5 Inspiring Reads For Professional Growth

Throughout the school year, teachers receive professional development based on the district and the school’s initiatives, mandates, and curriculum programs. This consists of workshops being 6+ hours long jammed packed with a lot of information with little time afterward to digest, discuss and assess the value of the PD in itself.  Most of the time teachers leave overwhelmed, confused and exhausted. I remember most PD days to be completely dreadful sitting in a cold lecture room surrounded by a large number of teachers. I would find some way to multitask, still listening to the lecturer, but making good use of my time by grading the many papers that needed attention, writing an endless to-do list and outlining lesson plans. I would also find myself eating every snack in my bag before noon, counting the minutes to lunch. Sound familiar? I bet you’ve been there too.

Like many teachers who have a natural yearning for learning and growth, I took my professional development into my own hands. I wanted more than one and done workshops to help me grow as an educator. Because I am an avid reader, I began taking note of all of the trending books on social media for educators that are relevant to today’s schools, students and teachers. I couldn’t wait to start reading them and practically devoured them one by one, making meaningful connections to what I already do well as an educator and making notes of what I could do better. This fuel excited and inspired me and has been the key to my own professional development.

But as each school year comes to a close, no teacher wants to hear anything about professional development. But we teachers know that summer is, yes a break from students, but not from learning, planning and growing. It’s actually a critical time of year to reflect upon the previous year’s successes and challenges. I talk about this in my post, 5 Ways to Declutter & Reflect- The Mindset of a Teacher. I’ve always taken the first 6 weeks or so to unwind, reflect, enjoy some quality time with my family and friends, and read a few good books I’ve been waiting to read until school is out that has zero to do with education. But just like that, as soon as August rolls back around, it’s time to prepare for the next school year.

So what I’ve done and suggested to other teachers is partaking in some light, inspirational PD of your own over the summer with one or more of these 5 books to help you grow professionally. I mean the kind of PD that doesn’t preach district curriculum and mandates but actually helps you deliver the curriculum in a way that will bring out the rock star educator in you so you could teach with passion and purpose. And what I love most about self-directed PD is that it’s so easy. It doesn’t feel like another chore or a PD workshop. You could read on your own terms and at your own pace. You could put a couple of these books into your pool bag, beach tote or read one while you swing on a hammock all while soaking up the sunshine. All the fresh new ideas you ingest and properly digest, along with a poolside cocktail, will be ready to implement at the start of the next school year. You’ll feel recharged, rejuvenated and ready to teach on.

5 Inspiring Reads For Professional Growth

The Wild Card: 7 Steps to an Educator’s Creative Breakthrough

I bet you’ve seen this one around social media lately. It’s been the talk of many educators. If you’re not following teachers and authors, Hope and Wade King, you’ll want to for some inspiration and ideas. This book is about experiencing your creative breakthrough by infusing your own passions into your teaching to deliver killer content creatively. The biggest takeaway from this book is the room transformations. You’ll learn how to set the stage for amazing learning experiences using props that truly engage and motivate your students to learn. Check out my post, It’s Showtime: Increasing Student Engagement to a Whole New Level, for some ideas. And if you are really feeling like you want some inspirational PD that you or your school district could foot the bill, take a look at Get Your Teach On, hosted by Hope King and Deanna Jump. It’s on my list for PD in the near future.

Teach Like a PIRATE: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life as an Educator

I just love the PIRATE acronym because these 6 words couldn’t be more on point:  Passion, Immersion, Rapport, Ask & Analyze, Transformation and Enthusiasm. You’ll learn how to increase student engagement so students want to be in your class and fully engage in learning. You’ll learn how to tap into your own creativity that enables you to infuse your own passions into your teaching.  You’ll build lasting and memorable relationships with your students. You’ll transform yourself into the educator you always wanted to be. It’s a whole new way of looking at teaching and experience a transformation in how you feel while teaching. Every pirate has a hook, read about my storytelling hook here.

I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything for Our Kids

There were so many eye-opening concepts in this book that will change the way I view students regarding family structure, socioeconomic status, building relationships and one that made me really do some deep thinking, students dealing with grief. You could read that post here. Not only is this book eye-opening to so many realities our students are facing, but asking your students this one question is a game-changer in itself.  Read all about it and then try it with your students. I bet you’ll be extremely surprised by the results. I was.

Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom (The Norton Series on the Social Neuroscience of Education)

Feeling a bit stressed or frustrated with the challenges in education from the never-ending demands, student behaviors and other things that are out of a teacher’s control? Learning mindfulness techniques can help you both professionally and personally in managing the day to day stress. And incorporating mindfulness practices into your classroom by teaching your students to engage in these techniques is powerful. You’ll learn how to revitalize your teaching and classroom community with mindfulness practices. Read about practicing mindfulness in the classroom here.

The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity

This book is all about innovation, bringing life to the innovative educator that molds students into innovative thinkers. It’s about the mindset behind embracing change to do amazing things which brings forth opportunity and possibility in the future of education. This book is definitely for you if  “you are a teacher who wants to create relevant learning experiences and help students develop the skills they need to be successful,” (Couros, 2015).

All of these books have a similar theme of fostering and nurturing the creativity within yourself to do great things that will not only fulfill yourself as an educator but will motivate and encourage your students to reach their fullest potential. Often times with the hustle and bustle of the school year, teaching the “curriculum” and standards, plus the added pressure of standardized tests, creativity gets lost in the mix and is sometimes forgotten altogether. Educators may need a gentle push in the right direction to find their creativity to properly channel it into their teaching.

So over the summer while you are needing that much needed and well-deserved break, see if you could fit in a little self-directed PD. You’ll see that a little goes a really long way.

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