Tim Heath > Quotes

“I know that much of this is cynical and smart, possibly even dishonest, but I do want to highlight the difficulty of reporting on a child’s progress in a worthwhile way. To me, there needs to be the occasional dip into comparison with others, but the bulk of information must relate to the child in question. And this is not a task of simple measurement that will lend itself to graphs and glib statements in Parliament. Knowing where a child is at, and what he or she needs next, is a far more complex task than this. It is at the very heart of the art of teaching. I grieve that teachers have allowed this part of their art to be stolen from them by the bean counters.”
― Tim Heath, The accidental teacher: the joys, ambitions, ideals, stuff-ups and heartaches of a teaching life

“I came to believe that the most secure learning happens when a child is ready, and that our expectations of the unready can be deeply damaging.”
― Tim Heath, The accidental teacher: the joys, ambitions, ideals, stuff-ups and heartaches of a teaching life

“Many kids seem to go through school without receiving anything to make them feel good about themselves. Good teachers find something and reward it, make a little rain fall in every desert.”
― Tim Heath, The accidental teacher: the joys, ambitions, ideals, stuff-ups and heartaches of a teaching life