A Reading List for Educators
Our experience tells us that none of us has time to read bad books; however,
we are all desperate to know what's out there that's worth opening up and using
to inform our work. Where, besides through word of mouth, can we find out what
others have found useful or inspirational in their work in schools? We hope the
answer to that question will now be, "Here!"
Below is a list of reading selections, organized according to topic, which we
or others have found valuable. If you have additions, please e-mail us at info@eduinnovations.net with author, title, and topic category. A short annotation or explanation of
how you found this useful is encouraged, especially if the book title isn't
reflective of its contents.
Enjoy!
Adult Learning, New Teachers and Mentor Teachers
Brookfield, Stephen, The adult learner
Brookfield, Stephen, The power of critical theory
Daloz, Laurent, Mentor, guiding the journey of adult learners
Drago-Severson, Eleanor, Helping teachers learn
Drago-Severson, Eleanor, Leading adult learners
DuFour. Richard, Professional learning communities at
work: best practices for enhancing student achievement
Kegan, Robert and Lisa Laskow Lahey, How the way we talk can change the way we work
Lieberman, Anne and Lynne Miller, Teacher leadership
Lieberman, Anne and Lynne Miller, Teachers -- transforming their world and their work
Conflict
Brinkman, H. and Kirschner, H., Dealing with people you
can't stand
Fisher, Roger et. al., Getting to yes
Patterson, et. al., Crucial conversations
Stone, Patton, Helm, Difficult conversations: how to discuss what matters most
Counseling (for the teachers/deans)
Sklare, Gerald, Brief counseling that works: a solution-focused
approach for school counselors and administrators
Diversity
Delpit, Lisa, Other people’s children: cultural conflict in the classroom
Howard, Gary, We can’t teach what we don’t know: white teachers, multiracial
schools
Kane, Pearl and Orsini, Alfonso, The colors of excellence
Tatum, Beverly, Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?
Education/Teaching/Curriculum
Bain, Ken, What the best college teachers do
Barth, Roland, Learning from the heart
Brooks, Robert, The self-esteem teacher (and
his other books on resiliency in children)
Clem, Steve, Paths to new curriculum (available through
NAIS website)
Coles, Robert, The call of stories: teaching and the moral imagination
Hallowell, Edward, Childhood roots of adult happiness
Jacobs, Heidi Hayes, mapping the curriculum
Palmer, Parker, The courage to teach
Pink, Daniel, A whole new mind
Tomlinson, Carol Ann, Differentiated instruction
Wiggins, Grant and Jay McTigue, Understanding by design
Gender
Deak, JoAnn, How girls thrive
Gurian, Michael, Boys and girls learn differently
Gurian and Stephens, The minds of boys: saving our sons from falling behind
in school and in life
Tannen, Deborah, You just don’t understand [This book documents through global research how males and females use language
differently. Particularly helpful to anyone working in a “coed” team.]
Thompson, Michael – anything of his, but especially Raising Cain
Governance
DeKuyper, Mary Hundley, Trustee handbook: a guide for effective governance for independent school boards
Chait, Richard P., Thomas P. Holland and Barbara E. Taylor, The effective board of trustees
Chait, Richard P., William P. Ryan and Barbara E. Taylor, Governance as leadership: reframing the work of nonprofit boards
Inspiration
Edmundsen, Mark, Teacher: the one who made the difference [This UVA professor looks back at his senior year in high school to identify
why that one teacher transformed his attitude toward learning.]
Esquith, Rafe, Teach like your hair's on fire
Friedman, Thomas, The world is flat
Gladwell, Malcolm, Blink -- and his earlier The tipping point
Johnston, Michael, In the deep heart’s core [Teach For America teacher in Mississippi for 2 years.]
McCourt, Frank, Teacher man
Rogers and Widmer, Owned by the land: global education
and the environment
Sittenfeld, Curtis, Prep
[Novel about a female scholarship student in an elite boarding
school. Potential springboard for discussion about girls’
and boys’ development and social pressures,
as well as class issues in schools].
Leadership
Collins, Jim,
Good to great
(especially useful is the related monograph for non-profits)
How do you move an organization from being” good enough” to being great?
Goleman, Daniel, et. al.,
Primal Leadership (or
read his earlier
Emotional Intelligence)
[Explores how high emotional intelligence enhances leadership.
His earlier book delineates what emotional intelligence
is.]
Goleman, Daniel,
Social intelligence
Covey, Stephen,
The 7 habits of highly effective people
Evans, Robert,
The human side of change
Evans, Robert,
Family
matters: how schools can cope with the crisis in
childrearing
Feldman, Daniel A.,
The handbook of emotionally intelligent leadership
Fournies, Ferdinand F.,
Why employees don't do what they're supposed to do!
Hughes, Marcia and James Bradford Terrell,
The emotionally indulgent team: understanding and developing the behaviors of
success
Keirsey, David,
Please understand me and
Please understand me II
[David Keirsey’s take on the Myers-Briggs temperament styles
assessment. Useful in helping understand why conflict happens
and how to interact more rationally
with others.]
Learning, Deryl, editor,
Managing people: a guide for department chairs and deans
Lynn, Adele B.,
The emotionally intelligent activity book
Sergiovanni, T.,
Rethinking leadership (collected articles_ -- his other books are worth a look, too.
Wheatley, Margaret,
Leadership and the new science
[Read this if you are uncomfortable when things fall outside your control!
]
White, B. Joseph, with Yaron Prywes,
The nature of leadership: reptiles, mammals and the challenges of becoming a
great leader
Learning
Brown, Thomas,
Attention deficit disorder: the unfocused mind in children and
adults
Danielson, Charlotte,
Enhancing professional practice: a framework for teaching
[Covers the four domains of teaching responsibility (planning & preparation,
the classroom environment, instruction and professinal responsibilities).
Her approach to teacher evaluation is considered particularly helpful.]
Dweck, Carol, Self-theories: their role in motivation, personality and fevelopment
Gardner, Howard,
Multiple intelligence
Hallowell, Edward,
Driven to distraction: recognizing and coping with attention deficit disorder
from childhood through adulthood
Levine, Mel,
A mind at a time
Shenck, Dr. Jeb,
Learning, teaching and the brain
Strauch, Barbara,
The primal teen: what the new discoveries about the teenage brain tell us about
our kids
Organizations and Community Building
Bolman and Deal,
Reframing organizations
Lawrence-Lightfoot, Sara,
The essential conversation: what parents and teachers can learn from each other
Sergiovanni, T.,
Building community in schools
