There are 3 core requirements for success in “any endeavor that involves risk and responsibility,” writes Atul Gawande in his book Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance.
1. Diligence (“giving sufficient attention to detail to avoid error and prevail against obstacles”)
2. Doing right (dealing with “human failings, failings like avarice, arrogance, insecurity, misunderstanding”)
3. Ingenuity (“thinking anew…a willingness to recognize failure, to not paper over the cracks, and to change…obsessive reflection on failure and a constant searching for new solutions”).
Since we’re obsessed with performance – exactly how good are the teachers who come out of our program – we look for ideas outside of the normal K-12 world, like Gawande’s.
I asked my colleague Laura how she thought our teacher preparation follows Gawande’s precepts, and she replied:
1. Diligence
We are hyper-a