There’s heat in the air, humidity that refuses to lift, and an itch in your feet to walk on green grass rather than plush carpet. That’s right, summer’s here! While the classrooms are empty, there’s no need for learning to stop. So spend some time this summer catching up on your recommended reading and that professional development webinar you’ve been meaning to watch.
The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way
by Amanda Ripley
On its surface, the basic structure of the book doesn’t seem all that exciting. However, The Smartest Kids in the World becomes a fascinating case study of global teaching pedagogy. Ripley puts her investigative reporting skills to use when she follows three students during their year in a study abroad program. What’s unique about these high-performing American students is that each spends his or her year in countries categorized as “high performing” according to international standardized testing. Using a combination of the students’ narratives coupled with research and data from Ripley’s observations on the various educational systems and how they help (and hurt) their students, The Smartest Kids in the World becomes a fascinating glimpse into how a school’s mission influences and molds the young people of the world.
Recommended ISM Webinar: Student-Centered Teaching and Leading: What Does It Look Like? with Barbara Beachley
World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students
by Yong Zhao
Entrepreneurs are lauded as the way to save the economies of Europe, the U.S., and even Australia through immigrants and “economic disruption.” And so, if entrepreneurs are so important to the stability of the world, it stands to reason that today’s students should be prepared accordingly. (Or, at least, possess that quality of adaptability in a rapidly changing environment for which successful entrepreneurs are renowned.) If you’d like your educational focus to shift from test scores to more creative thinking, pick up World Class Learners.
Recommended ISM Webinar: The Changing Role of the 21st Century Division Head with Bill Simmer
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
by Seth Godin
“A tribe,” begins Godin, “is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea”—and this tribe needs a leader in the same way that a leader needs a tribe.) In Tribes, Godin describes this symbiotic relationship between the head of a group and the group itself, how to unite the group through mutual desires—in the case of private schools, a desire to educate and connect—and the necessity of a leader to, well, lead.
Recommended ISM Webinar: Establishing the Roots: The Power of Effective New Teacher Induction Programs with Bill Simmer
Additional ISM resources:
ISM Monthly Update for Admission Officers Vol. 12 No. 10 Summer Reading for the Admission Office: Recommended Books and Webinars
ISM Monthly Update for Development Directors Vol. 12 No. 10 Summer Reading for the Development Office: Recommended Books and Webinars
ISM Monthly Update for Division Heads Vol. 11 No. 5 Must-Reads for Division Heads in 2014
Additional ISM resources for Gold Consortium members:
I&P Vol. 35 No. 3 The 21st Century School: Curriculum and Technology
I&P Vol. 34 No. 13 The 21st Century School: Teaching Time
I&P Vol. 39 No. 6 Leadership Findings: A Review
