Some potential summer, must-read books for any educator!
Holiday Reading List
Here is a potential list of some great reads. Yes, you will find “learning” as a thread that binds them all, but most of these books were not authored with educators as the primary audience.
We Treat Learning Like We Treat Weight Management (12 minutes)
Most companies never ask for a transcript, and for the few who do, it is only for those seeking their first job out of college. (Working inside education may be an exception.) After that, grades mean almost nothing. What companies instead seek are the things that grades, which become so easily gamed by both students and teachers, can diminish. After all, if the grade is all that matters, then trying new things and failing (actually promoting learning) will be negated. Teaching to a test, jamming information into short-term memory only to be lost a few weeks later will be the norm. Critical thinking will be lost. Problem solving based on context will be supplanted with algorithm practice absent of context.
Karate Kid and Stage Magic (Frames and Mechanics)
Spend 3 days waxing on and waxing off, brushing up and brushing down. Be sure to do this for 10-12 hours, each of those 3 days. Then, get someone to explain how that specific stroke is for blocking, punching, etc. Now, spend another week or so going through those movements while standing on a tree stump. And finally, get in the ring with black belts who have trained for years / decades in your favorite martial art and fight. Just give it a go. After your brief hospital stay, come back to me and let’s talk.