MRH Earns "Grand Prize Magna Award" for Joe's Place
MRH Earns "Distinction in Performance" Award
2012 MRH Homecoming - October 5, 2012
Linda's Bookshelf
Here are a few of the books that I've recently been reading that I would like to share with you.
Interested in buying one of these books? Click on the book title and a portion of your purchase at Amazon will support MRH.
Professional Reading
This book is a must read for contemporary school administrators. Hargreaves deal with the realities of school today and the critical need to prepare our students for their future. He pushes hard on traditional mental models about school and school leadership. His focus on sustainability brings to light important aspects of schooling we are short shifting. A readable, profound book.
I first heard Ron Berger speak about his classroom over ten years ago when I was attending a conference on assessment at Harvard. I was totally blown away by his work. As an elementary teacher, he was able to coax amazing things from his students. The commitment to quality was breathtaking. This little gem of a book was the heart of our recent administrative retreat. We gathered for two days to talk about our own students' work and how we can encourage that same dedication to high quality. I am pleased that Berger is influencing the work we do.
Focus: Elevating the Essentials
I have seldom read a book where I had such conflicting responses. Part of Schmoker’s advice is just spot on. For example, he hits really hard the importance of content area reading. He suggests students in every grade should be reading at least 35 books a year. This prompted us to survey our reading requirements, and several teachers are beefing up reading requirements. On the other hand, Schmoker regards technology as a distraction and suggests the major pedagogy should be lecture. I think he has been out of the classroom too long. Mike, meet today’s teens.
View Professional Reading Archives
Personal Reading
I noticed a lot of kids carrying around these three science fiction books, and they seemed really hooked on them. I picked the trilogy up and read them over Thanksgiving. While sometimes I felt as though I was playing a video game, the books have a good story line and wonderful characters. These books have quite a bit of violence so I wouldn’t recommend them to students below middle school, but I think they would make for great conversation about humanity, the rights of all people, authority, the role of adults and lots of other topics. Right now five people in my family are reading them after I talked about them.
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
Nothing I love more than a great historical biography and this one is absolutely spectacular. David gave it to me for Christmas, and I can’t stop reading it. Rich detail and spectacular narrative bring this amazing woman to life. Massie’s work reads like a novel, bringing the tapestry of Russian royal life into wonderful clarity.
While this book is not as good at Bel Canto, which remains one of my all time favorites, it is certainly a worthy read. Set in the Amazon, the book conveys strong images of life in the jungle. Patchett, of course, is very skilled at creating intriguing characters, and this book is no exception. We have the passionate scientist determined to find the secrets of a tribe hidden deep in the jungle, the cool and calculating businessman, and the main character who is frequently caught between them. A good summer read.
