December 2018 Bookshelf
Books 20 December 2018
Who You Know: Unlocking Innovations That Expand Students’ Networks
Julia Freeland and Daniel Fisher
One of the easiest ways to understand the difference between equality and equity is to consider a “one-size-fits-all” education system. Every learner might be receiving the exact same education, but once they graduate, the opportunities available to them are based on the people they are connected to. If you happen to be the son or daughter of a C-suite executive, your opportunities spread far and wide. If instead your parents are working third shift seven days a week, their connections might simply be much more limited. Julia Freeland Fisher and Daniel Fisher explore this reality in Who You Know, a book that invites educators and community leaders to imagine the role education plays in social mobility and how they can transform the system to one that maximizes the potential of every single young learner.
Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World
Anand Giridharadas
Transformational work is fueled by local grassroots efforts and sustained by top-enabled policy changes that make the work a permanent staple of our culture. Anand Giridharadas, author of Winners Take All, wants this coexistence to take hold in every sector of society. Although he presents a dreary picture of how systems have operated to date, Giridharadas’s main message is focused on the future where he believes “we the people” have it within our power to create the change we believe in and influence decision-makers at the top to hop on board.
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
Priya Parker
In this fast-paced world, meeting up with friends and family can sometimes occur to us as a chore rather than an invitation to be fully present with one another. Priya Parker wants to buck this trend and reinvigorate our sense of community. In her book, The Art of Gathering, Parker invites readers to consider how they can be more intentional when hosting friends and family, leading meetings at work, getting coffee with a colleague, and more. It is a powerful question to keep in front of us as we enter the new year: How can we all see our relationships with people as opportunities to be more human together?
Educated: A Memoir
Tara Westover
Imagine your first day of school. Now, imagine if your first day of school was when you were 17 years old. Tara Westover, author of Educated, was born to survivalist parents in Idaho. Far away from anything even close to being considered mainstream, Westover never thought of life outside her mountain home until her brother rebelliously went off to college and explored what life was like beyond isolation. As you read Educated, consider how Westover’s upbringing taught her myriad life skills without spending a single day in a conventional school.
She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity
Carl Zimmer
Among many things, 2018 will be the year the world learned gene-edited babies aren’t only possible but actually exist. Ethics notwithstanding, it is remarkable just how far we’ve come as a species. Carl Zimmer is no stranger to this reality and in his most recent book, She Has Her Mother’s Laugh, he takes readers on a journey to understand just how much our DNA defines us. And, more importantly, how DNA is but one small part in the history of our heredity. Join Zimmer for an intriguing exploration of who you are and what it all means.
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