Most books about education are worse than worthless. They are detrimental to the efforts of anyone who is earnestly seeking a way forward. Two decades of searching have rendered only a handful of authors whose work both resonates with and informs my own practice. This after reading hundreds of books and articles and browsing many times more.
I want to share my list with you. Don't look for a system in these books, or for consistency among them. These are writers who, in my judgment, grapple with the angel and refuse to let go. That's the best anyone can do. And those who claim to do more are deluded. Those who produce and market a system are either imagining things or hoping that you are. Contrary to the sales pitches of dozens of publishers and hundreds of programs, education isn't a problem that can be solved or a methodological question that can be answered. This doesn't mean that there is nothing important to say or hear or write or read about education. It only means that real contributions are rare and should be treasured.
The List: (in no particular order)
Kieran Egan's The Educated Mind, Frank Smith's Book of Learning and Forgetting, Howard Gardner's The Disciplined Mind, Mem Fox's Reading Magic, Nancy Atwell's The Reading Zone, Deborah Meier's Power of Their Ideas, Parker Palmer's To Know as We Are Known, David Solway's Lying About the Wolf, Howard Bloom's How to Read and Why, and Neil Postman's Building a Bridge to the 18th Century.
I have read more than one book by each of these authors, but wanted to keep the list short. I chose for each author the book that is most representative of their thinking about education.
If you only have time for one short work, consider Mem Fox.
I hope that you have time to enjoy them all.
