Books

Go Beyond the Content Books

It's a shame when educators don't read books related to our field. While we easily recognize the importance of our students reading, we often overlook how important it is for us. Perhaps part of the reason is that many books on educational topics are pretty dry. Also, many such books are written by "the experts" and seem to have little real-world application. Well here are some books that I am confident you will enjoy reading and be able to apply to your classrooms and schools.

These books were selected for this list because they will either inspire you to go beyond the content with your students or they provide beyond the content life lessons for you to share.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years - Donald Miller
What kind of story are you living? Challenge your students to view their lives as a story and share with them examples from this book of people who have decided to turn their lives into a story worth watching. This is our number 1 recommendation.
Want to learn more about this book? Here are blog posts related to A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller.

Teach Like a Pirate - Dave Burgess
A great book for teachers who want to Go Beyond the Content. Written by "in-the-trenches expert" Dave Burgess, you'll be inspired to bring more passion to your classroom. Dave will help you to create Life Changing Lessons (just another way of saying Go Beyond the Content) and to make your classroom a place where students are excited to be!

The John Wooden Pyramid of Success - Neville Johnson
There is no better expert on what it takes to be successful than John Wooden. Use his book to help you teach your students about the Pyramid of Success and how it can apply to their lives.
Want additional John Wooden books and resources to use in your classroom? Check out John Wooden's Corner.

Inches and Miles: The Journey to Success (children's book) - John Wooden
Written by the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden, Inches and Miles brings the wisdom of the Pyramid of Success to elementary-aged children.
Want additional John Wooden books and resources to use in your classroom? Check out John Wooden's Corner.

The Courage to Teach - Parker Palmer
Teaching is an act of hospitality toward the young. Teaching takes amazing courage. Too often we feel professionally defeated by the hardships we face in the classroom. Remind yourself why you went into teaching and find the courage to be the teacher your students need.

Teaching with Love and Logic - Jim Faye and David Funk
Have you ever found yourself being sucked into confrontational situations with your students? How we react to our students and how we decide to handle disciplinary situations can make or break our classrooms. Gain practical strategies and ideas for dealing with potentially confrontational situations.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens - Sean Covey
This provides students with lessons and stories about success. Premier Agendas offers workshops/training on using this book with your students.

You Can Be President (or anything else) - Bob Moore
Teach your students that failure is ok - as long as it's a result of trying to succeed. This book is filled with stories of famous people who have failed repeatedly along the way to success.

Financial Literacy for Teens - Chad Foster
Chad Foster's book on financial literacy reads like a book on life. Easy-to-read and interesting anecdotes will help your students learn about making good decisions.

Teenagers Preparing for the Real World - Chad Foster
Much like Financial Literacy for Teens, this book is fun to read. Chad Foster does an excellent job of using anecdotes that young people will appreciate to help them make better decisions on the path to success.

Whale Done - Ken Blanchard
This book is written for the business world but it applies to the classroom. Sea World trainers say that no one can MAKE a killer whale do anything. I think teachers might say that no one can MAKE a 15 year-old do anything either. But these trainers use certain principles to get killer whales to do amazing things. Teachers can use the same principles with students.