Book Review – Be The Flame by Shane Saeed

The folks at ConnectEDD Publishing have quickly built a stable of quality books and resources for the education world. Their most recent addition to their quality publications is Shane Saeed’s Be The Flame: Sparking Positive Classroom Communities.  This is going to be a great book for educators as they seek ways to inspire learning in the 21st Century Classroom.

If you are looking for answers to the following questions, this is the book for you, your department, your school and your district.

  • How do you establish and maintain rapport?
  • What activities can encourage teamwork?
  • How do you continue to build community throughout the school year?

In the introduction, Shane describes where she got the term “be the flame.” It was through her father and mother who would always encourage Shane to be a positive leader in the community. Fast forward to her adult years as an educator, and Shane wanted to honor the flame that her parent instilled in her for everyone else! Hence the title, and the analogies made throughout the book. Be careful… this book is HOT!!

There are 8 chapters to the book. Each chapter has a resource at the conclusion to encourage the reader to take action either personally or professionally. She also integrates voices from her students, colleagues and  inspirational professional development.

Teachers must stoke the momentum of the community they’ve started in the classroom and use it to create a community of collaboration ~ Shane Saeed

Here are some highlights from the book that any educator could use to integrate into their classroom immediately:

  • Building positive relationships with students and parents
  • Creating a classroom community
  • Developing a collaborative approach to learning
  • Lesson plans with specific outcomes to support a positive classroom community

Throughout the book, Shane shares vignettes that are helpful to the reader to truly understand the “why” behind positive classroom communities. I felt these reflective stories were powerful because it revealed Shane’s ability to convey a message to the reader that, although teaching is rewarding, there is a lot of work that goes into it. There are bumps and bruises along the way, and Shane does a great job of incorporating these into the book.

Teachers must keep the flame ablaze within themselves to continue lightning flames within the people they impact ~ Shane Saeed

Shane is committed to keeping the conversations going with the reader. She encourages you to stay connected with her on Instagram (@fantasticallyfourth) , Twitter (@saeed_shane) or email. Order the book by clicking here.

About the Author

Spike Cook, Ed.D., Principal, Lakeside Middle School, Millville, NJ. In addition to being a Principal, Dr. Cook published two books through Corwin Press (Connected Leadership: It’s Just a Click AwayBreaking Out of Isolation: Becoming a Connected School Leader). He is the co-host of the popular PrincipaPLN podcast and his blog, Insights Into Learning, was recognized as a finalist for Best Administrator Blog by the EduBlog Awards. Spike earned his Doctorate from Rowan University and is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Masters of School Administration Program He is featured in Twinkl’s 30 Education Influencers You Need to Follow and Klear’s Top Ten Middle School Influencers. Dr. Cook is also on the Education Advisory Board for Whole Health Ed. Connect with @drspikecook via Twitter, YouTube,  LinkedInFacebook or Instagram.

 

 

Book Review – Permission to be Great by Dan Butler

Who doesn’t need permission to be great? According to Dan Butler in his new book Permission To Be Great: Increasing Engagement In Your School, we all need permission.

Let’s face it. The past two years of educating in a global pandemic has wrecked havoc on every aspect of teaching, learning and leading. This is exactly why Dan Butler wrote the book. He realizes that we have a seemingly insurmountable amount of factors that are impacting the future of teaching and learning.

Because everyone in the school setting can build skill from the content provided in this book, this was written for all educators, including current and aspiring school leaders. ~ Dan Butler 

Dan’s permission begins with a very overlooked and underused application… a how to use the book. In the How to use  section, he outlines four specific “look for” or “intentions.”

  1. Stories from the field – Learn about success stories from educators, students and families all over the world.
  2. Practical research, leadership and experiences – Dan provides easily to understand research to ground his theories and assertations.
  3. Enlightenment enhancers – Each chapter concludes with 4 simple and impactful ways you can implement the information right away in your classroom, school or district.
  4. Caring for you –  Dan gets educators. We are in the service industry and spend many hours caring for others. What are we doing for our own self care? Throughout the book he outlines 8 tactics that are simple and effective to help you fill your own bucket.

Chapter 1 – The Problem

This chapter is focused on the overarching problem facing education today… burnout. Throughout the chapter, Dan provides a rationale for how we got into this “problem” and more importantly, how we can take control again.

Chapter 2 – Balancing workload, control and autonomy 

In recent years we have begun to wear our business with pride. Just take a look through social media and you can see numerous examples of all types of folks discussing how they are up at 4:00 AM, have 17 side hustles, workout for 3 hours, spend time with their family and eat like a champion. What impact does this have on others? Well, it has had the adverse effect of motivation. In fact people feel guilty for just saying no to an event or sitting on the couch and decompressing. Dan provides ways to stay motivated and to put in processes that protect your precious time.

Chapter 3 – Practicing encouragement, recognition and appreciation 

This chapter is full of examples and innovative ideas on how to take your passion to the next level. Whether you are a teacher or an administrator, there are numerous easy to implement strategies that will have you filling others buckets while not draining your own.

Chapter 4 – Building community and relationships 

Dan spends a considerable amount of time in this chapter focusing on the aspects of a health community. Faced with a shutdown of the school for two to four weeks, Dan recounts the early days of pandemic education and what he learned from the experience. He and his team put in many successful initiatives during this experience to put community first.

Chapter 5 – Focusing on values and fairness

When was the last time that you or your team or district spent time exploring what they value? In this chapter, Dan provides a very systemic process that anyone can use to determine what their team values. In addition, he provides guidance on what to do with that information once you have collected it.

Dan concludes Permission to Be Great with a very touching story about what teaching and learning is all about. It definitely brings everything together from the book and answers the question on why we need permission to be great.

If you would like to purchase this book, click here.

About the Author

Spike Cook, Ed.D., Principal, Lakeside Middle School, Millville, NJ. In addition to being a Principal, Dr. Cook published two books through Corwin Press (Connected Leadership: It’s Just a Click AwayBreaking Out of Isolation: Becoming a Connected School Leader). He is the co-host of the popular PrincipaPLN podcast and his blog, Insights Into Learning, was recognized as a finalist for Best Administrator Blog by the EduBlog Awards. Spike earned his Doctorate from Rowan University and is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Masters of School Administration Program He is featured in Twinkl’s 30 Education Influencers You Need to Follow and Klear’s Top Ten Middle School Influencers. Dr. Cook is also on the Education Advisory Board for Whole Health Ed. Connect with @drspikecook via Twitter, YouTube,  LinkedInFacebook or Instagram.

Book Review – Disruptive Thinking in our Classrooms: Preparing Learners for their future

Book Review – Disruptive Thinking in our Classrooms: Preparing Learners for their future. Author Eric Sheninger 

Eric has done it again! As the author of several best selling books designed specifically to make education better (click here for his list of books) and more importantly, poised for the future, Disruptive Thinking In Our Classrooms is an instant paradigm changer.

The book is separated into 4 parts that allow the reader to sequentially explore the process of disruptive thinking. Educators from the classroom to the Board offices need to read this book and get the conversations started in their districts about how they can unleash the 21st century learning environment and truly prepare our learners for the future.

Part One – Rethinking Normal

Educators often tell the students, parents and community that we are preparing them for work. Do we really know what the future of work is or isn’t? In this section, Eric discusses the advances in the world of work that have catapulted us into the world of the 1960s cartoon, The Jetsons. Eric provides the reader a futuristic perspective on automation, job availability, division of labor, workplace responsibilities, and lifelong learning.  The only constant in the future is disruption, the unusual, and change.

Part Two – Rethinking Learning

If the first part of the book didn’t make you rethink the future and the various trends on the horizon, the second part will. Today, tomorrow and next week we have kids sitting in our classrooms (virtual or in person) and time is ticking. We need to act now, and according to Sheninger, this can happen (and must happen). Eric has visited hundreds of schools, talked with thousands of educators around the world, and studied with the most progressive authors during the past few years. In this section, he clarifies the important, albeit essential, aspects of the effective learning environment.

One the big takeaways from this part is that, for the most part, we know the type of learning environment we should be creating for kids and teachers. It should be relevant, with high levels of questioning, activities, collaboration, interdisciplinary, and applicable. Sheninger provides easy to understand explanations, charts and graphs about what the learning environment should look like to get the most of the experience for the learner. My favorite terms to describe the environment in this section is Sticky Learning.

Part Three – Rethinking the Learner 

Now that you have gone through the why and the how, in this part Sheninger provides you with a thorough explanation of the who… The Learner. In the Disruptive Thinking paradigm the most important part of the equation, according to Sheninger, is personalization. To help guide this discussion, Eric asks some guiding questions that can help educators gain perspective into personalization.

  1. Are the learners telling us what they know, or showing what they understand?
  2. Who is doing the work and the thinking?
  3. Who is asking or developing the questions?

In order for this new, personalized focus on the learner, schools are going to need to examine their perspective on curriculum, instruction, pedagogy, and assessment data. The gatekeepers at the top of the organizational structure will need to understand personalization and give up the management, top down style of leadership for this to work. Rigor is key with this process and so is a GROWTH MINDSET!

Part Four – Rethinking our Mindset

Moving forward into the 21st Century, Disruptive world, Sheninger will make you re-think everything you thought was working such as:

  • Zeros
  • Grades
  • Feedback
  • Homework

In addition, Eric provides sound advice on the climate and culture that needs to be developed for all this to work. He encourages teamwork, positivity, diversity, empathy, understanding and caring.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you are looking for a book that is going to disrupt your thinking and change the learning opportunities for your learners than this is the book to purchase immediately. If you think that disruptive thinking and growth mindset are a passing fad, then you desperately need to read this book. Please don’t let the future slip away for our learners by clutching onto the past.

To purchase this book – Click here 

About the Author

Spike Cook, Ed.D., Principal, Lakeside Middle School, Millville, NJ. In addition to being a Principal, Dr. Cook published two books through Corwin Press (Connected Leadership: It’s Just a Click AwayBreaking Out of Isolation: Becoming a Connected School Leader). He is the co-host of the popular PrincipaPLN podcast and his blog, Insights Into Learning, was recognized as a finalist for Best Administrator Blog by the EduBlog Awards. Spike earned his Doctorate from Rowan University and is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Masters of School Administration Program He is featured in Twinkl’s 30 Education Influencers You Need to Follow and Klear’s Top Ten Middle School Influencers. Dr. Cook is also on the Education Advisory Board for Whole Health Ed. Connect with @drspikecook via Twitter, YouTube,  LinkedInFacebook or Instagram.

Book Review – Project Based Learning by Ross Cooper and Erin Murphy

Project Based Learning : Real Questions. Real Answers. How to Unpack PBL and Inquiry.~ Ross Cooper and Erin Murphy

Author Erin Murphy with a copy of the book!

If you are looking for a boring educational book then this book is not for you! In Project Based Learning: Real questions. Real Answers. How to Unpack PBL and Inquiry, Ross Cooper and Erin Murphy have assembled a very interactive and engaging book designed to help educators transform learning for our children.

Right from the beginning Cooper and Murphy start with WHY. How important is this? Well, there has been extensive research showing that any new learning needs context so if you start with the why then you are on the path! Cooper and Murphy discuss their perspectives as learners and then go into a chapter that is filled with supporting details and research.

As a parent of two daughters, I worry about the educational systems that might make my daughters or any child, feel that learning is just about moving information from a textbook to a worksheet rather than the thrill of discovery ~ Erin Murphy

After they discuss the why, Cooper and Murphy take the reader on the road to how.  As professional development experts, they discuss how they have implemented it and more importantly, trained others to use it in their classrooms. They suggest a three step process to implementing PBL in the classroom:

  1.  Plan with the end in mind.
  2.  Plan the assessments.
  3.  Plan the teaching and learning.

Cooper and Murphy provide charts, graphs and narratives describing the process with such clarity that you will feel fully supported during your journey!

Throughout the remainder of the book, Cooper and Murphy help practitioners tackle difficult subjects such as grades, conferencing, direct instruction and working with colleagues during the process.  According to Cooper, “I was given a copy of Fair Isn’t Always Equal by Rick Wormeli as a administrative intern. Unfortunately, I put it on my bookshelf and didn’t get back to in until I became an assistant principal. Once I read it, I was floored by the ways the author’s ideas and philosophies disagreed with my own. I realized that my practices and the research were out of line. I committed many classic mistakes such as averaging grades, grading group work and forcing students to adhere to strict deadlines when handing in assignments.” As you can see, the authors are committed to Reflective Practice and sharing their growth with the reader!

Assessment says, “I want to help you,” while grading says, “I want to judge you.” ~ Cooper and Murphy

The concluding chapters of the book help the reader with the heavy lifting. How are you going to build a PBL culture? I was really impressed that they spent a huge segment of the book addressing culture. As one of my favorite Peter Druker quests came to mind, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Cooper and Murphy provide a great deal of support to the notion of prioritizing students over the curriculum as well as having a growth mindset about the process. Often times, as they point out, PBL can appear chaotic with the control of the learning squarely on the learner’s back. Cooper and Murphy will not only help you with managing the chaos, they also provide research-based support systems to ensure that learning is occurring during the entire process. These support systems can help with administration, parents or critics who wonder… what is even going on in there?

If you are considering Project Based Learning, I highly recommend this book. Cooper and Murphy’s process will ease any anxiety you have about switching the learning to the students. Then, as you implement the process, the authors will be a tweet away for support.

Continue the learning with PBL and connect with Ross Cooper and Erin Murphy on Twitter.

About the Author 

Spike Cook, Ed.D., Principal, Lakeside Middle School, Millville, NJ. In addition to being a Principal, Dr. Cook published two books through Corwin Press (Connected Leadership: It’s Just a Click Away; Breaking Out of Isolation: Becoming a Connected School Leader). He is the co-host of the popular PrincipaPLN podcast and his blog, Insights Into Learning, was recognized as a finalist for Best Administrator Blog by the EduBlog Awards. Spike earned his Doctorate from Rowan University and is featured in their Alumni Spotlight. He is featured in Twinkl’s 30 Education Influencers You Need to Follow and Klear’s Top Ten Middle School Influencers. Dr. Cook is also on the Education Advisory Board for Whole Health Ed. Connect with @drspikecook via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram.

 

Book Review – Transforming School Culture

Source: Amazon.com

Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division, Anthony Muhammad

Book Review – Spike C. Cook, Millville, NJ

Are you looking for a leadership book on school culture that integrates data, practical advice, and strategies tailored to your school’s unique needs? Honestly, anyone who is an administrator in a school is looking for such a book! In Transforming School Culture (2nd Edition) Anthony Muhammad provides a road map for aspiring and current school leaders who are interested in addressing the daunting task of improving school culture. For this new edition, Dr. Muhammad has updated the research, added a frequently asked questions section, and added further guidance to equip leaders to take their school’s culture to the next level.

Throughout the first section of the book, Dr. Muhammad provides an overview of the current reform movement as well as a detailed analysis on the four types of educators he found in schools while doing his research. The four types of educators and their goals:

  • The Believers are focused on the core values of healthy school culture, feel that all students can learn and that they have a direct impact on student success.
  • The Tweeners are new to the culture and still experiencing the honeymoon phase.
  • The Survivors are a small group of educators who are burned out, overwhelmed and struggle to survive.
  • The Fundamentalists are vehemently opposed to change and through political power become a major obstacle in reform. They are usually against the Believers.

Source: slideshare.net Linda Hopping

As you read the brief overview of the four types of educators, did these descriptions make you think about your faculty? If you had to group your faculty into the four groups, how long do you think it would take? According to Dr. Muhammad, identifying these four groups is essential in understanding the real culture of the school. The next step, and perhaps more difficult, is to take action so that you can transform your school culture. Through this work, you will learn how (and why) to transform the culture by developing the following:

  1. Systemic focus on learning
  2. Celebrating the success of all stakeholders
  3. Creating system of support for Tweeners
  4. Removing the walls of isolation
  5. Providing intensive professional development
  6. Implementing skillful leadership and focus

These six steps may appear more difficult to implement because of the overwhelming tasks required to operate a school with the demands of the 21st century. Have no fear because Dr. Muhammad provides practical, easy to implement exercises to support you on your journey. All you will need to do is put the framework provided into practice!

In the final chapter, Dr. Muhammad includes the questions he has encountered from the emails, messages as well as the in-person discussions since the release of the first edition in 2009. These questions will resonate with you as you may have already penciled them into margins as you read the book. For instance, one of the questions could spark a much needed conversation on the four types of educators such as what if a Fundamentalist believes that he or she is a Believer? I can honestly say I thought the same thing!

In conclusion, Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division 2nd Edition will be worth the read. Dr. Muhammad understands school culture not only as a researcher and author, but also as a former teacher, vice principal, and principal. He led a staff transformational process in a high poverty, high minority school with a toxic, low expectation school into a nationally recognized school and earned a Principal of the Year in Michigan for his efforts.

 

Spike C. Cook, Ed.D. is Principal of Lakeside Middle School in Millville, NJ. Connect with him via twitter @drspikecook or check out his personal blog drspikecook.com.