Some people would say, "Why would you read books about educational practice in the summer? I just want to read for fun and read something totally unrelated to my work." While I agree that reading for fun is a must in the summer (I read for fun all year long as well), I find that reading books and articles related to one's teaching is a great way to learn new things, reinforce the great things you are already doing in your classroom and to get excited about the next school year. Almost every summer when I read books on educational practices I get excited about what I have learned and cannot wait to try those things with my students in September and talk about my new learning with my colleagues. The other thing that summer reading helps me with is to plan my personal, professional growth plan for the upcoming school year. What I have learned and plan to try in my classroom in the fall becomes the basis of my growth plan. I am not dreaming up things to do so I can put them in my growth plan. My growth plan just becomes a written record of the changes I plan to make in teaching and assessment practices.
Some people say they find it hard to get motivated to read in the summer. To help you with this, I will outline what I do. Once I have picked an educational book to read and it has arrived 2 days later from Amazon, I then set a goal of reading one chapter per day of this educational book. Most educational books have chapters that are 15-30 pages long. This usually takes me less than one hour per day to read a chapter. Do I always read one chapter per day? No! Other things get in the way, like a trip to the beach, a round of golf, visiting with friends and family or going fishing. If I miss a day I do not sweat it, I just try to read a chapter the next day. Usually, I start reading my book in early July and I have finished reading this educational book by the third week of July. I also read for fun as many days as I can in the summer. Those fun reads are relaxing and help me enjoy the beautiful days outside just lounging in a chair. Where does a person find the time to read in the summer? You might enjoy reading in the morning while enjoying that first cup of coffee, it may be a middle of the day practice that you do in the afternoon or it may happen after supper as a way to work into an evening of relaxing. Find a time that works for you and you will form the habit of reading daily.
So, I would like to encourage all of my educator friends and colleagues to read at least one educational book this summer. I hope you take up this challenge and enjoy it as much as I do. It is a great way to refresh myself professionally and to get me excited about the upcoming school year.
If you are looking for some educational books to read her are three I have or am currently in the process of reading. The first two pertain to any teacher while the third one is specifically for Gr.5-12 Mathematics teachers.
