Here are a few of the books that I've recently been reading that I would like to share with you. You can see previous recommendations here.
Interested in buying one of these books? Click on the book title and a portion of your purchase at Amazon will support MRH.
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Title: Instructional Rounds in Education
Author: Elizabeth City, Richard Elmore, Sarah Fiarman, and Lee Teitel
Notes: A good description about how to take the “walk through” concept to the next level in terms of focusing on quality instruction. Richard Elmore, one of the authors, is a favorite researcher of mine. He knows quality professional development and how to make a difference in school culture. I am excited to begin this work with our principals next fall. |
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Title: Curriculum 21
Author: Heidi Hayes Jacobs
Notes:While I sometimes find Jacobs’ work formulaic, this collection of essays about reinventing education is fresh and worth reading. Two chapters in particular are useful to our work here at MRH: digital portfolios by David Niguidula and educating for a sustainable future by Jamie Cloud of Cloud institute. |
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Title: Megacommunities
Author: Reginald Van Lee, Mark Gerencser, Fernando Napolitano, and Christopher Kelly
Notes: A provocative book that offers advice about how groups of businesspeople and organizations such as schools can come together to solve complex societal problems. As we explore the school’s role in the broader community, this kind of reading is important. |
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Title: Little Bee
Author: Chris Cleave
Notes: Another fabulous book set in Africa. Recommended by an avid reader, our newest board member, Brooke Rintoul, this book is a stunning story of two women from very different worlds whose lives intersect on a beach with tragic consequences. I have to admit I read it in one day. The treatment of women in many countries in Africa is the theme of this book—but the two lead characters will totally captivate you. I laughed outloud…and I cried, as well. |
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Title: Cutting for Stone
Author: Abraham Verghese
Notes: Wow! This book, the first piece of fiction by the author who is also an MD, is spectacular. The novel is set in Ethiopia, and is a hefty 500 pages; so make sure you have a few days you can devote to reading, because you won’t be able to stop. The story’s major characters include twin boys born to Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a nun working in a small clinic in Africa. But there are a whole range of other wonderful characters who sweep you into this story. The country itself is richly described as are fascinating medical procedures. The details only deepen the pleasure of a fantastic story about coming of age, love, and the power of families. Definitely worth reading. |
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Title: Olive Kitteridge
Author: Elizabeth Strout
Notes: Elizabeth Strout has written an amazing book—in fact it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. I think perhaps I am taken with it because of my age. Olive, the main character, and I are close to the same age, but mostly I am blown away by the startling clarity of the writing and the depth of the characters. The book is written as a collection of vignettes about the people living in a small town in Maine. Their lives are complex, and the book probes deeply into the human condition. I couldn't put it down. |
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Title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Author: Lisa See
Notes: Another great book. See explores the circumscribed lives of Chinese women in the early 1800s. She bases the book on a secret Chinese language invented by women over 1,000 years ago so that they could communicate with one another without men understanding. I have to admit the chapter in which the girls have their feet bound was incredibly hard to read, but it is a gripping story about women's roles and their ability to find ways to meet their needs. |
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