Learning & Leading With Habits of Mind

While driving into town a few years ago, I found myself behind a young
man in a red convertible. Like many people, I have certain expectations
about young men in red convertibles, but this young man surprised me.
When we reached a railroad crossing, he was painfully careful. He slowed
down as he approached the tracks. The closer he got to the tracks, the
more he slowed. As his car passed over the tracks, it hardly was moving at
all. At this point, with great care, the young man looked to the left, and
then he looked to the right. No train was coming. Satisfied with his safety,
he gunned the engine and sped off. The young man was careful—and
yet he wasn’t. Surely, the middle of the tracks isn’t the best position from
which to scan for oncoming trains!
This man’s behavior provides a kind of metaphor for the mission of
Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind.When on the road of life, we
ought to be thoughtful about what we are doing. For example, we ought
to manage impulsivity and strive for accuracy, two of the worthwhile
Habits of Mind this book describes. Yet if good thinking is to help us out
in life, it has to go on the road with us. The trouble is, good thinking often
gets left behind altogether, or it’s exercised in flawed ways and so doesn’t
do quite the right job, as this young man demonstrated.
How can we encourage ourselves and others—particularly students—
to take good thinking on the road? Learning and Leading with Habits of

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Foreword:

Thinking on the Road of Life

David Perkins

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