October 2019 Bookshelf
Books 10 October 2019
Thrive: How Schools Will Win the Education Revolution
Grant Lichtman
Nokia—the once upon a time largest provider of cellular devices—began as a paper mill in 1865. Throughout their history, they have made massive pivots to match consumer demand. Grant Lichtman, author of #EdJourney and Moving the Rock, became fascinated by stories like this and the question: “What does it take for a business, organization, or institution to evolve?” And, how can those lessons be used within the context of transforming learning environments across the country? Lichtman lays out his findings in his newest book, Thrive: How Schools Will Win the Education Revolution.
When Breath Becomes Air
Paul Kalanithi
Anytime we explore new territory, we can feel a bit powerless—in need of support from mentors and peers to build new knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Such is the reality for educators moving from the standardized, conventional K-12 system to a learner-centered model. Inspiration in navigating this transition can be found in Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air. Kalanithi was a neurosurgeon turned patient when he developed lung cancer and, in his memoir, explores his transformative journey. One of initially feeling powerless in his new identity but soon creating a new and empowering context from which to experience the rest of his life.
Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
Shonda Rhimes
“No” can become a habit. It comes with a surprisingly comforting guarantee that whenever we wield it, our lives will stay the same. Of course, “same” includes the bad as much as it does the good, so if we ever want to experience more of the good, we have to start saying “yes.” This was the kind of thinking that launched Shonda Rhimes into a year-long challenge of saying “yes” to anything and everything that wasn’t going to harm other people. In Year of Yes, discover the wild adventures Rhimes found herself on and how saying “yes” might unlock a new world of possibility for you.
A Walk in the Woods
Bill Bryson
Joining a learner-centered environment is a big risk for just about everyone involved—young learners, families, educators, and district or school leadership. It is always a risk to travel the less worn path. It is also an incredible opportunity to learn something new about yourself and invent a future you’d not previously imagined living. Far from the context of education, Bill Bryon’s A Walk in the Woods tells the story of Bryson’s experience hiking the Appalachian Trail. It inspires readers to take on new challenges outside their comfort zones with a bit of humor, perseverance, and a willingness to not take ourselves too seriously.
Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder
Kent Nerburn
Empathy is often referred to as the ability to mentally take a “walk in someone else’s shoes.” Books allow us all to take that figurative walk—thanks to authors who are walking in those shoes themselves or who have walked alongside those who they are chronicling. Kent Nerburn, author of Neither Wolf Nor Dog, is the latter, inviting readers to “into the presence of Native belief…without allowing you the distance of the observer or the false identification with it as if you were donning its mantle as your own.” As you read Nerburn’s award-winning (in both fiction and non-fiction categories, oddly enough) book, consider how you can add more books to your shelf that “grab you at the level of belief” and cultivate empathy for experiences unlike your own.
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