The Smartest Person in the Room I’ve long believed that the smartest person in the room is the room—that is, the collective wisdom, curiosity, and experience of the people gathered together. As educators and leaders, we know this intuitively. We’ve seen the magic of collaboration when ideas spark across difference, when someone says “me too,”…
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Thanks to Adam Grant for this recommendation ~ I picked this book up because of its subtitle: “Why We Fight about Morality and Politics, and How to Find Common Ground.” The idea of “Common” is of great interest to me, and I found great meaning in this book of the power of commonality. His thesis…
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This book caught my eye from the cover design, and seeing that the forward was by Simon Sinek. This is very readable, and accessible, through Hadeed’s storytelling, and synthesis of leadership lessons that have made her the successful entrepreneur and business mind that she is today. Published in 2017, this book is more relevant…
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“The Future is Analog” (2022) is David Sax’s follow up to “The Revenge of Analog” (2016). In this very readable, incredibly well researched, with a wide diversity of people referenced and interviewed, David Sax offers a welcome version of the future based on the tough lessons that we’ve learned through our experiences of the pandemic….
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In organizations such as Independent Schools rich in history, precedent, tradition and long-standing community members (faculty and families), there is a lot of inertia to move these schools into position of agility, responsiveness and ‘new’. “New Power: How anyone can persuade, mobilize and succeed in our chaotic connected age”, by Heimans and Timms, offers a…
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We listen to views that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard (Grant, 4) What a great read – accessible, humorous, and important. Think Again, by Adam Grant is a great read that provides compelling reasons why we need to think in different ways, and how to do so. The…
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This book offers an outstanding approach to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It tackles the issue of racism at the neuro-psychology level, and offers strategies and a practice for how to breakdown and rebuild our unconscious, implicit biases. Shakil Choudhury began his consulting career focussing on anti-indigenous racism, and this echoes throughout the book, and the…
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From the author or “The Road to Character” this is his follow up non-fiction book about the Quest for a Moral Life. This book was recommended to me by a professional colleague, and as I was reading it, I kept wondering about the connections to the role of an educator. This is not a book…
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It is a happy coincidence that I read this book Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett as I was also researching student agency. Emotions and agency are inextricably link through the cognitive processes, such that: “The three most important aspects of learning – attention, focus, and memory – are all controlled by our emotions, not…
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The school where I work is an incredible place to be, especially this time of year. The capacity of giving and thoughtfulness know no bounds, as does their holiday spirit! Our sustainability initiatives are extending and being integrated into long-standing programming: something as simple as hot chocolate mornings requiring students to bring their own mugs,…
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