image credit: http://www.austinbookclub.com/
After our Summit earlier this month, we were left with a long list of good reads recommended by our Fellows. Inspired by all the learning and exchange of ideas that happened in those three days, we decided to continue the journey for the rest of the summer through our own virtual book club. Welcome! For the rest of the summer we’ll feature one title per week, posting powerful excerpts along with some of our own commentary and questions. Feel free to read along with us, or just follow the ideas we post.
This week we start off with a short (51 pages) but provocative book: Why School? by Will Richardson.
You can check out his blog here, or his Tedx talk here:
Why School? is available for e-readers for less than $2, so we thought it was worth the investment based on the recommendation we got. If you’re not sure, take a look at the blurb about the text from Amazon:
Traditional educators, classrooms, and brick-and-mortar schools are no longer necessary to access information. Instead, things like blogs and wikis, as well as remote collaborations and an emphasis on ‘critical thinking’ skills are the coins of the realm in this new kingdom. Yet the national dialogue on education reform focuses on using technology to update the traditional education model, failing to reassess the fundamental design on which it is built.
In ‘Why School?,’ educator, author, parent and blogger Will Richardson challenges traditional thinking about education — questioning whether it still holds value in its current form. How can schools adjust to this new age? Or students? Or parents? In this provocative read, Richardson provides an in-depth look at how connected educators are beginning to change their classroom practice. Ultimately, ‘Why School?’ serves as a starting point for the important conversations around real school reforms that must ensue, offering a bold plan for rethinking how we teach our kids, and the consequences if we don’t.