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Summer reading
What have you read this summer that inspired you as a teacher, education leader, parent or community member who cares about schools? What did you learn?
What have you read this summer that inspired you as a teacher, education leader, parent or community member who cares about schools? What did you learn?
So far this summer, I’ve managed to read;
--Becoming Madame Mao, Anchee Min’s historical novel about Chiang Ching, who became both a leader and a victim of China's misnamed and tragic Cultural Revolution.
--Kathleen Cushman’s Fires in the Mind, a wonderful book that gave me lots of new insights about what motivates and inspires young minds.
--Bill Ayers’s To Teach, The Journey in Comics, which I used in teaching my middle-school endorsement course at UIC this summer. Teachers loved it.
--Organizing for Educational Justice: The Campaign for Public School Reform in the South Bronx by Michael Fabricant. The title speaks for itself.
--The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama by David Remnick. An interesting perspective on Obama’s rise to power in the historical setting of the struggle for African-American freedom. Confession—I’m quoted which is the only reason I bought the book.
This will sound dull compared to Mike's lively list, but it's important to know for all of us working and thinking about schools.
--"Writing to Read: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading," by Steve Graham and Michale Hebert, published by the Carnegie Foundation. Especially important for school people who just might conclude that cancellation of the IL state writing test next year means schools don't have to teach it. Of course as Director of the Illinois Writing Project, I'm pleased to see such a study confirm what good teachers already know.
--"investigating the Links to Improved Student Learning," by Karen Seashore Louis et Al., from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and U. Minn. Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement. A whole group of studies showing that the leadership strategy that most improves student achievement is to create collaborative community in a school. Charles Payne, I'm sure you're pleased to see this.
Note to Mike Klonsky from a past exchange: Your question about % of North Lawndale College Prep kids graduating from college is a good one. I just haven't had the time to contact the school about this.