The policy clock and the pedagogical clock are not synchronized.

I enjoyed this passage from the end of Chris Lehmann's blog today and thought I'd share.

We need fewer know-it-alls in education today. We need thoughtful,
humble people who are willing to acknowledge their uncertainty and
still do what they believe to be right. We need people who do
understand that bludgeoning our way to school improvement probably
isn't going to get us there. And we need people who understand, like Tom Sobol once said,

The policy clock and the pedagogical
clock are not synchronized. Let us understand that truth, and quiet
our rhetoric down. The question is not only did the scores go up this
year; it is whether we have persisted in our journey, noting progress,
but respecting at all times the nature of butterflies and flight.

The best leaders I have known are usually people who never wanted to be leaders in the first place - people who care more about doing what's right than about gathering power. People who openly share their mistakes, and people who let good work shine out and speak for itself by presenting it honestly, conscious of its flaws, but proud of the progress that the team they serve has made.

Let's take the opportunities that come up as they're presented to us - the US presidential election and subsequent activity towards presenting in DC being a great example - but remember why we're here and what we're doing, and not lose sight of that amongst the adrenaline rush. Once in a lifetime moments come once in a lifetime, yes - but every moment is one.