Adrian's Top Five

Five quotes that are preparing me for a new year.

We are 34 days into 2025 and I think we can all agree that January felt like it lasted three months! I’m glad to be in this liminal space between winter and spring. It is usually around this time of year when I need some motivation to keep going.

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

I wouldn’t say that I am a huge quote person, but every so often, I read something that gets my attention. I have a few quotes written in my journals, taped behind my desk in my classroom, and saved on my phone. Whenever I am in need of some inspiration or grounding, I pull out a pearl of wisdom and read it quietly to myself. Here are five quotes that I am revisiting in preparation for a new semester and calendar year.

1. There is, thank God, no teacher-meter — Wendell Berry

“There is, thank God, no teacher-meter, and there is never going to be one. A teacher’s major contribution may pop out anonymously in the life of some ex-student’s grandchild. A teacher, finally, has nothing to go on but faith, a student nothing to offer in return but testimony.”

I’m grateful to Robyn Ryle for sharing this Berry quote with me. It is originally from an essay titled, Wallace Stegner and the Great Community in What Are People For?

After my students took a battery of standardized tests in December, I was reflecting and feeling down over the results. Robyn commented with this quote and it has made a huge difference in how I am measuring my impact as a teacher. I immediately printed it out and taped to my desk at school. I then went to the library and checked out The World-Ending Fire: The Essential Wendell Berry. I have a feeling that I will find a few more memorable Wendell Berry quotes within his collection of essays.¹

2. On the road to becoming worthy teachers — Bill Ayers

“When we as teachers recognize that we are partners with our students in life’s long and complex journey, when we begin to treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve for simply being, then we are on the road to becoming worthy teachers.”

I first read Bill Ayers’ work in graphic novel form. I read To Teach: The Journey, In Comics when I first became a teacher. I remember laughing at his crazy stories of being a high school teacher. My favorite chapter is still about Liberating the Curriculum.

I make no claims to be the best teacher. If I am remembered for anything, I want it to be my humanity and love for teaching students. I believe that all students, despite their backgrounds or behaviors, deserve dignity and respect. This is what I model for my students and what makes me a worthy teacher according to Ayers.

3. The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility — bell hooks from Teaching To Transgress

“The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy… Urging all of us to open our minds and hearts so that we can know beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable, so that we can think and rethink, so that we can create new visions…”

I have always believed that the classroom is a sacred space. During the school year, I spend over 1,000 hours, across 188 days with my students. In that time, we form bonds that are difficult to describe. My classroom is a learning environment that my students have never experienced before; one where they are treated with love and respect. I expect my students to achieve great things. I am a loving demander. Sometimes I make mistakes. Sometimes I don’t provide as much structure as they need. But every day, I teach my students that they are in control of their identities.

This quote reminds me of that radical possibility. I may never be able to witness what my students grow to accomplish in this world; that doesn’t matter. What matters most is that they leave my classroom feeling they are capable of great things in their lives.

4. How are you practicing what you preach? — Audre Lorde from Sister Outsider

“How are you practicing what you preach—whatever you preach, and who is exactly listening?

I love Audre Lorde. My copy of Sister Outsider is well loved. Whenever I am feeling overwhelmed about the state of the world, or my work as a public school teacher, I turn to Lorde. She reminds me that Each of us must find our work and do it, [even if] it means actively working for change, sometimes in the absence of any surety that change is coming. So, I remind myself of my values and practice what I preach. I pay attention to who is listening and who is pushing back. I am honest with myself and others, and I do the things I need to be strong for; mainly, being the best teacher I can for my students.

5. It is not up to you to complete the work — Pirkei Avot 2:16 from the Talmud

It is not up to you to complete the work; but neither are you free to desist from it.

I learned of this quote from the Jewish scholarly text, the Talmud, in Becoming an Everyday Changemaker: Healing and Justice at School by Alex Shevrin Venet. Venet both opens and ends the book with this Jewish teaching because she sees it as the essence of everyday change. After reading and reflecting on Becoming an Everyday Changemaker as part of our fall book study, I found this quote to most resonate with me.

Pirkei Avot 2:16

Social justice work has no fixed destination. There will be no point in my teaching career when I have finally ended my equity journey because I have solved injustice, marginalization, and inequity in public education. At first, this makes the work of social change feel daunting, but as Venet reminds us, all injustices are interconnected. Understanding this interconnectedness, and the part I play in working to ameliorate injustice, is empowering. I may not be able to single-handedly change the status quo, but as a teacher, and a human on this planet, I have a responsibility to do the work.

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What are those quotes you return to when needing advice or motivation?

I hope these quotes help prepare you to do great work in 2025. Have a great week!

— Adrian

Resources

• In this video, Ayers details his own journey to become a teacher, and discusses the importance of teachers. I love it when he says, You are what you are not, yet.

• The Brainwaves Video Anthology has a series of Ayers’ videos where he discusses a variety of topics. I highly recommend watching them all!

• bell hooks is the only scholar I remember from my teacher preparation program. In fact, it wasn’t until my doctoral work, when I really began reading and internalizing her social justice work. If you are not familiar with bell hooks, this video does a nice job of sharing her legacy.

• Cal Newport’s podcast, The Deep Life, explores the idea of making changes to your life to put it in alignment with the things you value. If you don’t have time to listen to this entire episode, I recommend starting at 8:30, where Newport discusses Berry’s philosophies.

I Teach Myself In Outline Notes, Journals, Syllabi & An Excerpt From Deotha

• If you are interested in diving deeper into Lorde’s philosophy, especially the role of being an educator, I recommend her I Teach Myself, her collection of teaching materials from her time as an instructor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Hunter College (1970-1985).

• If you haven’t already subscribed Alex Shevrin Venet’s Substack, Alex Shevrin Venet | Unconditional Learning, you need to do so immediately. She provides a wealth of resources for integrating trauma-informed principles and strategies into your classroom or school. In fact, she often offers online pay-what-you-can workshops on rotating topics related to trauma-informed education. Her next one is on Supporting Student Regulation on Tuesday, February 4.

Want some more of Adrian’s Top 5? Check out a few of my archived posts².

Adrian's Top Five

Adrian's Top Five

Adrian's Top Five

Adrian's Top Five

Adrian's Top Five

1. It turns out that I found a metaphor for slowing down and being more present.

2. I have no plans to ever make Adrian’s Newsletter a pay-to-read place. If you do want to contribute financially to this Substack (and are able), consider upgrading to PAID.