Because I believe that books are a great gift for those interested in public education, I’ve compiled a list of suggestions, with the caveat that I do not have time to read most of the hundred-plus education-related books that come to me during the year.

2014 has been a good year for books about education. Two made the prestigious New York Times list of 100 Notable Books of the Year. Not surprisingly, they are two of my top four.

1. The must-read book of 2014 is Dana Goldstein’s The Teacher Wars: A History of America’s Most Embattled Profession. She writes well and has a great story to tell. If you are at all like me, you’ll find yourself thinking, “I didn’t know that” quite often. She draws compelling parallels between things that have happened recently or are happening now and events and people from the distant past, reminding us that, if we fail to remember the past, we are doomed to repeat it. The Teacher Wars made the Times’s list. {{1}} (Doubleday)

2. Building a Better Teacher: How Teaching Works (and How to Teach It to Everyone), by Elizabeth Green, also made the list of 100 Notable Books. It’s an engaging tour of the worlds of teaching and teacher training, with an exceptionally talented young reporter as the tour guide. (W.W. Norton)

3. Speaking of Fourth Grade: What Listening to Kids Tells Us about School in America, by Inda Schaenen, is an eye-opening read because Ms. Schaenen does what reporters and writers don’t do enough of: she interviews young children. The author is a teacher who took a year off and interviewed 166 fourth graders–(white, black, brown; urban, suburban, rural; wealthy, middle class, poor; and Christian, Jewish, Muslim) across the state of Missouri, where she teaches {{2}}. She has arranged the book according to the questions she asked: What is your school like? What’s the purpose of school? How do kids here treat each other? How do adults here treat kids? How do you feel about standardized tests? Do you ever feel bored? If so, when? And so on…. I think you will find it engaging and illuminating. (The New Press)

4. Teaching with Heart: Poetry that Speaks to the Courage to Teach is the most poignant book that has come across my desk in a long time. The editors, Sam Intrator and Megan Scribner, asked teachers to explain how their favorite poems have affected their teaching. Full disclosure: When I was asked to provide a blurb for the jacket, I did so with pleasure. This is what I submitted: “I am having trouble finding the right words to describe my feelings about this book. I opened it at random and was drawn in. Hours–and a few tears–later I emerged, feeling stronger personally and more optimistic about education’s future. I wish I could afford to buy copies of “Teaching With Heart” for all the teachers I have interviewed in my 40 years of reporting. My budget can’t handle that. Instead, I recommend that all of us non-teachers buy copies of this inspiring book for teachers we know. You will probably want one for yourself too. {{3}}” (Jossey-Bass)

Other education books from 2014 that you might enjoy:

It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, by Danah Boyd, comes highly recommended by Greg Toppo of USA Today;

Fear and Learning in America – Bad Data, Good Teachers, and the Attack on Public Education: John Kuhn, a veteran school superintendent in Texas, criticizes the ‘test and punish’ policies of Arne Duncan, Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein and others;

Lessons of Hope: How to Fix our Schools. The aforementioned Mr. Klein, former Chancellor of the New York City Public Schools, defends his record and argues for policies that he believes will transform public education;

Strugglers Into Strivers: What the Military Can Teach Us About How Young People Learn and Grow, by the always thoughtful Hugh Price, former president of the Urban League;

How We Learn, by Benedict Carey, is a book that Greg Toppo and I believe will astound you;

Excellent Sheep, by William Deresiewicz, has made waves in higher education;

The Marshmallow Test, by Walter Mischel, confirms the positive effect of learning to defer gratification;

Hold Fast to Dreams by Beth Zasloff and Joshua Steckel is one of New York Times reporter Motoko Rich’s recommendations.

While these books are available on Amazon, I urge you to patronize your local bookseller this holiday season (and throughout the year). Happy Holidays.

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[[1]]1. If there’s a revised edition, I will ask Ms. Goldstein to change an entry about me: Although I wrote about the Teacher Corps in my doctoral dissertation, I did not serve in the Teacher Corps.[[1]]

[[2]]2. Michael Brown, who was killed in Ferguson this summer, graduated from the high school where she taught.[[2]]

[[3]]3. They used the last four sentences on the book jacket.[[3]]