As an avid reader, summer is usually a time for me to indulge in the rom-com genre. I like ’em light and fluffy with just the right amount of spice. I have a K–12 teacher friend who stocks up on all the bestsellers for the summer, so my summer usually kicks off with a visit to her bookshelf! While I don’t have my whole summer off like I used to as a teacher, I do read a lot more over the summer than I do the rest of the year.
This year, I have ambitions to read three “educator” books that the busy spring just didn’t allow me time to read.
The Joyful Online Teacher: Finding Our Fizz in Asynchronous Classes by Flower Darby
Darby’s first book, Small Teaching Online, had a huge impact on my work as we navigated the swift pivot to online learning during the pandemic. My lovely colleague, Leva Lee, and I facilitated a book club, and we even had Darby appear in our final Zoom meeting! So it was a no-brainer when I heard that a new book was coming out—I pre-ordered it. I look forward to unlocking the book’s promise of “accessible and common-sense hacks for connecting with students, finding passion, navigating the structural inequities of higher ed, and more—all with a focus on building rapport and relationships, the central ingredients for happiness and satisfaction.”
The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI by Tricia Bertram Gallant and David A. Rettinger
This book has been mentioned in more blogs and Zoom rooms than I can count! My brilliant colleague, Dr. Gwen Nguyen, will use this book for her book club this fall, so I want to make sure I am ready for it. The book promises a “positive, forward-looking, research-backed vision for what classroom integrity can look like in the GenAI era,” and I’m here for it!
Everyday Acts of Facilitation: Learning to Facilitate Through Life’s Ordinary Moments by Beth Couglar Blom
I enjoyed Blom’s first book, Design to Engage, and also enjoy listening to her podcast, Facilitating on Purpose, when time allows. The act and skill of facilitation are probably among the most important aspects of my current role as an advisor in learning and teaching, and they are skills I want to continue honing. Blom’s latest book invites us “to notice how the mindsets, skills, and strategies of facilitation show up in everyday life—and why they matter when you’re leading meetings, learning events, or collaborative work of any kind.” I am accepting the invitation with open arms!
Have you read any of these on my list? What was your takeaways? Perhaps you have other recommendations that I could tackle this fall?
Either way, I hope you find yourself on a beach this summer with sunblock, great company, and a book that’s exactly what you need—whether that’s spice, wisdom, or a little of both.