You’ve had a year! (We’ve all had a year…) As you read this, we hope you are gearing up for some downtime — in a hammock, on a beach, wherever you find peace and joy. We hope you’ll dive into the kinds of hobbies and leisure pursuits you love and the reading that gives you pleasure. For our nonfiction enthusiasts, our summer reading list is here, and we’ve opted to share a short and varied list of reads, knowing that your time is particularly precious this year. Our hope is that these suggestions will inspire and strengthen us as we pursue authentic human connections, empathy, dialogue, future focused thinking, and physical and emotional well being. We also hope the readings give us new lenses on learning and how we develop as learners at any age and any stage. Let us know what you think!
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant is a GLP favorite! We’ve recommended it to many of you as a great summer read for faculty and staff, but this is a read for everyone! “Lifelong learning” feels like a tired phrase: Of course we want it, but what does it really mean? This book tackles that question head on, helping us reframe how we think, learn, “unlearn” and “rethink” as our essential work -- as the author acknowledges how challenging this is when you consider our natural human tendencies. For educators, this is a treatise on what meaningful deep learning looks like -- and this book may provoke some new thinking about teaching. For all of us, Grant leads us into an exploration of how we build these cognitive skills - and why they matter.
Digital Body Language: Author and speaker Erica Dwahan is a long time friend, and her leadership journey is remarkable! I’m so excited to share Erica’s newest book Digital Body Language. Her insightful, empathetic and research-based knowledge of how we build authentic connections and communicate across platforms, cultures, time zones and screens is what we need NOW. This book is ripe with concrete examples, specific suggestions, and tips that are immediately actionable. Read it for your own work, and please share it with colleagues, young leaders, new employees, and students. And for more inspiration in this vein, consult Adam Grant’s Summer Reading list (where Erica’s book is featured).
Not Light, But Fire by Matthew Kay reads like a book for all of us: educators, parents, leaders, and anyone interested in facilitating inclusive and meaningful dialogue about race, or any relevant and challenging issue. Kay strives to engage us in dialogical approaches that promote deeper learning, empathy, and connection. He’s clearly a master facilitator, and his practical tips and examples are both accessible and actionable. His stories will resonate with anyone who has wondered how to work through high stakes topics with students (and adults) when diverse perspectives, emotions, and experiences are at the center. Most of all, his ability to convey the “how” and offer practical solutions will inspire readers to action.
The Education We Need for a Future We Can't Predict: Thomas Hatch has written a short, succinct, and compelling call to action that speaks to change at a variety of levels, from the schoolhouse to society. He quips: “Conventional schools are a better medium for spreading disease than they are for supporting meaningful learning.” I don’t think he was writing for a pandemic, but oh how this statement resonates. He offers plenty of specific and practical guidance, which he summed up in the table posted below. This is a short but powerful read, and it will speak to any person interested in educational policy and practice.
Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding: I had a friend who used to ask, with a bit of snark, “Have you ever seen a happy jogger?” I devoured this book because it answers this question! Author Daniel Lieberman is a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard who takes an anthropological, historical, and biological approach to the question of why we exercise (and why we we should exercise) even though we are not “hardwired” to do so in the way most of us exercise in the modern age. This book is a great example of the richness of transdisciplinary work and how truly interesting questions about health and exercise lie at the intersections of science and culture. You do not need to be an athlete to appreciate this book — couch potatoes will find it to be witty, engaging, and rich with fascinating research.
Getting to Yes: I always like to offer a “classic” on our Summer Reading List and Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and WIlliam Ury is one of my all-time favorites. This short and succinct primer on negotiation holds up beautifully in the context of today’s highly polarized culture. The word “negotiation” is often associated with making a deal with a strategy for winning in any context where there may be competition, opposing positions, or a lack of trust. Fisher and Ury reframe negotiation as a process to explore and address interests rather than positions. Every conversation can be understood through the lens of negotiation, and Getting to Yes reminds us that a winning negotiation is all about good questions, active listening, and empathy based solutions building. Read this book now, and reread it if it has been a while.
Changing the Subject: Twenty Years of Projects at High Tech High: Wondering what rigorous, relevant, and real world project based learning design looks like? Here’s a resource guaranteed to inspire educators and students alike! Jean Kluver and Jeff Robin have collected and curated a set of 50 High Tech High projects from across the years. The projects span K-12, integrate the curriculum, and connect with the community in interesting and important ways. I've just received an advance copy of the print edition and it is visually stunning, full of detail about the learning objectives for each project, and inspiring narratives that describe both the experience for students and the outcomes for educators and learners—it's beautiful! You can view the whole book online here and order a copy at cost if you're interested.
