Back
to School September
means backpacks, school supplies, new clothes and lunch boxes. Students
shake off the lethargy of summer and begrudgingly return to the
classroom. Moms and Dads celebrate nationwide. (Well, my parents
used to celebrate anyway. Three months of me running around with
baseball bats, surfboards and their money every summer left them
muttering about year round boarding school each August.) So as you
start to navigate carpool lines, attend PTA meetings and dole out
lunch money, here are a few books that celebrate what goes on in
America’s schools:
Absolutely American: Four
Years at West Point by David Lipsky
Lipsky followed one entire class through
their four year experience at West Point and gives us detailed portraits
of a diverse class, showing us evidence that the students are able
to retain their personalities under the strict military discipline.
Never before had an author been granted such sweeping access to
West Point and Lipsky delivers a great, engaging book.
The Essential 55: An Award-Winning
Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every
Child by Ron Clark
Clark was recently featured on Oprah
as one of the best teachers in the nations and was also honored
as a Disney Teacher of The Year. His 55 rules don’t apply
just to the classroom but also to a young person’s life. The
rules are fun, practical and relevant and it’s easy to find
yourself yearning to become a student in Clark’s class.
The Freedom Writers Diary
: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves
and the World Around Them by Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell
The story is familiar – a young,
ambitious teacher goes to work in a rough school and changes their
lives. Gruwell did that with her class in California and this book
is comprised of her students’ journals. The stories, revelations
and lessons are interesting and emotional. This book demonstrates
the great things that can happen in America’s classrooms.
Girls Will Be Girls: Raising
Confident and Courageous Daughters by Dr. JoAnn Deak
Deak attempts to answer many of the
questions raised in the popular Reviving Ophelia.
Stressing communication and understanding, Deak lays out a structured
plan for raising young girls in today’s complicated world.
She offers terrific scenarios and examples and while not offering
a guaranteed solution, her ideas make sense.
Crossing the Water: Eighteen
Months on an Island Working with Troubled Boys-a Teacher's Memoir
by Daniel Robb
Robb worked as a teacher for a year
and a half on an island off of Cape Cod where a progressive school
takes in young men classified as juvenile delinquents. The school
attempts to not only educate them but provide them with a sense
of normalcy in their lives. Robb’s account is beautifully
written and often moving. If you choose one book off this list,
make it this one.
The bell’s ringing – don’t
be late!
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