There's a quote from Maya Angelou that I particularly like: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." I love how every part of this quote calls for active participation in the learning and growth process, and presents a process of constant and repeatable refinements: do your best, know better, do better. Rinse and repeat.
I think a lot of us do our best, and then we get hung up on the part where we need to know better and do better. Knowing better is difficult: it requires a lot of humility and and eagerness to find our own faults. That's a big ouchie for most of us. It batters our egos and wounds our pride. The process is also endless: depending on how we feel this unwinnable quest, that can be a source of exasperation or inspiration. Are you frustrated that you'll never know it all, or excited that you'll never run out of new knowledge to learn?
Students and teachers who do their best are, honestly, a dime a dozen. Everyone can show up and try hard while being spoon-fed the "right" answers. It's the students and teachers who live in the "knowing better" and "doing better" stages who will leap ahead of their peers. This is what I try to instill in my students and cultivate in myself. It's not easy for any of us, but we have fun trying.
So what are we all going to do better at today?
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