1st Edition
Dispositions Are a Teacher's Greatest Strength Mindful Pedagogical Practices to Develop Self-Awareness to Flourish in the Classroom
Dispositions Are a Teacher’s Greatest Strength will fuel and reignite your classroom practice. Focusing on 13 dispositions specific to teaching, this book encourages educators to identify, reflect, and develop their dispositions, attitudes, and self-awareness to flourish in the profession. Emphasizing pedagogical knowledge and skills, this text serves as an affirmation of a teacher’s commitment to challenging, complex and rewarding work. It invites educators to consider what a unique privilege it is to teach—to dive into reading, creating space, and embracing dispositions as a teacher’s greatest strength. Each chapter focuses on one of 13 teaching dispositions—such as curiosity, adaptability, gratitude, resilience, and courage—and offers:
- definitions and contexts for the disposition of focus;
- concrete applications for teachers to practice and develop dispositions with reader-friendly examples and practical strategies;
- a “pause and reflect” section with questions and space for professional reflection.
This book serves as a love letter to educators everywhere: teachers in K-12, administrators in K-12, higher education faculty, and pre-service programs and students. Dispositions Are a Teacher’s Greatest Strength reminds teachers of the significant work they do by putting dispositions at the forefront of their daily work.
1. Introduction: Why Dispositions? 2. Curiosity 3. Reflection 4. Empathy 5. Adaptability 6. Resilience 7. Gratitude 8. Encouragement 9. Inclusion 10. Collaboration 11. Courage 12. Hope 13. Celebration and Joy 14. Conclusion
Biography
Michelle C. Hughes is an enthusiastic and passionate educator. Throughout her 34-year career, she taught junior high school English, worked as a high school administrator, and served as a faculty member in Westmont College’s Education Department in Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
"Michelle C. Hughes masterfully amplifies the transformative power of core dispositions, centering their place at the heart of educational practice. Drawing on research and rich personal experiences, Hughes provides an inspiring guide for educators, illuminating the path with essential dispositions that not only reignite passion but also empower both teachers and students. This book is refreshing and validating, positive and inspiring, intellectual and reflective – a new classic that I’ll revisit time and time again."
Susan Salcido, Santa Barbara County Schools, Santa Barbara, California, USA
"Brimming with hope-filled stories and practical strategies, this book elucidates 13 essential educator dispositions and invites readers to allow professional dispositions to permeate their hearts, penetrate their minds, pervade their practice, and promote holistic flourishing."
Carrie R. Wall, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
"As someone working in faculty development, I see firsthand how curious, resilient, and hopeful teachers can directly shape the outcomes that help students to thrive. Hughes draws on her weighty experience as a secondary teacher, administrator, researcher, and college faculty to show that dispositions can be taught. Not only is the author the most motivating of cheerleaders—offering high-fives throughout—she reminds us why such practices bring light to the vocation of teaching. This book is for those who have felt discouraged or overwhelmed as teachers; you will find light here."
Rachel Rains Winslow, George Fox University, Newberg, Oregon, USA
"In a time when teaching seems to become more challenging by the day, Michelle C. Hughes has given educators a gift. Her book is thoroughly grounded in research and she writes in an invitational and personal tone that will leave her readers feeling like they can grow into and teach out of the dispositions she explores. Without a gram of hesitation, I recommend this book to all educators."
Ken Badley, Tyndale University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
