I made it a goal in the 2020-2021 school year to read a book each month. I've read some good teaching books like Teach Like a Pirate, Teach Like a Champion, and The Innovator's Mindset. These are full of wonderful ideas for teachers and even life, but I wouldn't call them "great." I got the Audible app and have listened to some books, some outside my usual genre like The Dutch House which was narrated by Tom Hanks and was fun listen to; Where the Crawdads Sing, which was way outside my choices but I really enjoyed it. But I wouldn't call them "great" either. I listened to Alex Trebek's autobiography called The Answer Is whiched I really loved but it wasn't great. I'm currently listening to a self-help book called Feel Better in Five which will make me a better person and actually feel better, too. But I still wouldn't call it great. I think my definition of a great book is pretty hard to fit into.
I received a grant for children's books that teach about different cultures, races, racism, segregation, and diversity. Reading them to my students has not been easy. They can make us uncomfortable and force us to evaluate our own beliefs. I have about 50 books to read. I was nervous to begin, but my students love them. They enjoy the conversations we have after. And, I feel like I am doing something to change the world if only the beliefs of 19 small children in a rural town of Idaho. Here are three of the books that I think, and my students would agree, have been GREAT:
1. The Proudest Blue - A story about Hijab and introduced my students to Muslim culture in a beautiful way.
2. Separate Is Never Equal - About the segregation of Mexican school in California. I had NO idea this happened. With five students of Latin origin in my classroom, this was powerful!
3. Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History and Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History: One page snippets on so many important people that we didn't know about. A black US Marshall in the Old West. A recent female gymnast that broke the race barrier in the 90s. Inventors, poets, scientists, professors, authors. So many. It was hard to stop reading each day.
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