Dare to Lead | Brene Brown Brown writes books about vulnerability, shame and courage. It’s written for leaders (typically CEOs, admin leadership, military leaders) but as she says in the introduction - it is for everyone who is a leader (which can be anybody, especially classroom teachers). At first I thought I was way over my head to be reading it but it was AMAZING and groundbreaking for myself as a teacher and as a new professional. It is applicable to the functions and underlying emotions behind student behaviors and has really evolved the way I think in the classroom (as well as with interacting with administration and colleagues). Click here to read more.
The Gifts of Imperfection | Brene Brown In this book, Brown shares ten guideposts for wholehearted living and breaks down the types of shame that all humans will experience, young or old, consciously or subconsciously. To be aware of your own shame "gremlins" as she refers to them is very powerful, as you can learn more about the gremlins that your students, your students' parents, and your colleagues might night facing. Click here to read more.
Braving the Wilderness | Brene Brown Braving the Wildness was a personal favorite, and is more applicable to being a professional and how to understand as well as defend your values in both personal and professional contexts. The book was guided by Brown's search to understand one of Maya Angelou's quotes on belonging and being rooted in your beliefs. Click here to read more.
Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire | Rafe Esquith Esquith, an LA-based Grade Five teacher, shares the curricular and life skill methods used in his classroom. Each chapter follows a different subject area theme, but he sprinkles life skill lessons and powerful messages throughout the book. This was a quick read, and a great reminder to all teachers that you must be "all in" for this profession. Click here to read more. Click here for Esquith's other book, Lighting their Fires.
The Growth Mindset Coach: A Teacher's Month-by-Month Handbook for Empowering Students to Achieve | Annie Brock and Heather Hundley This book differentiates growth and fixed mindsets - both for teachers and students. It gives great mini lesson ideas to convey these ideas and theories to students. It also opened my eyes to the behaviors of students, colleagues and even friends and being able to identify fixed mindset attitudes vs growth mindset attitudes. It is set up to read a chapter each month of the teaching year, which different projects to pursue with your students each month, but can also be read as a typical chapter book. Click here to read more.
Pushing the Limits: How Schools can prepare our students today for the challenges of tomorrow | Kelly Gallagher-Mackay and Nany Steinhauer This is a Canadian book for excellent educators across the country doing phenomenal work in their classrooms. It provides many meaningful learning examples (such as solving social justice issues in math, genius hour, and incorporating FNMI in science), and does so thoroughly. It also places a large focus on socio-emotional learning and the focus on working with parents and the community to raise our students (with an interesting case study on the politics and response to Ontario’s sexual health education curriculum in elementary schools). a must-read for Canadian educators. Click here to read more.
Kids These Days | Jody Carrington I have not read this book yet, but have heard many recommendations. Jody Carrington is a children's psychologist and i known for her humor in her speaking and writing. She spoke to the Educational Assistants of my school's division, emphasizing that "educational assistants are the heart of the school". Click here to read more.
No-Drama Discipline and The School Discipline Fix These books were recommended by Dr. Kendra Massie from Livingstone Range School Division. For more information on No-Drama Discipline, click here. For more information on The School Discipline Fix, click here.
Envisioning a Collaborative Response Model: Beliefs, Structures, and Processes to Transform How We Respond to the Needs of Students l Kurtis Hewson, Lorna Hewson, Jim Parsons I have not read this book yet, but believe it is important for upcoming educators to read as it is a huge movement with in the educational community right now. Because so much of education is collaboration and working together to empower students, the collaborative response model is being used in many schools, division-wide. Click here to read more.
Julia Cook is an author and parenting expert based in Nebraska. She has a extensive library of books that aim to "actively involve young people in fun, memorable stories and teach them to become lifelong problem solvers". Visit "Printables and Documents" to see a document that lists over 75 book titles on a variety of topics, including test anxiety, depression, health and hygiene, lying, and sexual abuse. A link to her website is listed below.