me arts ed

400 Students joined the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s brass quintet at Cony High School’s auditorium

Kennebec Journal Orchestrated performances by Matthew Stone

Looking for a good book?

Periodically I receive an email requesting suggestions of books to read and recently Derek Sivers sent me this link to his book review page found on his blog. The reviews are brief but provide enough information to know if I want to read it or not.

I’ll tell you right up front that many of them are not geared to educators but many have global applications. Soooooooooo…. if you are looking for a book to read, check out Derek’s site by clicking here.

Here are a few books that are not on Derek’s list but are recommended:

• A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
• The Element  by Ken Robinson
• Out of Our Minds by Ken Robinson
• The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner
• Brain Rules by John Medina
• Delivering the Promise: The Education Revolution by Richard A. DeLorenzo, Wendy J. Battino, Rick M. Schreiber, and Barbara B. Gaddy Carrio
• The Death and Life of the Great American School System by Diane Ravitch
• The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Determine Our Future by Linda Darling-Hammond

I received the message below from Chris Milliken (Wells Middle School art teacher) as I was preparing this post with information on a book he is reading. Perfect timing to include the info below..

Have you read You are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier?  I am on page 33 and it is amazing. Did you know that the designers of the internet were thinking in  artistic terms not just mathematical terms? That culture plays a dominant role in the design of everything digital? That authors and religions and ways of being and expressing could be so profoundly incorporated in what used to be relegated to  “techie geek”. My hunch that the brains of this world are also artists at heart is central to this somewhat pessimistic revelation of the information age. I read every paragraph 2 or 3 times because it’s just so darn engaging and new to me!  Highly recommended.

What books have you read recently that you recommend? Please share in the “comments” below. Thanks!