Keep in mind always the present you are constructing. It should be
the future you want.
—Alice WalkerWe b e g i n Pa r t I I o f Learning and Leading with Habits of Mindby consid-
ering classrooms and schools where the Habits of Mind flourish. How
have the educators in these classrooms and schools created thoughtful
environments where students encounter, think about, and develop the
Habits of Mind? Specifically, how have teachers created environments
where children discover the Habits of Mind and realize the benefits of
using the habits in school, in life, and as continuous learners? How have
teachers helped children gain insight about their own Habits of Mind
based on what they’ve learned from others? Exactly what characterizes
these kinds of rich learning environments? Part II provides suggestions
for teaching the Habits of Mind as well as creating classroom conditions
in which students can learn and practice the habits.
Because we know that language and thinking are closely entwined,
we start, in Chapter 6, by stressing that the language of thinking and the
Habits of Mind terminology should become part of the everyday dialogue
in classroom interaction. Thus, as children mature, they hear, then use,
and then think with those cognitive terms in mind. The Habits of Mind
become a normal part of students’ dialogue. (By the way, we have found
that children at a very early age love using the terminology!)
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