The Sad Little Fact (Jonah Winter and Peter Oswald)

 

When you put these kinds of things into a picture book, somehow it becomes so profound! While this is a book for kids, it might be a great one to use with older kids when talking about discerning AI or fake news or conspiracy theories. My guess is there will be a lot of people of a certain political persuasion who will NOT like this book. Another Goodreads reader said it should be paired with The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet. I'll definitely check that one out too!

Goodreads says:

In these days of fake news and lies masquerading as truth, comes a read-aloud to prove the truth is out there, just waiting to be discovered.

Follow a sad little fact who is locked away for telling the truth. In its underground prison, it meets other facts, all hidden away because they could not lie. Finally, with the help of a few skillful fact-finders, the facts are able to spread truth- something that ultimately can't be denied.

Though some people continue to ignore them, the facts are out in the world ready for anyone who wants to hear, because "a fact is a fact," and that's that.

The Wrong Way Home (Kate O'Shaughnessy)

 

It's so weird how themes show up in my reading. I got this book out of the library at the beginning of summer. I think it was because it was a Newberry Honor Award winner. I didn't read it right away, let it auto-renew. The last book I read was Cultish - and then I picked this one up....about a young girl who has escaped from a cult. 

I thought it was well written. I loved the metaphors: They go to a place called the Lighthouse Motel - a lighthouse, a place that helps guide ships away from the dangerous shore. She's being guided along but doesn't necessarily buy into her mom's decisions - instead, wants to return to the cult. The whole story is a race between her figuring out how to get in touch with the cult leader to try to return and realizing the truth of the situation. 

She does come to a slow realization of important things she has missed out on while being away from society for six years. She is really behind in school, doesn't know some of the foundational concepts that are regularly talked about, doesn't know about modern medicine, has never been around anyone different than herself (her mom's godmother is gay and has lost her wife and the librarian she meets in gender neutral). Some of the reviews I read were upset that there were gay and gender neutral characters in the book. I thought the author did a pretty good job of including some of the things she would have never been exposed to. 

I really enjoyed this read. I think it would be more appropriate for middle school. Cults are a big topic for anyone younger. I think it would be interesting to see what kids think of the mother not being totally upfront with her daughter about all the issues around why they left.

Notes:

p. 11: Standard cult leader talk (discipline then love bomb): You have so much potential, Fern. Do you know that? It's deep inside, but it's there. You walk through the world so small, shoulders rounded, eyes down. That's why I was hard on your before. With your sweater. Because you're like me. I can see it. Inside you're strong. Destined for greatness. You have a quiet strength, a quiet power. We just need to break the shell. 

p. 82 Just like most kids, Fern isn't fazed at all that Birdie and Babs are a gay couple: She and her wife, Birdie, were my godparents." Mom pauses for a moment. "Well, are my godparents. At least Babs still is. Birdie passed away a while ago."

"Oh," I say. I try to take in all this new information. "What's a godparent?"

p. 193 Fern is confused by the librarian's appearance:
But now that I'm standing closer, I'm not actually sure if Wren is a she or a he. I mean to ask for some book suggestions, but instead a different question slips out.

"Sorry, are you a girl or a boy?"

The librarian - Wren - raises an eyebrow. The left one. The one with two silver hoops threaded through it. "And how, pray tell, is that any of your business?"

The librarian is angry. Or annoyed. It must have been a rude question. On the Ranch, there are more women than men, and all the women keep their hair long and the men grow out their beards, so it's easy to tell everyone apart, even when they wear the same kind of clothes. That's the way Dr. Ben likes it. The rules are so different out here.
"I'm sorry. I'm ignorant," I say, using Havana's word. "It means I don't know a lot of things."
The librarian's face softens. "Hey, it's okay. Neither do a lot of people."
And then Wren goes on to explain they go by "they", not "he" or "she". That is a gender-neutral pronoun because they identify as gender-fluid. "There are two boxes society tries to put you in when it comes to gender, and I don't fit in either one. A lot of people don't."
I'm surprised we haven't heard more about this on the Ranch. Dr. Ben is always telling us we should write our own rules, especially when it comes to thinks society tells us.
"I didn't know you could do that," I say. "It makes a lot of sense. Thank you for explaining it to me."
That seems to be the right thing to say, because now Wren is grinning at me. "It's funny. Kids seem to grasp this concept a lot faster than adults....."

Later in the book Birdie and Wren are mentioned again to say that they're dating.

p. 220 Metaphor of home:  Fern and Eddie are trying to prove that the ghost, The Spirit of the Sea, doesn't exist. One night they see it though.  Fern is quite convinced by what she sees that maybe the ghost IS real, however, Eddie, who has more experience in the world, rejects that this could be real. She hypothesizes that it is someone playing a trick:

Looking with my naked eye from down here, on the beach, all I can see if that bobbing, wavering light. It flickers in and out. I imagine hundreds of years of sailors, lost at sea. I think of Birdie. And I like the idea that there will always be someone - a ghost of someone = beckoning them home no matter how far they've drifted.

p. 223 I know Eddie and I are trying to prove the opposite- that the Spirit of the Sea is a big fake, an imposter.

But I'm exactly like those people the article is talking about. All I want is to find my way back to the people I love.

I wish there was a light for me in the darkness. Held up by someone who wanted to help me. A light to guide me home.

Goodreads says:

Twelve-year-old Fern believes she's living a noble life--but what if everything she's been told is a lie?

Fern’s lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid, sustainable community in upstate New York, since she was six. The work is hard, but Fern admires the Ranch's leader, Dr. Ben. So when Fern’s mother sneaks them away in the middle of the night and says Dr. Ben is dangerous, Fern doesn't believe it. She wants desperately to go back, but her mom just keeps driving.

Suddenly Fern is thrust into the treacherous, toxic, outside world. At first she thinks only about how to get home. She has a plan, but it will take time. As that time goes by, though, Fern realizes there are things she will miss from this place—the library, a friend from school, the ocean—and there are things she learned at the Ranch that are just...not true.

Now Fern will have to decide. How much is she willing to give up to return to the Ranch? Should she trust Dr. Ben’s vision for her life? Or listen to the growing feeling that she can live by her own rules?

Why Fascists Fear Teacher (Randi Weingarten)

 

Bottom line: Fascists don't want people to read or learn
Trump: Fascist
Alberta is headed that way too.
Well worth the read!

Goodreads says:

America’s most influential teacher’s union leader tells the anti-fascist history of public education, warning that American teachers today are under a new fascist assault--from book bans to culture wars and organized groups of “concerned” parents dictating what can be taught.

In 1940, as Hitler was gaining power and territory across Europe, a Nazi puppet government was put in power in Norway.  Teachers were among the first to publicly resist their rule—and they were winning. Frustrated that their attempts to recruit teachers into the party failed, the Nazis barged into Norway’s schools, beating teachers and students. When they still refused to submit, the Nazis closed the schools.  But the teachers figured out how to teach in private.  Increasingly incensed, the fascist government sent 1,300 teachers to concentration camps and 500 others to forced labor camps.  Even there, teachers kept teaching--and students kept learning how to think for themselves.  

As the head of one of the largest teacher’s union in the country, Randi Weingarten sees firsthand how today’s teachers are guarding American democracy against the threat of fascism. Drawing on history and decades of experience in the American public school system, she argues that teaching students to think critically is the key to defeating would-be dictators. She encourages teachers to continue promoting difference and healthy debate in their classrooms, and warns against censorship and complacency, looking to history to warn us all about what can happen if we devalue teachers and public schools.

Part history and part call to arms, Why Fascists Fear Teachers is a manifesto for American teachers from the author that Trump-appointed former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo once called “the most dangerous person in the world.” This deeply researched, urgent book from teachers’ greatest champion is necessary reading for our times.

Maple and Rosemary (Alison James)

 

A happier tale than The Giving Tree. It actually would be interesting to read each of them side by side and discuss the differences with kids. 

Learning, growing, loving. It's wonderful how the tree and the girl enjoy time together.

Goodreads says:

A touching story about a sugar maple tree who finds a lifelong friend when a young girl comes to seek comfort in its branches.

For the longest time, Maple was on her own, ignored by the cedars and the pines. All she wanted was a friend she could talk to. Then one day, Rosemary climbs into her branches, sad and searching for a friend of her own. Together they form a bond as real as roots.

Through the seasons and across a lifetime, Maple and Rosemary tells a story of true friendship, one in which the experiences we share become a part of who we are.

Alison James’s spare, eloquent text is accompanied by luminous illustrations that capture the shifting seasons in all their glory, by Jennifer K. Mann, creator of the much-acclaimed picture book, The Camping Trip.

Hank Goes Honk (Maddie Powell-Tuck)

 

We had a lesson today on taking risks and being okay with making mistakes. Our YDC taught the lesson and at the end of the lesson she has brought in two (boiled) eggs...although she didn't tell them they were boiled. She called out a name and tossed it to some kids. The first two caught them (and let out a BIG sigh of relief because they didn't know they were boiled). The last one dropped the egg and was embarrassed and we talked about how it was okay. It was a boiled egg and no harm done. Her relief was huge. We then talked about the things she could say to herself when she makes mistakes. It all seemed very real after feeling a little embarrassed and worried about the interaction.


Goodreads says:

This humorous picture book for children ages 3-7 explores the themes of friendship and being considerate of others.Hank is a very loud, very rude goose, and his friends don't like it one bit. Will he ever find a way to be more considerate of others?Start of a character launch, pub seasons on BR and HC!Hank is one rude goose. He doesn't see anything wrong with interrupting others when they're speaking. He helps himself to the cherries on the top of other people's cupcakes. He makes loud noises in the library and movie theater...and he's upsetting everyone!But being rude, loud, and obnoxious can't always be fun--in fact, it can be downright lonely. Will Hank find a way to be more considerate of his friends? This humorous story presents the themes of friendship, recognizing others' feelings, and being considerate of those around us. Start of a character launch, pub seasons on BR and HC!

Think Again (Adam Grant))

This book was really good. Adam Grant always is really good. Rethinking what you think you know is a key to lifelong learning.

Goodreads says:
Think Again is a book about the benefit of doubt, and about how we can get better at embracing the unknown and the joy of being wrong. Evidence has shown that creative geniuses are not attached to one identity, but constantly willing to rethink their stances and that leaders who admit they don't know something and seek critical feedback lead more productive and innovative teams.

New evidence shows us that as a mindset and a skilllset, rethinking can be taught and Grant explains how to develop the necessary qualities to do it. Section 1 explores why we struggle to think again and how we can learn to do it as individuals, arguing that 'grit' alone can actually be counterproductive. Section 2 discusses how we can help others think again through learning about 'argument literacy'. And the final section 3 looks at how schools, businesses and governments fall short in building cultures that encourage rethinking.

In the end, learning to rethink may be the secret skill to give you the edge in a world changing faster than ever.
 

Notes:

p. 19 Stephen Greenspan and his sister made the choice to invest with Bernie Madoff....Greenspan says that he should've known better, though, because he happens to be an expert on gullibility. When he decided to go ahead with the investment, he had almost finished writing a book on why we get duped.

p. 65 The Yoda Effect: "You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned
Interesting person to research and follow: Jean-Pierre Beugoms as well as his associates at GoodJudgment.com

p. 73 If we're insecure, we make fun of others. If we're comfortable being wrong, we're not afraid to poke fun at ourselves. Laughing at ourselves reminds us that although we might take our decisions seriously, we don't have to  take ourselves too seriously. Research suggests that the more frequently we make fun of ourselves, the happier we tend to be. Instead of beating ourselves up about our mistakes, we can turn some of our past misconceptions into sources of present amusement.

If you choose to make fun of yourself out loud, there's evidence that how people react depends on your gender. When men make self-deprecating jokes, they're seen as more capable leaders, but when women do it, they're judged as less capable. Apparently, many people have missed the memo that if a woman pokes fun at herself, it's not a reflection of incompetence or inadequacy. It's a symbol of confident humility and wit.

p. 73 Jean-Pierre Beaugoms has a favorite trick for catching himself when he's wrong. When he makes a forecast, he also makes a list of the conditions in which it should true - as well as the conditions under which he would change his mind. He explains that this keeps him honest, preventing him from getting attached to a bad prediction.

p. 260 Top 30 Practical Takeaways:

I. Individual Rethinking

A. Develop the Habit of Thinking Again

1. Think like a scientist. When you start forming an option, resist the temptation to preach, prosecute, or politick. Treat your emerging view as a hunch or a hypothesis and test it with data. Like the entrepreneurs who learned to approach their business strategies as experiments, you'll main the ability to pivot.

2. Define your identify in terms of values, not opinions.  It's easier to avoid getting stuck to your past beliefs if you don't become attached to them as part of your present self-concept. See yourself as someone who values curiosity, learning, mental flexibility, and searching for knowledge. As you form opinions, keep a list of facts that would change your mind.

3. Seek out information that goes against your views. You can fight confirmation bias, burst filter bubbles, and escape echo chambers by actively engaging with ideas that challenge your assumptions. An easy place to start is to follow people who make you think - even if you usually disagree with what they think.

B. Calibrate Your Confidence

4. Beware of getting stranded at the summit of Mount Stupid. Don't confuse confidence with competence. The Dunning-Kruger effect is a good reminder that the better you think you are, the greater the risk that you're overestimating yourself-and the greater the odds that you'll stop improving. To prevent overconfidence in your knowledge, reflect on how well you can explain a given subject.

5. Harness the benefits of doubt. When you find yourself doubting your ability, reframe the situation as an opportunity for growth. You can have confidence in your capacity to learn while questioning your current solution to a problem. Knowing what you don't know is often the first step toward developing expertise.

6. Embrace the joy of being wrong. When you find out you've made a mistake, take it as a sign that you've just discovered something new. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. It helps you focus less on proving yourself - and more on improving yourself.

C. Invite Others to Question Your Thinking

7. Learn something new from each person you meet. Everyone knows more than you about something. Ask people what they've been rethinking lately, or start a conversation about times you've changed your mind in the past year.

8. Build a challenge network, not just a support network. It's helpful to have cheerleaders encouraging you, but you also need critics to challenge you. Who are your most thoughtful critics? Once you've identified them, invite them to question your thinking. To make sure they know you're open to dissenting views, tell them why you respect their pushback - and where they usually add the most value.

9. Don't why away from constructive conflict. Disagreements don't have to be disagreeable. Although relationship conflict is usually counterproductive, task conflict can help you think again. Try framing disagreement as a debate: people are more likely to approach it intellectually and less likely to take it personally. 

II. Interpersonal Rethinking

A. Ask Better Questions

10. Practice the art of persuasive listening. When we're trying to open other people's minds, we can frequently accomplish more by listening than by talking. How can you show an interest in helping people crystallize their own views and uncover their own reasons for change? A good way to start is to increase your quesetion-to-statement ratio.

11. Question how rather than why. When people describe why they hold extreme views, they often intensify their commitment and double down. When they try to explain how they would make their views a reality, they often realize the limits of their understanding and start to temper some of their opinions.

12, Ask "What evidence would change your mind?" You can't bully someone into agreeing with you. It's often more effective to inquire about what would open their minds, and then see if you can convince them on their own terms.

13. Ask how people originally formed an opinion. Many of our opinions, like our stereotypes, are arbitrary; we've developed them without rigorous data or deep reflection To help people reevaluate, prompt them to consider how they'd believe different things if they'd been born at a different time or in a different place.

B. Approach DIsagreements as Dances, Not Battles

14. Acknowledge common ground. A debate is like a dance, not a war. Admitting points of convergence doesn't make you weaker - it shows that you're willing to negotiate about what's true, and it motivates the other side to consider your point of view.

15. Remember that less is often more. If you pile on too many different reasons to support your case, it can make your audience defensive - and cause them to reject your entire argument based on its least compelling points. Instead of diluting your argument, lead with a few of your strongest points.

16, Reinfrce freedom of choice. Sometimes people resist not because they're dismissing the argument but because they're rejecting the feeling of their behavior being controlled. It helps to respect their autonomy by reminding them that it's up to them to choose what they believe.

17. Have a conversation about the conversation. If emotions are running hot, try redirecting the discussion to the process. Like the expert negogiators who comment on their feelings and test their understanding of the other side's feelings, you can sometimes make progress by expressing your disappointment or frustration and asking people if they share it.

III. COLLECTIVE RETHINKING

A. Have More Nuanced Conversations

18. Complexity contentious topics. There are more than two sides of every story. Insteadd of treating polarizing issues like two sides of a coin, look at them through the many lenses of a prism. Seeing the shades of gray can make us more open.

19. Don't shy away from caveats and contingencies. Acknowledging competing claims and conflicting results doesn't sacrifice interest or credibility. It's an effective way to engage audiences while encouraging them to stay curious.

20. Expand your emotional range. You don't have to eliminate frustration or even indignation to have a productive conversation. You just need to mix in a broader set of emotions along with them - you might try showing some curiosity or even admitting confusion or ambivalence.

B. Teach Kids to Think Again

21. Have a weekly myth-busting discussion at dinner. It's easier to debunk false beliefs at an early age, and its' a great way to teach kids to become comfortable with rethinking. Pick a different topic each week - one day it might be dinosaurs, the next it could be outer space - and rotate responsibility around the family for bringing a myth for discussion.

22. Invite kids to do multiple drafts and seek feedback from others. Creating different versions of a drawing or story can encourage kids to learn the value of revising their ideas. Getting input from others can also help them to continue evolving their standards. They might learn to embrace confusion - and to stop expecting perfection on the first try.

23. Stop asking kids what they want to be when they grow up. They don't have to define themselves in terms of a career. A single identity can close the door to alternatives. Instead of trying to narrow their options, help them broaden their possibilities. They don't have to be one thing - they can do many things.

C. Create Learning Organizations

24. Abandon best practices. Best practices suggest that the ideal routines are already in place. If we want people to keep rethinking the way they work we might be better off adopting process accountability and continually striving for better practices.

25. Establish psychological safety. In learning cultures, people feel confident that they can question and challenge the stats quo without being punished. Psychological safety often starts with leaders role-modeling humility. 

26. Keep a rethink scorecard. Don't evaluate decisions base only on the results, track how thoroughly different options are considered in the process. A bad process with a good outcome is luck. A good process with a bad outcome might be a smart experiment.

D. Stay Open to Rethinking Your Future

27. Throw out the ten-year plan.  What interested you last year might bore you this year  - and what confused you yesterday might become exciting tomorrow. Passions are developed, not just discovered. Planning just one step ahead can keep our open to rethinking.

28. Rethink your actions, not just your surroundings. Chasing happiness can chase it away. Trading one set of circumstances for another isn't always enough. oy can wax and wane, but meaning is more likely to last. Building a sense of purpose often starts with taking actions to enhance your learning or your contribution to others.

29. Schedule a life checkup. it's easy to get caught in escalation of commitment to an unfulfilling path. Just as you schedule health checkups with your doctor, it's worth having a life checkup on your calendar once or twice a year. it's a way to assess how much you're learning, how your beliefs and goals are evolving, and whether your next steps warrant some rethinking.

30. Make time to think again. When I look at my calendar, I noticed that it was mostly full of doing. I set a goal of spending an hour a day thinking and learning. Now I've decided to go further. I'm scheduling a weekly time to rethinking and unlearning. I reach out to my challenge network and ask what ideas and opinions they think I should be reconsidering. recently, my wife, Allison, told me that I need to rethink the way I pronounce the word mayonnaise. 

Outsmart Your Brain (Daniel T Willingham, PhD)

 

I got this book from the library after following the author on TikTok. I didn't read all of it - but I did read the instructor tips.  His TikTok account is a brilliant way to share good tips from the book as well a the other things he knows about the science of learning. 

The thing about this book is that it is full of great tips - but I don't know if people who struggle in school read these kinds of books. The "for the instructor" of each section was really good too. My wish is for everyone to enjoy and do well in school and his book is a great tool for making that happen.

In the chapter, "How to Read Difficult Books" he made me feel good about my habit of note taking when I read non-fiction books. Most, I get from the library so I can't highlight them. Instead I write notes and he says that is a great learning strategy. Yay! He says taking notes keeps you mentally on task and the notes will help refresh your memory later. He also suggests posting a question when you begin a section of a book...and then when you finish that section, go back and see if your question was satisfactorily answered and whether or not you caught the gist of the section.

Goodreads says:

In this revolutionary, comprehensive, and accessible guide on how the brain learns, discover how to study more efficiently and effectively, shrug away exam stress, and most of all, enjoy learning.

When we study, we tend to focus on the tasks we can most easily control—such as highlighting and rereading—but these practices only give the illusion of mastery. As Dan Willingham, professor of psychology and bestselling author, explains, familiarity is not the same as comprehension.

Perfect for teachers and students of all ages, Outsmart Your Brain provides real-world practices and the latest research on how to train your brain for better learning. Each chapter provides clear and specific strategies while also explaining why traditional study processes do not work. Grounded in scientifically backed practical advice, this is the ultimate guide to improving grades and better understanding the power of our own brains.

The Obstacle is the Way (Ryan Holiday)

 

I'm buying this one and putting it on my canon list...books to read at least annually. It is so good! I tire of people who tell you to just be positive. This book does that, but also has amazing examples and strategies along the way to help you with persistence. It took me a while to read it because I found myself wanting to record many of the great ideas an antidotes!

Notes:

p. 6 There is an old Zen story about a king whose people had grown soft and entitled. Dissatisfied with this state of affairs, he hoped to teach them a lesson. His plan was simple: He would place a large boulder in the middle of the main road, completely blocking entry into the city. He would then hide nearby and observe their reactions.
  How would they respond? Would they band together to remove it? Or would they get discouraged, quit and return home?
  With growing disappointment, the king watched as subject after subject came to this impediment and turned away. Or, at best, tried halfheartedly before giving up. Many openly complained or cursed the king or fortune or bemoaned the inconvenience, but none managed to do anything about it.
  After several days, a lone peasant came along on his way into town. He did not turn away. Instead he strained and strained, trying to push it out of the way. Then an idea came to him: He scrambled into a nearby woods to find something he could use for leverage. Finally, he returned with a large branch he had crafted into a lever and deployed it to dislodge the massive rock from the road. 
   Beneath the rock were a purse of gold coins and a note from the king, which said:
   "The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition."

p. 8 The things which hurt, instruct.
- Benjamin Franklin

p. 9 Three interdependent, interconnected, and the fluidly contingent disciplines: Perception, action and the will.

The Discipline of Perception

John D Rockefeller 
- bookkeeper and aspiring investor
- son of an alcoholic who'd abandoned his family
- took his first job at age 16 and earned fifty cents a day
- in financial crises he witnessed he had a sense of cool about him....he would observe how people were responding and then make his decisions
- once turned down $500,000 from investors who wanted him to find ways to invest it in oil. He had the strength to resist temptation or excitement

How to have his kind of success:
- be objective
- control emotions and keep an even keel
- choose to see the good in a situation
- keep nerves steady
- ignore what disturbs or limits others
- place things in perspective
- revert to the present moment
- focus on what CAN be controlled

Recognize Your Power

 Choose not to be harmed - and you won't feel harmed
Don't feel harmed - and you haven't been
- Marcus Aurelius

p. 23 Just because your mind tells you that something is awful or evil or unplanned or otherwise negative doesn't mean you have to agree. Just because other people say that something is hopeless or crazy or broken to pieces doesn't mean it is. We decide what story to tell ourselves. Or whether we will tell one at all. 
Welcome to the power of perception. Applicable in each adn every situation, impossible to obstruct. It can only be relinquished.
And that is your decision.

Steady Your Nerves
Things will inevitably come along to distract you from your work and your goals. Don't let it happen.
The author had two great stories:
1: Ulysses S Grant once sat for a photo shoot with the famous Civil War photographer, Mathew Brady. The studio was too dark, so Brady sent an assistant up to the roof to uncover a skylight. The assistant slipped and shattered the window. With horror, the spectators watched as shards of glass, two inches long fell from the ceiling like daggers, crashing around Grant - each of them plenty lethal.
As the last pieces hit the ground, Brady looked over and saw that Grant hadn't moved. He was unhurt. Grant glanced up at the hole in the ceiling, then back at the camera as though nothing had happened at all.

2: During the Overland Campaign, Grant was surveying the scene through field glasses when an enemy shell exploded, killing the horse immediately next to him. Grant's eyes stayed fixed on the front, never leaving the glasses.

Practice Objectivity
p. 35 Take your situation and pretend it is not happening to you. Pretend it is not important, that it doesn't matter. How much easier would it be for you to know what to do? How much more quickly and dispassionately could you size up the scenario and its options?

Alter Your Perspective
p. 37 Remember: We choose how we'll look at things. We retain the ability to inject perspective into a situation. We can't change the obstacles themselves - that part of the equation is set - but the power of perspective can change how the obstacles appear.

Is It Up To You?
Think serenity prayer. What can you really change? The author lists what is up to us: (p. 43)
Our emotions
Our judgments
Our creativity
Our attitude
Our perspective
Our desires
Our decisions
Our determination
What is not up to us? Well, you know. everything else. The weather, the economy, circumstances, other people's emotions or judgments, trends, disasters, etc.

Live in the Present Moment

p. 47 Focus on the moment, not the monsters that may or may not be up ahead.

I loved the list of companies started at inopportune times:

Fortune magazine (90 days after the market crash of 1929)
FedEx (oil crisis of 1973)
UPS (Panic of 1907)
Walt Disney Co (After 11 months of smooth operation, the 12th was the market crash of 1929)
Hewlett-Packard (Great Depression, 1935)
Charles Schwab (market crash of 1974-75)
Standard Oil (Rockefeller brought out his partners in what became Standard Oil and took over in Feb 1865, the final year of the Civil War)
Coors (Depression of 1873)
Costco (recession in the late 1970s)
Revlon (Great Depression, 1932)
General Motors (Panic of 1907)
Proctor and Gamble (Panic of 1837)
United Airlines (1929)
Microsoft (recession in 1973-75)
LinkedIn (2002, post-dot-com bubble)

Think Differently
Don't worry about what most people say. Most people say things like, Be realistic. Listen to feedback. Play well with others. Compromise.
Instead, the author suggests we should not be afraid. We can do it. Get your mind around it. Keep working! Do what most people won't do.

Finding the Opportunity
Look for the weak spot and capitalize! 
p. 55 There is good in everything, if only we look for it (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
If you mean it when you say you're at the endo f your rope and would rather quit, you actually have a unique chance to grow and improve yourself. A unique opportunity experiment with different solutions, to try different tactics, or to take on new projects to add to your skill set. You can study this bad boss and learn from him - while you fill out your resume and hit up contacts for a better job elsewhere. You can prepare yourself for that job by trying new styles of communication or standing up for yourself, all with a perfect safety net for yourself: quitting and getting out of there.
With this new attitude and fearlessness, who knows, you might be able to extract concessions and find that you like the job again. One day your boss will make a mistake, and then you'll make your move and outmaneuver them. It will feel so much better than the alternative-whining, bad-mouthing, duplicity, spinelessness.

Prepare to Act
p. 60 ...boldness is acting anyway, even though you understand the negative and the reality of your obstacle. Decide to tackle what stands in your way - not because you're a gambler defying the odds but because you've calculated them and boldly embraced the risk.

Get Moving
Sometimes the situation isn't perfect...but if you at least get started, you can straighten up the situation or perhaps look for other opportunities. He told a great story of Amelia Earhart. She worked as a social worker at first because she couldn't make a living as a pilot. One day someone asked her if she would like to be the first female pilot on a transatlantic flight. They told her their first choice had already backed out and that she wouldn't actually fly because there would be two men (stronger and smarter) who would do that. They would be paid very well but she was paid nothing. It was considered a very dangerous venture and they could all die. Doesn't sound very appealing - but she took it. After that, she was able to work herself into a position where she could be the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic. It would have never happened if she hadn't taken the less than perfect opportunity. 

Practice Persistence
Never quit!
Consider this mind-set:
- never in a hurry
- never worried
- never desperate
- never stopping short
p. 80 It's supposed to be hard. Your first attempts aren't going to work. It's going to take a lot out of you - but energy is an asset we can always find more of. It's a renewable resource. Stop looking for an epiphany, and start looking for weak points. Stop looking for angels, and start looking for angles. There are options. Settle in for the long haul and then try each and every possibility, and you'll get there.
When people ask where we are, what we're doing, how that "situation" is coming along, the answer should be clear: We're working on it. We're getting closer. When setbacks come, we respond by working twice as hard.

Iterate
Great entrepreneurs are:
- never wedded to a position
- never afraid to lose a little of their investment
- never bitter of embarrassed
- never out of the game for long

p. 86 Failure gives you feedback - precise instructions on how to improve....it's trying to teach you something, Listen

Do your job well
p. 96 Steve Jobs cared even about the inside of his products, making sure they were beautifully designed even though the users would never see them. Taught by his father - who finished even the back of his cabinets though they would be hidden against the wall - to think like a craftsman. In every design predicament, Jobs knew his marching orders: Respect the craft and make something beautiful. 
  Every situation is different, obviously. We're not inventing the next iPad or iPhone, but we are making something for someone - even if it's just our own resume. Every part - especially the work that nobody sees, the tough things we wanted to avoid or could have skated away from - we can treat the same way Jobs did: with pride and dedication.

The Discipline of the Will
p. 132 These lessons come harder but are, in the end, the most critical to wresting advantage from adversity. In every situation we can
Always prepare ourselves for more difficult times.
Always accept what we're unable to change.
Always manage our expectations.
Always persevere.
Always learn to love our fate and what happens to us.
Always protect our inner self, retreat into ourselves.
Always submit to a greater, larger cause.
Always remind ourselves of our own mortality

Anticipation (Thinking Negatively)
p. 139 Plan for what could go wrong (do a premortem). Be prepared for failure and ready for success.

Love everything that happens
p. 150 At age sixty-seven, Thomas Edison returned home early one evening from another day at the laboratory. Shortly after dinner, a man came rushing into his house with urgent news: A fire had broken out at Edison's research and production campus a few miles away.
 Fire engines from eight nearby towns rushed to the scene, but they could not contain the blaze. Fueled by the strange chemicals in various buildings, green and yellow flames shot up six and seven stories, threatening to destroy the entire empire Edison had spent his life building.
 Edison calmly but quickly made his way to the fire, through the now hundreds of onlookers and devasted employees, looking for his son. "Go get your mother and all her friends," he told his son with childlike excitement. "They'll never see a fire like this again."

p. 151 Within about three weeks, the factory was partially back up and running. Within a month, its men were working two shifts a day churning out new products the world had never seen. Despite a lof of almost $1 million dollars (more than $23 million in today's dollars), Edison would marshal enough energy to make nearly $10 million dollars in revenue that year ($200-plus million today). He not only suffered a spectacular disaster, but he recovered and replied to it spectacularly.

p. 154 The goal is:
Not: I'm okay with this.
Not: I think I feel good about this.
But: I feel great about it.
Because if it happened, then it was meant to happen, and I am glad that it did when it did. I am meant to make the best of it.

Let's Go! haw êkwa! (Julie Flett)

 

Just happened to come across this book in time for Indigenous People's Day! Perfect! 

The back of the book says that haw êkwa! is pronounced "how Aygwa" and is a Cree idiom that means "okay then!" The author was the illustrator for David Robertson's book, When We Were Alone.

The "cacussh!" sound through the book sounds just like a skateboard and the pictures flow and make you feel like you are following the skateboarder.

Goodreads says:
An extraordinary book that celebrates skateboarding, family, and community, from beloved artist and author Julie Flett, winner of The New York Times / New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award. Every day, a little boy watches kids pass by on skateboards, and dreams of joining them. One day, his mother brings a her old skateboard, just for him! haw êkwa! Let’s go! Together, they practice on the sidewalk, at the park, in Auntie’s yard—everywhere. But when it comes time to try the skatepark, the skateboarders crash down like a waterfall. Can he find the confidence to join them? Let’s Go! This fun and touching story is a tribute to family, friendship, and perseverance. Julie Flett’s renowned art and powerful text shows a community of support is all around, ready to help each other… go!

So Good they Can't Ignore You (Cal Newport)

 

I love this book. Surprisingly, the title of this book comes from a quote of Steve Martin, of all people!  It gives you ideas of something you can actually do! Forget about finding your passion.  Adopt the craftsmanship mindset. If you work on your skills and become a master, passion becomes one of the results. 

In the book, he gives four great rules:

Rules #1 Don't follow your passions. That's dangerous, Career passions are rare. Passions take time and is a side affect of mastery. Seek autonomy. competence and relatedness. Traits that define great work are creativity, impact (find a way to make a difference) and control (keep it!).

Rule #2 Be so good they can't ignore you. Develop your skills. Become a fanatic! 

Rule #3 Turn down a promotion. Stay in control of your life

Rule #4 Think Small, Act Big. Have a mission. Misions require capital and marketing. Make small steps in the right direction and success will be the natural result.

Goodreads says:

In this eye-opening account, Cal Newport debunks the long-held belief that "follow your passion" is good advice.

Not only is the cliché flawed—preexisting passions are rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work—but it can also be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping.

After making his case against passion, Newport sets out on a quest to discover the reality of how people end up loving what they do. Spending time with organic farmers, venture capitalists, screenwriters, freelance computer programmers, and others who admitted to deriving great satisfaction from their work, Newport uncovers the strategies they used and the pitfalls they avoided in developing their compelling careers.

Matching your job to a preexisting passion does not matter, he reveals. Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.

With a title taken from the comedian Steve Martin, who once said his advice for aspiring entertainers was to "be so good they can't ignore you," Cal Newport's clearly written manifesto is mandatory reading for anyone fretting about what to do with their life, or frustrated by their current job situation and eager to find a fresh new way to take control of their livelihood. He provides an evidence-based blueprint for creating work you love.

So Good They Can't Ignore You will change the way we think about our careers, happiness, and the crafting of a remarkable life.

Forged By Reading (Beers and Probst)

 

I am a big fan of these two authors and have read a number of their books. This one spoke to my heart. The bottom line is that reading is what makes our world a better place and it should do something TO us. What happens in your head? What happens in your heart? And what will you do after reading what you've read?  (This is part of their BHH approach - only now they've added a D at the end for what are you going to DO) It's all about the power of a literate life. They're singing my song! 

Goodreads says:

Bestselling authors Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst expand the vision of what it means to be an independent reader in our schools and in our nation by challenging our concepts of literacy. In an educational climate dictated by standards, tests, and mandates, Beers and Probst offer a needed vision of the interrelated nature of literacy and democracy, while they inspire us to do the hard work. Divided into three parts―Change, Power, and Hope―each section of the book helps us reenvision a world where all experience the power of a literate life.

Digging For Words (Angela Burke Kunkel)

 

In our comfortable and plush lives we can hardly imagine anyone pulling stuff out of the garbage to make it useful.

Goodreads says:

Based on the life of Jose Alberto Gutierrez, a garbage collector in Bogota, Colombia who started a library with a single discarded book found on his route.

In the city of Bogata, in the barrio of La Nueva Gloria, there live two Joses. One is a boy who dreams of Saturdays-- that's the day he gets to visit Paradise, the library. The second Jose is a garbage collector. From dusk until dawn, he scans the sidewalks as he drives, squinting in the dim light, searching household trash for hidden treasure . . . books! Some are stacked in neat piles, as if waiting for Jose. Others take a bit more digging. Ever since he found his first book, Anna Karenina, years earlier, he's been collecting books--thick ones and thin ones, worn ones and almost new ones-- to add to the collection in his home. And on Saturdays, kids like little Jose run to the steps of Paradise to discover a world filled with books and wonder.

With an evocative text by a debut author, and rich, stunning illustrations from an up-and-coming Colombian illustrator, here is a celebration of perseverance, community, and the power of books.

The End of Ignorance (John Mighton)

 

John Mighton is the creator of the JUMP program - a math program we use in our school. I have read other books he has written and am confident that he is on to a good thing. Reading this has made me want to re-dedicate myself to digging deeper into the lessons I teach each day in math. 

When I am reading this book, I'm always thinking of other areas of life I could apply these concepts...like Come Follow Me or seminary lessons. 

Goodreads says:

A revolutionary call for a new understanding of how people learn.

The End of Ignorance conceives of a world in which no child is left behind – a world based on the assumption that each child has the potential to be successful in every subject. John Mighton argues that by recognizing the barriers that we have experienced in our own educational development, by identifying the moment that we became disenchanted with a certain subject and forever closed ourselves off to it, we will be able to eliminate these same barriers from standing in the way of our children.

A passionate examination of our present education system, The End of Ignorance shows how we all can work together to reinvent the way that we are taught.

John Mighton, the author of The Myth of Ability, is the founder of JUMP Math, a system of learning based on the fostering of emergent intelligence. The program has proved so successful an entire class of Grade 3 students, including so-called slow learners, scored over 90% on a Grade 6 math test. A group of British children who had effectively been written off as too unruly responded so enthusiastically and had such impressive results using the JUMP method that the school board has adopted the program. Inspired by the work he has done with thousands of students, Mighton shows us why we must not underestimate how much ground can be covered one small step at a time, and challenges us to re-examine the assumptions underlying current educational theory. He pays attention to how kids pay attention, chronicles what captures their imaginations, and explains why their sense of self-confidence and ability to focus are as important to their academic success at school as the content of their lessons.

Favorite quotes:

p. 98 Adults think that repetition is tedious, so they fail to give children the practice they need to consolidate their understanding of skills and concepts. Adults think that familiar facts are boring, so they seldom ever give children enough time to explore those facts. Adults think that extending an obvious pattern is pointless, so they don't allow children to test that a pattern goes on forever, nor do they allow them to demonstrate their amazing ability to handle more and more complex variations on a simple theme. Adults rarely raise the bar for children very effectively or capture their attention in mathematics, because they don't know how to see the world through the eyes of children.

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning (Peter C Brown, Henry L Roediger III, Mark A McDaniel)

 

Chapter 1: Learning is Misunderstood

- Many people believe that their intellectual ability is hard-wired from birth, and that failure to meet a learning challenge is an indictment of their native ability. But every time you learn something new, you change the brain - the residue of yoru experiences is stored.

- Many teachers believe that if they can make learning easier and faster, the learning will be better. Much research turns this belief on its head: when learning is harder, it's stronger and lasts longer.

....then the book came due at the library so I skipped ahead to chapter 8:

1. Retrieving - practice retrieving new (and old) learning (self-quizzing).
2. Spacing - space out your retrieval practice, leave time to forget in between practice sessions.
3. Interleaving - alternate working on different problems facilitates spacing and forgetting (making learning more difficult, which improves learning).
4. Elaboration - try to find additional layers of meaning in the new material.
5. Generation - attempt to answer a question or solve a problem before looking at the answer (experiential learning).
6. Reflection - a combination of retrieval practice and elaboration that adds layers to learning new material. Ask your self questions.
7. Calibration - to avoid various cognitive illusions, use an objective instrument to adjust your sense of what you know and don't know.
8. Mnemonic devices - build memory palaces to help yourself retrieve what you have learned.

I should go back and read the rest.

Goodreads says:

To most of us, learning something "the hard way" implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use strategies that make learning easier. Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head. Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and other disciplines, the authors offer concrete techniques for becoming more productive learners.

Memory plays a central role in our ability to carry out complex cognitive tasks, such as applying knowledge to problems never before encountered and drawing inferences from facts already known. New insights into how memory is encoded, consolidated, and later retrieved have led to a better understanding of how we learn. Grappling with the impediments that make learning challenging leads both to more complex mastery and better retention of what was learned.

Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive. Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and durable learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic with another. Speaking most urgently to students, teachers, trainers, and athletes, Make It Stick will appeal to all those interested in the challenge of lifelong learning and self-improvement.

Sit (Deborah Ellis)

 

Deborah Ellis is brilliant. Each of these stories gives a unique glimpse into what life is like as a child. Adults are in charge. Life isn't fair. The children are considered less than....but they're not. They see more and understand more than many adults realize. Every single story was brilliant. It begins with the same story it ends with....only it's different.

Goodreads says:

The seated child. With a single powerful image, Deborah Ellis draws our attention to nine children and the situations they find themselves in, often through no fault of their own. In each story, a child makes a decision and takes action, be that a tiny gesture or a life-altering choice.

Jafar is a child laborer in a chair factory and longs to go to school. Sue sits on a swing as she and her brother wait to have a supervised visit with their father at the children’s aid society. Gretchen considers the lives of concentration camp victims during a school tour of Auschwitz. Mike survives seventy-two days of solitary as a young offender. Barry squirms on a food court chair as his parents tell him that they are separating. Macie sits on a too-small time-out chair while her mother receives visitors for tea. Noosala crouches in a fetid, crowded apartment in Uzbekistan, waiting for an unscrupulous refugee smuggler to decide her fate.

These children find the courage to face their situations in ways large and small, in this eloquent collection from a master storyteller.

Smart But Scattered (Dawson and Guare)

 

This book will give me a good foundation for conversations with parents of children that have ADHD or similar tendencies that make for a challenge in the classroom. Lots of good strategies!

Goodreads says:

There's nothing more frustrating than watching your bright, talented son or daughter struggle with everyday tasks like finishing homework, putting away toys, or following instructions at school. Your "smart but scattered" 4- to 13-year-old might also have trouble coping with disappointment or managing anger. Drs. Peg Dawson and Richard Guare have great news: there's a lot you can do to help. The latest research in child development shows that many kids who have the brain and heart to succeed lack or lag behind in crucial "executive skills"--the fundamental habits of mind required for getting organized, staying focused, and controlling impulses and emotions. Learn easy-to-follow steps to identify your child's strengths and weaknesses, use activities and techniques proven to boost specific skills, and problem-solve daily routines. Helpful worksheets and forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. Small changes can add up to big improvements--this empowering book shows how.

See also the authors' Smart but Scattered Teens and their self-help guide for adults. Plus, an academic planner for middle and high school students and related titles for professionals

The Woman Who Changed Her Brain (Barbara Arrowsmith-Young)

This book made me think about all the times I've sat down with someone who has done a learning assessment where they've told me all the areas where the child has a deficit. There were so many times when I thought of various people I've known over the years. If there are exercises someone can do to work on specific areas of the brain and change people's lives, I need to know the exercises! Unfortunately, they're not in this book.

Goodreads says:

Born with severe learning disabilities that caused teachers to label her slow, stubborn, or worse, Barbara Arrowsmith-Young read and wrote everything backwards, struggled to process concepts in language, continually got lost, and could make no sense of an analog clock. But through her formidable memory and determination, she made her way to graduate school, where she chanced upon research that inspired her to invent cognitive exercises to "fix" her brain. Now the Director of Arrowsmith School, the author interweaves her personal tale with riveting case histories from her more than 30 years of working with both children and adults to restructure their own brains.

The Woman Who Changed Her Brain powerfully and poignantly illustrates how the lives of children and adults struggling with learning disorders can be dramatically transformed. This remarkable book by a brilliant pathbreaker deepens our understanding of how the brain works and of the brain’s profound impact on how we participate in the world. Our brains shape us, but this book offers clear and hopeful evidence of the corollary: we can shape our brains.

Trumpet of the Swan (EB White)

I read Trumpet of the Swan years ago and loved it. I can't remember exactly when it was: university? when I was younger? I always have wanted to read it with my students and always encourage them to read it. However, I don't think I had re-read it until now. Now that I've re-read it, it may be one that I don't recommend. The father swan (cob) says weird things about having a son with a disability. They may be things that were more acceptable "back in the day" but now, it is kind of shocking. However, I do love Louis' stick-to-itness and problem solving. 

Re-read June 2022: One of my students had read this book aloud with his brother and mom and really wanted to have it as a read-aloud in class and he persuaded the others to vote for it. I would have never chosen it, but it was a good experience. I skipped through some of the long descriptive and repetitive language (oh EB, you can go on and on!)  and changed some words (First Nation's boy instead of indian, happy instead of gay, strange instead of queer, etc.). Since we were doing animal life cycles right now and our Open Court unit, City Wildlife, it fit in quite well!

We also watched the movie and it wasn't a big hit. The kids said it's old-style animation (sheesh!)


Goodreads says:

Like the rest of his family, Louis is a trumpeter swan. But unlike his four brothers and sisters, Louis can't trumpet joyfully. In fact, he can't even make a sound. And since he can't trumpet his love, the beautiful swan Serena pays absolutely no attention to him.

Louis tries everything he can think of to win Serena's affection—he even goes to school to learn to read and write. But nothing seems to work. Then his father steals him a real brass trumpet. Is a musical instrument the key to winning Louis his love?