Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
– Stephen Covey

“In the best conversations, both people are students of each other,” wrote Wanda Thibodeaux in an article on the Inc.com website. She explains,

“One of the most famous quotes about communication comes from Stephen R. Covey. He intelligently remarked that most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.

“In essence, this means that the most powerful thing you can do when you’re talking to somebody is to focus on learning instead of educating, being the student rather than the teacher.”

This is a message Bethica Quinn with Rosalina Rodriguez espouse in their book, Treasures in the Thicket | Tesoros en el monte (part of the Reimagining Our Work collection and a Spanish-English dual language book). The two dedicated educators demonstrate what it means when a teacher becomes a student in listening to children. They used the process of creating a group book to listen deeply to each student, to seek first to understand before having any other interactions.

The authors, through their beautiful book, provide a wonderful resource that gives educators many examples of inspiring ways to respect, celebrate and elevate children’s thinking. A bonus is that the entire book written by children is included.