Summer Reading List

We as educators ought not to continue to think of summer as a vacation, but rather as "professional time." I have always used my summer professional time to read and reflect as much as I can, and this year is no different. As I begin my first leadership position in the fall, I will target key points of interest and concern to better my chances of being highly effective from day one. I look forward to a professionally lucrative summer of reading, tweeting, and blogging in preparation for a great school year!

1. Why Don't Students Like School? - I watch my one year old everyday get so excited every time he learns something new while he is playing with his flash cards or watching Sid the Science Kid, and I've lately been wondering when and where the excitement for learning and curiosity stops. The title of this book certainly makes it seem like it will be a fine resource for me in this regard. I am also excited to use this book and the corresponding Twitter chat #sschatbookclub to reconnect with other social studies teachers across the country that I've lost touch with this school year.  It will be like killing two birds with one stone.

2. Pathways to the Common Core - There are certainly political issues that are yet to be totally resolved with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) but the reality of the situation is that state, including my home Massachusetts, departments of education are adopting them as the new "frameworks." Knowing that the key to any kind of positive results with CCSS rests in the hands of teachers and classroom implementation, I must be a resource for teachers in my building. Without the support and knowledge of the leadership team, classroom application on a large scale won't happen. I hope to use the knowledge from this book to help teachers in my building be able to visualize how their instruction and assessment will change as a result of the Common Core, and what inevitable effects they will have on the curriculum moving forward.


3. How to Create a Culture of Achievement in Your School and Classroom - Culture starts at the top; I want to model and promote the learning environment that will best produce active, reflective, and curious students who celebrate success by working harder for more of it. The title of the book says it all, and I'm excited to save 15% using a social media coupon code!

4. Harvard Business Review's 10 Must Reads on Leadership - Along with many others I have written before about the need for educators of all varieties to think of themselves as one part teacher and one part leader of people if they want to have the greatest impact. I am very interested in the perspectives of educational and non-educational leaders alike, and love the idea of essentially 10 miniature books in one. This will be fine companion to any beach day this summer!

What are you going to do with your professional time this summer? Don't waste an opportunity to get better at whatever you're trying to get better at!