The Readiness is All

"The readiness is all" Hamlet, 5.2.218

Such a powerful statement. Good teaching is all about preparation. About cultivating habits of mind, a sense of attunement, "intelligence in the wild." Harvard Project Zero's David Perkins speaks of the need to give students practice in navigating the murky darkness of complex problems.

Yes, such problems are heading our way. Megacities. Water, food, and energy shortages. Collapsing empires, vast migrations, homeless refugees. Microbes. Toxic oceans. Problems we can not even imagine.

This is why I love being a teacher in the 21st century.

I am a steward of the next generation. And I am training students, teaching them the thinking dispositions, the habits of mind, so that they will be ready to face the murky unknown. With courage and compassion, confidence and conviction. With commitment.

Yes, "the readiness is all."