Rigor Grit The “10,000 Hour Rule” Growth Mindset We hear these buzzwords thrown around a lot in educational circles these days. Why? Because they’re catchy! But what do they mean? The concepts are interrelated, and they stem from a series of recent research projects. Today we’ll look at a few new books about the science behind … Read more
Over the last decade, I have read a handful of great books that forced me to think and consider a lot of things about the way I was living. I’ve mentioned some of these books before on the blog, but this week I read another one of those kinds of books and thought I would … Read more
Yesterday, I picked up a copy of Malcolm Gladwell‘s book Blink (purchase on Amazon). Dave Ramsey has been recommending his latest book Outliers (purchase on Amazon) on his radio show lately but when I got to Barnes & Noble, I realized Blink was available in paperback and so was therefore quite a bit less expensive. I’ve … Read more
Nothing in the classroom is worth added stress in your life. Nothing. If you only make one change this school year…Relax! I know so many band directors (and other teachers as well, but mostly band directors) who get so incredibly worked up over their jobs that they lose their health, marriage, youthful physique, energy, or alienate … Read more
Summer is a great time to read and catch up on reading. I have a bookshelf full of books, but very few that I have read really jump out and grab me as being amongst the greatest. But a handful do. These books have, in one way or another, changed the course of my life. … Read more
Then hop on over to Learn Me Good and buy a copy of his book. It is undoubtedly one of the funniest books I’ve read since becoming a teacher. I read it on Fridays in the fall while I was monitoring our school-wide detention. I keep the kids absolutely silent during detention, and that’s hard … Read more
I love reading. I don’t do it nearly enough, but I still do love it so. I find that many people don’t read a single book after they graduate from high school. As teachers, we are also supposed to be lifelong learners. We should be desperate to learn about more and more stuff. I find … Read more
I met a high school dropout yesterday. We talked for something like an hour and a half or two hours. It was very revealing and confirms a lot of my thoughts about education. Beware as you read this. If you’re comfortable thinking that everyone needs to go to school, get a degree, and get a … Read more
This week, I began reading The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. It’s an outstanding book. One of the points that he makes in the book is that of being efficient versus being effective. I have prided myself in some ways on being very efficient in most of the things that I do. There is definitely … Read more