seen.

“You get more conservative as you get older” is a myth… at least in the last several generations in my family.

Optical illusions are not mysteries.

Epistemology is deeply important to educators. It allows them to evaluate practices, adopt and adapt those that are useful, discard those no longer useful, and otherwise refine their craft.

I’m familiar with a school where there is serious concern about reading scores. That same school discarded… as in taking to the landfill… hundreds of books. 🤦‍♂️

Epistemology is deeply important to educators. It allows them to evaluate practices, adopt and adapt those that are useful, discard those no longer useful, and otherwise refine their craft.

The Zevon lyrics “I was in the house when the house burned down” seems to have been written for us.

“Mistakes are chances to learn.”
Sure, but it depends on many factors.

I can tell when leaders have never been responsible for anything. They identify as "big idea people." They often don't have any idea that folks are too busy implementing their own better ideas to take on any "big ideas."

"It worked for me" is a terrible rationale for educators.

"Action without faith is misguided." Really? I can't imagine a statement that is more misguided than that one.

What do we know? How do we know it? What does it mean to know something?

These questions are important for educators to answer They exert important influences on what we do in classrooms, but we can't let them get in our way of acting.

What does it mean to be "literate" (in anything--reading, writing, math, or any other subject )? Ask a group of adults and you will get very different answers that are both reasonable and mutually exclusive.

One thing I leaned during 35 years in education: students have a low tolerance for dishonesty.

Listening to live radio. Reading books. Taking notes. These are all better when using “old” devices.

Einstein is supposed to have said "what matters cannot be counted and what can be counted doesn't matter." I am not sure he said it, and I would not take it as accurate just because he said it, but my experience in education sure suggests its true.