Read is part 4 of a 13 part series, 13 Ways Teachers Can Hack Their Learning.

Read!

No, I’m not being ironic. Reading is a pretty popular activity in the United States, with over 75% of adults having read at least one book in the last year. As school teachers, we  get caught up in all of the reading we do for our job and forget about making time for non-job related reading.

Why?

Reading fiction opens up stories and insights into the human condition. It is a way for use to experience the thoughts, emotions, activities of others, and reflect on the choices made by characters in the stories. Yes, I’m preaching to the choir here, but we sometimes forget to make time for ourselves.

I try to read fiction before going to bed. It helps settle the mind down from the rush of the day, and helps me sleep better.

Although fiction has its place, non-fiction is also important, even if it has nothing to do with your day job. Books like Who Moved My Cheese, Drive, and The Tipping Point provide valuable insight into how a school district, school, and classroom could be run.

Some recommendations

This is not an exhaustive list of books that you should read, it is just a list of books that you might find interesting. These are books that I’ve read that I found profound, interesting, or relevant.

Fiction

I’ve been really weak in the fiction department. That was part of the reason I added this to the list, hopefully it will motivate me to read more fiction. There is too much non-fiction in my life!

I’m currently working on Gone Girl, and want to get it finished to read Ready, Player One. I did read The Martian last year, and recommend it (although there is some rough, but understandable given the situation, language). It’s a great book on ingenuity and working the problem.

Non-Fiction

• Drive by Daniel Pink
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu