From the Spring, 2010 edition of  The American Scholar, this essay has consumed my thinking since I read it last weekend.

Teachers, by nature of their jobs, are allotted almost no solitude during the school year. Professional development time normally consists of a topic selected by administrators and delivered via direct instruction, either in large groups or small, with little time built in for reflection. It may also consist of completing a task–a curriculum document, a textbook evaluation or a common assessment, something that can be shared with the school board as proof that the time granted was “worthy” from a budgetary standpoint.

One exception to this model is the Boothbay Literacy Retreat, sponsored by Heinemann. Time alone to reflect and think about new learning is an implicit part of the daily schedule. It is an extremely effective professional development model. The time to concentrate and construct one’s own learning based on new information is invaluable. Time is also set aside for sharing and discussion which aids in the processing of finding new ideas and creative solutions to difficult situations. In addition, because I drove to Maine from my home, I was afforded an additional 1,350 miles to ponder and concentrate and create ways to apply what I learned.

Deresiewicz delineates the need for time and solitude and reflection in order to develop new and original thinking. For leaders to be creative in their problem solving, they need time to sort through options and strategies. What a marvelous school reform strategy it would be to give teachers Solitude Days. This is a lengthy piece, but a very worthy one. The magazine cover contains the link to the article.