Three Important Things (and One Promise) from Reclaiming Our Calling

A post by Brad Gustafson, author of Reclaiming Our Calling

Many of us are feeling a tension in education. We’ve been asked to prioritize student achievement above the human beings doing the actual achieving. Fortunately, there is hope. It is possible to prioritize relationships while also helping students achieve lasting learning.

Reclaiming Our Calling tackles this tension head-on. The book contains powerful classroom stories and strategies to support the heart, mind, and hope of education. It is written differently than most professional development-type books I’ve ever read, but I’ll let you decide whether that’s important or not.

Here are three things that are really important (and one promise):

1. Reclaiming Our Calling is based on the belief that great teaching begins with relationships and connectedness. This doesn’t mean we refuse to prioritize content and accountability; it just means we refuse to disregard everything else that’s important.

2. More than a book, we have an opportunity to connect and take things deeper. I’m intentionally focusing on people who want to work together to create more meaning and connection in this work. If this sounds important to you, I’d invite you to join a small and mighty group of mission-driven educators who are in the #UndergroundBookClub. You can sign-up HERE. We collaborate on weekly missions and are creating a child-centered ruckus together. If you’re already a member, please consider sharing this blog post with one colleague you care about on a deeper level.

3. This is not a book for everyone. It is for educators who believe they have been called to teach (which is drastically different than “just teaching”). This doesn’t mean we don’t do jobs as part of our calling; it simply means we understand the gravity of the lives we’re entrusted to teach.

4. My promise to you is that by engaging with the book (and others who are doing the same), we will help you navigate the tension many of us are feeling. We will help you hold on to all that’s right in education, leverage your strengths, and elevate your voice so you can help others who may need your support.

Thank you for trusting me enough to read this post. Please consider purchasing the book on Amazon. I don’t take your time or trust lightly. If you’re interested in reading a few of the blog posts that have been written in connection to the book (and feedback that truly touched me) you can check them out below: