Miracle on the Hudson? What can teachers learn from Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto?

Improving Teaching

On 14th January, 2009, shortly after take-off from La Guardia Airport in New York, US Airways Flight 1549 encountered a flock of Canada geese and lost power to both engines.  Readers may remember what happened next: the aircraft crash-landed in the Hudson River – and every individual aboard was rescued alive.  I remember reading at the time that pilot was perhaps the best-qualified individual possible to have executed this manouevre: unflappable and hugely experienced, his quick thinking and derring-do saved over 160 lives.  Atul Gawande’s new book, on the other hand, argues that what happened on that day had almost nothing to do with heroism.

By Greg L [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

He quotes the crew members, and the captain himself:

‘I want to correct the record right now.  This was a crew effort.’  The outcome, he said, was the result of teamwork and adherence to procedure as much as of…

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