The reviews of Keith Richards’s new book have been overwhelmingly positive. I liked this excerpt from today’s review in the Times:

“There’s a certain moment when you realize that you’ve actually just left the planet for a bit and that nobody can touch you,” Mr. Richards writes. “You’re elevated because you’re with a bunch of guys that want to do the same thing as you. And when it works, baby, you’ve got wings.”

I gave up rock star dreams long ago but what’s he’s describing is the feeling you get after a particularly successful class, where things have clicked, where everyone is engaged, where students have synthesized their own ideas with the texts of the class, where the conversation is spirited and respectful, where the period may end but the student leave knowing that the real work has just started.

I’ve never known what it would be like to have a school that felt this way. I hope someday I will.