Adrian's Top Five

Five short books I plan to squeeze in before school starts.

Aug 05, 2024

Today, I am officially back at work. I’m currently setting up my classroom for the first day of school next week. This is always a bittersweet time. I’m excited for the start of another school year, and sad that I can’t keep spending my days reading, writing, and napping. My Want To Read pile is bigger than what I have time to actually read before students arrive. Nonetheless, here are five books I plan to squeeze in this week that will help me mentally prepare for the first day of school.

1. Imagine if… Creating A Future For Us All by Sir Ken Robinson and Kate Robinson

I’m sure you remember where you were when you first watched Sir Ken Robinson’s famous TED talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity. Robinson’s talk was the first TED talk that I ever watched, and it resonated with me so deeply, that I committed myself to rehumanizing my pedagogical practice. I want my classroom to be a place that nurtures students’ creativity, not stifles it in the name of high standardized test scores.

Robinson since recorded three more inspiring lectures and written a dozen books before his passing in 2020. Imagine If… is his final education manifesto about the power of imagination. When Robinson received his cancer prognosis in August 2020, he asked his daughter and collaborator, Kate Robinson, to finish writing this book. I’m excited to, once again, be inspired by his rallying cry before school starts.

2. Acting Exercises for Creative Writing (A Pocketful of Drama) by Sam Marsden

I discovered Sam Marsden’s work on X (formally known as Twitter). I was lucky enough to win a copy of her latest book, Acting Exercises for Creative Writing. I’ve been saving this book to read for the beginning of the school year because I’m sure it will give me tons of great ideas for creative writing experiences for my students. If drama and the theater are something you are interested in doing with your students, she has a number of other books that look awesome. Drama helps students with creativity, critical thinking, empathy, social skills, and storytelling. My goal is to incorporate more imagination and drama into my classroom learning experiences this year.

3. In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing by Elena Ferrante

I love peeking inside writers’ minds; reading about their creative process, influences, and ideologies. I knew nothing of Elena Ferrante (a pseudonym1) before picking up this short collection of essays/lectures. She is best known for her four Neapolitan Novels, which tell the life story of two very observant and intelligent girls, Lila and Lenu, born in Naples in 1944. From what I’ve read about her talents as a writer, I’m eager to read Ferrante’s monograph on the nature of writing. I have a feeling that I may get swept up in Ferrante Fever and read more of her novels this year.

4. 176 Days: A Teacher's Diary of an Unexpected Year by Gregory Michie

Gregory Michie is a retired Chicago public school teacher of 30+ years. When I returned to the classroom after a stint as a instructional coordinator, I read Same as It Never Was: Notes on a Teacher’s Return to the Classroom. I fell in love with his storytelling! I wish that I could have had the chance to work with Michie during his career. His experiences in the classroom and his commentary on public education is spot on. I once reached out to him on social media to ask about his “Playlist of My Life” project. I was looking for a way to improve a similar project I do with my own students. He generously shared some tips and encouraged me to incorporate a variety of media (TV, music, movies, etc.) with the project.

In August 2022, Michie decided to document his final year in the classroom before retiring. 176 Days is his incredible story of being unexpectedly assigned to teach 425 K-8 students. Reading about the “messy and sometimes beautiful realities of life in [his] Chicago classroom” reminds me that learning is never a straight line.

5. The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manuel by Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider

I had been meaning to read A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door for years before I finally picked up a copy at the beginning of summer. I learned that Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider were coming out with a new book, The Education Wars, and I took this as my chance to finally read A Wolf at the Schoolhouse. This book may be concise (156 pages), but it outlines, in detail, the core issues driving the education wars and offers hope about what “public education can be.” If I’m going to continue fighting for public education, then I need to read this book right now.

Whether you are returning to school soon, or you still have a few more weeks of summer left, I hope you all make some time to squeeze in whatever makes you happy.

Here’s to a new school year. Have a great week!

— Adrian

This is a great interview with Sam Marsden. I love how passionate she is about theater and drama education! Marsden discusses Acting Exercises at the 13:32 mark.

The Lying Life of Adults is based on Elena Ferrante’s 2019 novel of the same name. It is an incredible coming-of-age story with strong female characters taking place in Neapolitan neighborhoods in the mid-1990s. The Lost Daughter, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and based on another Ferrante novel, is also incredible.

If you would like to read 176 Days and do not have access to the paperback, I recommend you read his Substack where he posted it in its entirety.

Berkshire and Schneider discuss why there has been prolonged conflict over schools and what motivated them to write Education Wars. If you are doing a book club, check out their discussion guide.