Teachers should be readers. They should be "try-it-outers." But, what
to read? What to mess around with? Tough questions. Lots of answers. If I
was to focus on a short "starter" list, these 30 books are probably the ones
with which I would begin. Now, I've only listed books I've read over and over
and over, whose passages I've underlined and highlighted, whose pages I've
crimped, in whose margins I've scribbled thoughts, whose ideas I have
experimented with and adapted as they fit into my vision. In one way or
another they're relevant to teaching, aka classroom leadership. I've shied
away from the "what to do" and "how to," assessment, and technology books.
I've concentrated, deliberately concentrated, on books that deal with "why" and
the "inner 'I.'" The simple truth is that you can know all about the
technology, all about the pedagogy, and all about the science, and still not
have your face to the sun and still not be able to teach They will not power
your heart. They usually don't help you understand that students are evolving
and transforming; that they need to be noticed and truly cared about; that
they, like us, need belief, faith, hope, and love; that we need to be
empathetic and sympathetic; that tenderness, kindness, awareness, alertness,
attentiveness, and otherness are required from each of us; that they need all
this and all this is required of us because we're first and foremost in the
people business. We don't often address the truth that successful teaching
doesn't occur from either spontaneous combustion or from something or someone
else striking a a match, but from setting yourself on fire. Our greatest
challenge in the classroom is to bring the sublime into the mundane, for
information is pretty thin stuff without character. All personal and
professional breakthroughs occur with a change in beliefs, not with new methods
or technologies. No one is so tired, lazy, and old as someone who hasn't the
enthusiasm, purpose, meaning of a deeply reflected upon and articulated vision.
The first step for anyone teaching or engaged in teacher training is to
understand the richly nuances, complex, and complicated humanity involved; that
the challenge of the classroom is not supposed to stymy you, but help you
discover who you are; that the dynamics between personality, self-perception,
and role are inseparably immeshed; that the classroom is a place that demands
an understanding of the nature and roots of human behavior; that what goes on
in the mind, heart, and soul of both teacher and student have an impact on the
achievement of both; and, if you want students to soar with you, you have to
win their hearts.
The list is incomplete. There are other worthy titles, a ton of them.
Nevertheless, here are the ones I recommend among those I've read. One last
word, I decided to list only one work by those who have reflected, researched,
and published prolifically. That is not to say their other works are
unimportant. To the contrary, this is only a beginning, a whetting of the
appetite, list. Again, this is only my starter list.
1. Carol Dweck, MINDSET: "it isn't just our abilities and talent that bring
our success — but whether we approach our goals with a fixed or growth
mindset."
2. Gregory Berns, ICONOCLAST: understanding how our brain processes
information and affects our perception, imagination, and decision-making
3. Richard Boyatzis, RESONATE LEADERSHIP: resonant" leaders are individuals
who manage their own and others' emotions in ways that drive success
4. Ed Deci, WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO: They wish to be autonomous (authentic)
rather than controlled. If they act autonomously (authentically), they are
self-motivated.
5. Teresa Amabile, GROWING UP CREATIVE: creativity can and should be a
part of the daily life of all children and adults
6. Viktor Frankl, MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING: Life is primarily a search for
meaning, of finding your "bliss" to follow
7. Stephen Covey, THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE: A
principle-centered life is the most rewarding.
8. Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee, PRIMAL LEADERSHIP: to
keep emotions out of the work environment creates a dire peril.
9. Peter Senge, FIFTH DISCIPLINE: stresses the importance of cultivating a
learning organization in which autonomous thinking, personal mastery, and
shared visions are vital
10. James Allen, AS A MAN THINKETH: "Thoughts of doubt and fear never
accomplish anything, and never can. They always lead to failure....all strong
thoughts cease when doubt and fear creep in"
11. RoberT Brooks, THE POWER OF RESILIENCE: helping students and ourselves
re-write new positive life scripts to replace the old negative ones.
12. Alfie Kohn, PUNISHMENT BY REWARDS: rewards motivate people to get more
rewards.
13. Paulo Friere, PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED, "True education is a process in
which teachers become students and students become teachers, all in the name of
liberation for everyone involved."
14. belle hooks, TEACHING TO TRANSGRESS: "education as the practice of
freedom....is a view that can be held by anyone who believes in it and
transgressive teaching can be done by anyone who is committed to working with
students to transform the limiting structures that form the basis of our
society and, consequently, the foundation of our institutions,
15. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, FLOW: how different people create meaning in
life with full intention and focus and thereby achieve an ongoing state of
satisfaction and sense of fulfillment.
16. Charles Duhigg, THE POWER OF HABIT: how the science of habits can be used
to improve willpower
17. Daniel Gilbert, STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS: explains why we seem to know so
little about the hearts and minds of the people we are about to become.
18. Howard Gardner, CHANGING MINDS: How do we do it? What plays a factor in
it? Why is it so hard to convincce people to give up well cherished beliefs for
new ones?
19. Parker Palmer, THE COURAGE TO TEACH, takes teachers on an inner journey
toward reconnecting with themselves so they can empathize and connect with
their students
20. Daniel Goleman, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: delineates the five crucial
skills of emotional intelligence, and shows how they determine our success in
relationships, work, and even our physical well-being
21. Marilee Adams, CHANGE YOUR QUESTIONS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE: asking the
right questions of the right people - can radically transform attitudes,
actions, and results.
22. Jon Kabat-Zinn, WHEREVER YOU GO THERE YOU ARE: mindfulness, awareness,
attentiveness, and otherness in everyday life.
23. John Dewey, DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION: school should be relevant to real
life and that solving problems is more important than reciting facts.
24. Jack Kornfield, AFTER THE ECSTASY, THE LAUNDRY: unbounded joy and
happiness is possible, but we are faced with the day-to-day task of translating
that ecstasy into our lives
25. Steven Sample, THE CONTRARIAN GUIDE TO LEADERSHIP: "effective day-to-day
leadership isn't so much about himself (the leader), as it is about the men and
women he chooses to be his chief lieutenants. He knows that a lot of the things
on his own plate will be minutiae and silliness, while his lieutenants will get
to do the fun and important things."
26. Leo Buscaglia, LOVE: "The true function of education should be the
process of helping a person to discover his uniqueness, aiding him toward its
development, and teaching him how to share it with others."
27. Malcolm Gladwell: OUTLIERS: It's fulfillment and significance that makes
us truly happy, not money or titles or renown.
28. Carl Rogers: FREEDOM TO LEARN: asks the the hard-to-ask questions about
education that are still hard to ask.
29. Robert Cialdini, INFLUENCE: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSUASION: core principals
of persuasion is a sterling example of the cross application of psychological
principles to life in the classroom.
30. Dr. Seuss, OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO
Is this the list for you as a teacher? Can't say. It's my beginning
list. Have your own? What is it?
Make it a good day
-Louis-
Louis Schmier
http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org
Department of History http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\
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hills" - / \_
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