While riding in the car on our way home from Dallas last weekend, I passed the time by re-reading portions of Into the Classroom by Thomas Hatch. You can read an excellent book review by Michaelann here at the Connections website.

In Chapter 1, Hatch asks "Why Is Making Teaching Public So Hard?" and compares some assumptions about teaching with what we assume about other professional fields. Hatch writes:
"The lack of support for teachers' learning stands in marked contrast to the elaborate and sophisticated support systems that can help professionals in other fields to develop their ideas and share them with a wide range of audiences. Nowhere are these differences in support more evident than in comparing the treatment of artists and scholars with the treatment of teachers. 'Uninterrupted time to work, good working conditions, and a supportive community'--that is the promise of many institutions dedicated to advancing the work of scholars and artists. In institutions for advanced study, scholars and artists learn when they work alone and without interruption, with little or no guidance from others, in a beautiful environment and a relaxed social setting; but teachers usually learn in intense courses, seminars, and workshops, in close collaboration with peers, and under the supervision of someone else. (Hatch, 1998)."
This passage got me to dreaming about what a retreat center for advancing teaching and learning might look like. Of course, it would have to have beautiful grounds, relaxing views, and a chef on staff! I think it would also have flexible meeting space, a great library, and a supply closet with no lock on the door.
I'm envisioning a space where individual teachers could come for a sabbatical--a place to "fill the tank" and do some deep thinking for a few days or even a semester. My foundation would raise funds to train a highly qualified corps of substitute teachers whose mission would be to make sure the students continued to progress while their regular teacher was taking a break from the classroom to improve her practice.
I'm also envisioning space where teams of educators could come to think and plan together.
Well, if I ever win the lottery, I'll use it to build this retreat center as my legacy.