Book clubs can improve community engagement
Nick Caruso, senior staff associate for field service at the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, and Winton I. Goodrich, associate director of the Vermont School Boards Association, have an idea for getting school boards and administrators on the “same page” in forging a vision for their district: Create a book club that focuses on the latest trends in education, globalization, and employment.
At a Sunday afternoon workshop, Caruso and Goodrich, explained how some boards are using book clubs to create progressive learning communities. In some cases, community stakeholders are also involved.
Among the books they recommend are A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink; The World Is Flat by Tom Friedman, Good to Great and the Social Sectors by Jim Collins, 16 Trends: Their Profound Impact on Our Future by Gary Marx, and Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Condition by John Kotter.
Readers come together in small groups to discuss what they’ve read, along with other trends and ideas from similar books.
A related strategy is to divide all readers into four groups to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) that affect the district. Each group then shares their responses with the whole group.
SWOT trends would then be used in an affinity group activity that poses the question: “What should the school district stop, start, and continue doing to create 21st century learners, skillful workers, and contributing members of society for the next generation?”
Participants’ ideas are posted around the room, and a facilitator helps sort them and identify emerging themes.
These activities help ensure that that parents, business leaders, and community members have access to the latest research and international globalization trends that affect education, society, and the workplace. And when people have access to this information, it’s easier to reach a consensus on a shared vision for education.
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