January Books

If you work, anywhere, you need to read this book.  Tony Schwartz lays out how our current way of working (long hours, lots of meetings, endless deadlines, etc) is not working--for us, or even for the bottom line.   He shares research and strategies on how to manage our happiness and work life balance by addressing four areas: sustainability/physical, security/emotional, self-expression/mental, significance/spiritual. Each chapter is chocked full of actionable ideas, and common sense solutions to workplace ills.  Because of this book, I know make sure all meetings I plan are 90 minutes or less, I take walks outside to find renewal in the middle of the workday, and I see myself as the Chief Energy Officer.

This was a great book to start the year with--it's kind of New Year's Resolutions on steroids.   I appreciated learning about the happiness research embedded in the story of Gretchen living our her Happiness Project. The book actually inspired me to adopt monthly resolutions.   My favorite so far?  Go to sleep with a clean house.  Game changer.

Leadership and Self-Deception

I got this book from my sister for Christmas.  Thanks, Maddi!  I was surprised I'd never heard of it--it's apparently quite well known in the business world.  It's definitely a business book, about how we deceive ourselves at work (and home) by failing to see others as people.   It's told in a narrative--we follow Tom as he learns from his boss Bud and others at Zagrum Company.  The narrative format makes the book very digestable.  As a fan of concrete examples and stories, this book delivered--every new idea is introduced with stories and actual examples, rather than elaborating on research.   Leadership and Self-Deception has actually benefited me at work, and caused me to understand why some of my work relationships weren't exactly where I wanted.   Definitely a good read for anyone who interacts with other people. :)

Because of Mr. Terupt

Having just finished Wonder over Christmas break (Fantastic read--without doubt it's the first book I'll read aloud to my firth grade class when I'm back in the classroom), I was in the mood for more in the feel-good classroom genre.

I definitely enjoyed Because of Mr. Terupt, though not as much as Wonder.  It's the story of a new fifth grade teacher who finds a way to reach all of his kids, and puts a lot of trust in them.  Just as he's about to win over even the most stubborn holdouts, something happens. 

  Both stories are told from the viewpoints of several of the characters, but Palacio does a more convincing job of portraying the emotions and experiences of a variety of characters.   That said, I enjoyed the book by Rob Buyea (an elementary school teacher himself) and would definitely encourage my students, and even adults, to read it if that genre sounds appealing to you.

52 Books in 2014

One of my resolutions is to read 52 books this year--an average of one a week.   It took me a while to compile the list, but here it is.   I leave lots of blank spaces for books that I discover, or rediscover, and want to read throughout the year.

52 Books in 2014

Because of Mr. Terupt 1/5/2014	Leadership & Self-Deception 1/12/2014	The Happiness Project 1/19/2014	Be Excellent At Anything 1/26/2014
Matched 2/2/2014	Start With Why 2/9/2014	My Name is Asher Lev 2/16/2014	2/23/2014
The International Bank of Bob 3/2/2014	The Fifth Wave 3/9/2014	3/16/2014	3/23/2014
Uncle Tom’s Cabin 3/30/2014	The Casual Vacancy 4/6/2014	Teach Like a Champion 4/13/2014	4/20/2014
Made to Stick 4/27/2014	Middlesex 5/4/2014	5/11/2014	5/18/2014
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People 5/25/2014	To Kill a Mockingbird 6/1/2014	6/8/2014	Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls 6/15/2014
Bossy Pants 6/22/2014	The House on Mango Street 6/29/2014	7/6/2014	7/13/2014
How to Win Friends and Influence People 7/20/2014	Dear Life 7/27/2014	8/3/2014	A Thousand Splendid Suns 8/10/2014
Make Just One Change 8/17/2014	The Alchemist 8/24/2014	8/31/2014	9/7/2014
Unbroken 9/14/2014	Zeitoun 9/21/2014	Helter Smelter 9/28/2014	10/5/2014
Ghostly Matters 10/12/2014	Phantom Tollbooth 10/19/2014	David and Goliath 10/26/2014	11/2/2014
Proof of Heaven 11/9/2014	The Orphan Master’s Son 11/16/2014	11/23/2014	11/30/2014
Leading So People Will Follow 12/7/2014	12/14/2014	12/21/2014	12/28/2014

You Know You're a Fourth Grade Teacher When...

1.  You're listening to Rihanna in your car and you incorporate the sign language for simile into your dance moves ("...shine bright like a diamond...").

2.  You're calling parents on a Friday night, after sending home progress reports, just to to tell them how great their kid is.

3.  You listen to the chorus of the Owl City song at the end of Wreck-it Ralph and think, "Wow, I should show this to the kids--that's three different sound spellings for long o."

4.  Your biggest smile of the week is when the class multiplication average goes from 74 to 82.

5.  You can't stop thinking long enough to fall asleep because you're so worried about creating differentiated instruction so that all of your kids reach their big goals and get the education they deserve.

Cabin 2012

I rounded out my summer of traveling with my annual trip to Grandpa Smiley's cabin in Wood River, Wyoming.   It is probably my favorite place in the world.  My friend John Strott accompanied me for the trip and it was amazing.  Amazing.

 

The 14-hour ride is make so much sweeter by Maddi's homemade ice cream...

...and beautiful scenery along the way.

We hiked...

....saw incredible views of pristine wilderness...

...and basked in Wyoming awesomeness.

You know it's legit when you get your water from a mountain spring.

Probably my favorite cabin activity--picking wild raspberries.

We drove through Yellowstone on the way home.

Perfect Procedures

I taught this workshop today.