The perpetual anxiety about America’s educational system has created a state in which teachers, administrators, and parents are on a constant search for magical solutions for what ails the American classroom. Theories, reforms, and strategies abound, each purporting to be a panacea the educational establishment has long been waiting for.

In The Secrets of Timeless Teachers: Instruction that Works in Every Generation, Jeremy S. Adams argues that the methods, habits, and behaviors that constitute powerful teaching do not change over time. In fact, an effective and impactful teacher a hundred years ago used many of the same habits and strategies a powerful teacher uses today.

In essence, extraordinary teaching is timeless in nature. Like the speed of light or the sun rising in the East, it is a constant. Modern teachers who want to understand what timeless teaching looks like–and more importantly, how to do it–would be wise to study this text that is both highly descriptive and pragmatically actionable.