Fewer Things, Better Quotes

“It’s clear that the teaching profession in America was never designed to offer a lifetime of strong wages or a sustainable workload. Our schools have a 200+ year history of undervaluing the necessary skill sets of a good educator, offering low compensation, and making all-consuming demands on teachers’ personal lives due to the perception of the work as a “calling” which they should gladly sacrifice for.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“When you have a clear vision for your legacy as an educator — the mark you wish to have made on your students and the lasting impact on their development because of their time with you — it’s amazing how clearly things come into focus.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“Radical acceptance is a psychology term coined by Marsha Linehan and rooted in ancient Buddhist teachings. It doesn’t mean you approve of your problems or deem them as okay. Radical acceptance is about avoiding unnecessary suffering by accepting rather than resisting what is. You need all your strength to teach, and practicing radical acceptance will keep you from wasting energy on perpetual outrage.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“Getting real about what teaching involves in your school is crucial. Don’t keep repeating to yourself, This is unbelievable; I can’t believe I have to deal with this. It’s happening, so believe it. Subjecting yourself to these indignities is something you are choosing to do, as no one can stop you from quitting. You can apply for other jobs or take constructive steps to improve working conditions, but do so while practicing radical acceptance of your current reality.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“Injustice and oppression thrive in places where the norms are never questioned.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“Am I filling my day with banal tasks and unfulfilling obligations because that’s what everyone around me expects? Am I constantly trying to be more efficient with tasks that I shouldn’t be doing at all? How can I create time for the most important things instead of trying to do as many things as possible?”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“We do not have to stand by and watch the love of teaching and learning be crushed.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“If you’re enjoying the work and going beyond what’s expected by choice, it’s not really work. It’s something you’re choosing to do because you like doing it and it’s meaningful.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“At any point in time, you can decide to stop repeating to yourself how exhausting everything is and let go of excuses for why your life could never be any different.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“This is normal, but normal is not synonymous with healthy, and our mental well-being is too precious to accept the status quo.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“We are spending endless unpaid hours creating and curating activities and tests and worksheets and quizzes, then tracking it all and reminding students to turn it all in. And we never have time to ask ourselves: Is the impact on student learning proportionate to the class time expenditure? Is this activity or strategy worth giving up all this time? Is there something else kids could be doing that is more impactful?”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“Try getting students focused immediately with a specific task that’s an “easy win.” For example, if you want groups of students to prepare for a lab, ask them to assemble the materials they need and hold up a specific item when they’ve found it. If you want students to open a book in preparation for discussion, say, “Please turn to page 214 and find the word quintessential. Put your finger on that word and be prepared to talk about what it means in the context of the paragraph. Ready? Page 214. I’ll know you’re ready when I see your finger on the word quintessential.” These kinds of practices will get kids focused immediately on your instruction, instead of getting materials out and chatting while they wait for everyone else. Look for ways to make the transition task part of the lesson rather than downtime.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“Boundaries are not things you try to force other people to do. Since you can’t control anyone’s behavior but your own, you can’t create a boundary that will only be effective if other people change.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“You can choose a lifestyle that is fulfilling and full of joy, or miserable and depressing (sometimes without changing a single circumstance, and only altering your mindset and habits).”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“believe we need to create a culture in education in which we are open to self-reflection and can challenge one another to be our best. We need to embrace conversations about what’s good for kids and why we’ve made the choices we have in our classrooms.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“Your teaching style is not something you have to figure out once and for all, then stick to forever. Trial and error is required to discover the “special sauce” that you alone can bring to the classroom, and you have to keep experimenting with it over the course of your career.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“If you’re contemplating the risk of leaving, why not contemplate the risk of improving the workplace before it gets to that point?”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“You have to get real about what you want, and decide if you’re actually motivated to change. Because sometimes we don’t want things to improve. We just want to wallow. We want to talk about how awful and difficult things are, and have others commiserate and admire us for all the hardship we manage to endure.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“Too often, we try to take action without shifting our beliefs.”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most

“The root cause of burnout is not that we have too much to do. It’s the feeling that the things we do aren’t meaningful-or don’t reflect who we really are.” — Dr. Ayala Malach Pines”
― Angela Watson, Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most