2013/2014 Reading Lists

I've seen several friends post their reading list from 2013 (in addition to nearly every major newspaper or magazine creating their Best-of-2013 lists). I figured I would join in on the trend, and give some simple recommendations:
1 = Must Read
2 = Worth the Time
3 = So-so

I was not a particularly prodigious reader this year because of my increasing time commitments, plus I chose some hefty titles (three of them were around 800 pages each).

2013
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Gregory Hays (translator) - 1
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris - 2
Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris -2
Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw - 2
Boomerang by Michael Lewis - 2
The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner - 1
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh - 3
Integrity by Henry Cloud - 3
The Discourses of Epictetus by Robin Hand (translator) - 3
Where God Was Born by Bruce Feiler - 2

Here's what I plan to read next year:

2014
Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard
Rome's Last Citizen by Goodman and Soni
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt
Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin
Cool War by Noah Feldman
The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant by H.W. Brands
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson
To Sell Is Human by Daniel Pink

Community Building

Here is a great article from PlaceShakers on how community organizations and connectivity have declined and how we must rebuild them. Community connections are directly affected by the pattern of our physical growth. Sprawl has contributed to a breakdown of our community strength because it distances us and isolates us in our daily activities. There are a lot of other disciplines which observe that a breakdown in community connectivity has created problems with poverty, education, family, faith, etc. In my opinion, it is foolish not to recognize that the physical manner in which we build our communities has an effect on these aspects of society.

Parents' Crucial Role in Education

It seems obvious to most of us that parents play the most important role in a child's education, more important than an individual teacher. In this article, Thomas Friedman examines new evidence from an international survey reported about parents' involvement in their children's education. It comes as no surprise that the more a parent reads to their young children or asks them about their schoolwork, the better that child will perform down the road.

While our lower performing schools and teachers do need major improvements in qualifications, curriculum and facilities, the professional improvements are continuously pursued, at least incrementally. What is more difficult to determine is how to fundamentally change the attitudes of uninvolved parents. My assertion is that this issue is an exponentially worsening problem. A parent that had little education and zero reinforcement from their parents is highly unlikely to pass good school/study habits on to their children.

In reality, it is probably too late to change the behavior of many parents to make them better academic coaches. So what truly can be done to counteract the lack of reinforcement at home? Many teachers have tried to provide a pseudo-parent role, but they realistically don't have the time or energy. Nor is it their job to be a stand-in parent for up to dozens of kids. Short of some miracle solution to turn public schools into genius-producing boarding schools, there is little that institutions can do to address this specific problem. Instead, it falls upon society at large and individual communities to hold parents accountable. There must be a cultural shift to not just say that we value education, but to actually follow through on that declaration. Relatives and friends must step in to help reinforce educational attainment. Those more fortunate in the upper socioeconomic strata can give their time to tutoring and mentoring and their money to organizations that assist children.

There are a couple things I think our schools can do: raise expectations and elongate the school year. Many charter schools for troubled or disadvantaged children succeed because they simply raise the level of seriousness, responsibility and expected achievement levels. Also, many other higher-performing countries have longer school years. There is really no purpose to the extended summer break, other than tradition. American students have less time in the classroom and less time for mental stimulation than our foreign competitors.

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers. While the book was released three years ago and received heaps of praise, I just now got around to reading it. The book is an easy read, yet fascinating examination, of how circumstances, cultural/societal traditions and family values contribute to an individual's success. The insights in Outliers are certainly complementary to Friedman's article and this subject matter in general, and I highly recommend reading it.

The Reel Valyew of a Publick Educashun

A Pasco county high school student sent this letter to the editor of the St. Pete Times concerning the length of school years. It is simply horrendous. I could enter into a diatribe here about how poor most public schools are, but I'm sure you already know that. At the very least, our schools should be teaching students proper grammar, spelling, and sentence structure before they leave elementary school. To think that someone got to their junior year of high school writing like that is unbelievable. Even if a student fails to grasp algebra, biology, or history, they need a fundamental understanding of the English language to be successful in just about any profession.

Education is one of my favorite topics to discuss. It is something I hope to improve, through my own efforts, in my life time. This is the first of many future postings concerning education.

Common Since: Never underestimate the value of communication skills.