We can all agree that the purpose of teaching is for students to learn. If we don't achieve that end, we might as well save our breath, our time, and our energy. Our goal is to do what is best for our students and their growth and achievement, and to nurture what they bring to the classroom. When we improve as teachers, they reap the benefits.

At the same time, I think it is fair to look at the challenge of teaching more selfishly for a moment. What is the benefit to us, the instructors, when we go through the strain of learning new facts, new interpretations, and new techniques? Actually, the benefits to us are just as great as those that our students accrue; growth keeps us fresh and enthusiastic.

In order to do what is best for students, we also need to do what is best for ourselves. We must attend to our own growth and achievements, and continually improve—if possible, dramatically so. We are always capable of forming new knowledge. The brain constantly modifies itself by building new pathways as needed or reinforcing and broadening commonly used paths.

The fact that the brain is so capable of changing is reassuring; if we haven't become inspired teachers yet, we still can. Being inspired teachers requires that we keep learning so we can make progress toward the inspired level of performance we aspire to. By putting forth effort in our everyday teaching, we can show our inspired natures more and more often. Perhaps no one can be inspired in every way all the time, but inspired teaching remains the goal that motivates and challenges us. My hope is that you keep growing for as long as you are teaching.

Most people have a great teacher in their past who still holds a revered place in their memory. A lot of us chose teaching in part because we wanted to be like that honored individual. We intuitively knew they were special individuals whether or not we could fully articulate the reasons. While these teachers may have been very different, and certainly were not perfect, they each had personal strengths, developed over time, and they consistently did their best, even when difficulties arose.

When we continue to grow in knowledge and skill we too can handle more of those unexpected moments we face in ways that, while not perfect, are effective. Increased skill and growing competence give us a greater sense of control over our work. Difficulties don't disappear, but they are more like hiccups than earthquakes. No matter what a rude or hurtful student may say, we can deal with it. No matter how many interruptions occur— announcements, fire drills, you name it—we can realign ourselves and continue to teach successfully. As we become inspired teachers, we learn to prioritize events so that student growth remains in sharp focus.

Perhaps the most important reason to keep growing is that if we don't, we will never believe that our students can. In my experience, individuals who continually berate others, saying they are "not trying" or "will never get this," are themselves people who rarely try and don't believe there is any use in attempting new approaches. Unless we are learners—people who don't give up in the face of challenge and who believe the impossible merely takes longer—how can we believe our students to be capable of sustained effort and memorable achievement? When we are learners, we model the behavior we want to see in our classrooms. If we don't live change, we confound our own best visions of tomorrow. We will believe in students only when we can truly believe in ourselves.

Inspired teachers are inspired learners. They make curiosity their constant companion. They wonder, inquire, read, listen, demand, hypothesize, challenge, and question—themselves and others. Becoming an inspired teacher is a journey that takes years or even decades. It requires both self-analysis and interaction with other skilled practitioners who offer suggestions and support.

The growth paths summarized in the charts in the Appendix, adapted from the NBPTS study rubrics (Bond et al., 2000, Appendix F.1), are offered for guidance and inspiration. They provide a supplementary way to look at the descriptive material covered in the chapters.

Use the paths in ways that fit your own style. One person might wisely decide to work first on personal strengths because those are most instinctive and central to one's own skill set. Another may decide to attack areas of personal weakness to weed out serious lapses. A third may follow personal curiosity, while a fourth makes the decision cooperatively with a group of coworkers who plan to work together. All these approaches can be effective because each of us chooses what we need and where to begin.

The most important thing is to take continual action. There may be some discomfort in challenging ourselves to do the unfamiliar, but a new comfort level lies on the other side. Remember that we are never done learning. Even revisiting a path we traveled in the past will yield new insights because we are no longer the same person who traveled it the first time.

Most of us choose to teach because of a sense of idealism and purpose. We genuinely hope to help children and contribute to the future. Not all of us, however, are able to hold onto that optimism. Unaware of many necessary skills and much needed knowledge, and sometimes working in counterproductive environments, we encounter tough realities and become demoralized. At that point, whether days, months, or years into a career, we may question our choice to become teachers and may feel little hope. We lose sight of the difference we've made. We have only three choices at that crossroads: quit (nearly 50 percent of teachers do within five years), become disconnected, or work our way up a steep—but rewarding—growth curve that will eventually allow us to become the teachers we hoped to be from the beginning. This last choice is the one I wish for all teachers, and the one this book is designed to support. May you experience the joy of inspired teaching.

For Information and Inspiration