I have set a goal to read a book a month since the beginning of summer for professional development. I have surpassed that goal and my favorite book hands down I’ve read this year is Culturize by Jimmy Casas. I can’t recommend it enough! I rarely reread books, but this is one book I have gone back to multiple times. I have reread it multiple times and have actually integrated part of the book into my own guiding principles.

I know that most of the professional development books I read do not interest the majority. However, in each book, there are impactful snippets that apply to all educators, not just administrators. I wanted a way to share those ideas and I first thought about a book study, but I didn’t feel comfortable taking more time from my staff. Then I read in the book Lead with Culture (which is another good one) this idea:

So that’s what I’ve done. I started with a daily email, but I didn’t want to overwhelm my staff, and I wanted to make sure it was something that was sustainable for me. So I started with Culturize and send out an email every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:30am with a favorite blurb and a short thought about it.

I have had a few people either respond or reach out that they enjoy the emails and that they are good reminders. One teacher said that he appreciated it because he was getting information from a book that he’d never read otherwise.

My hope is that there are fewer people bugged by the emails than those that enjoy them. I figure that if they are irritated by another email intersted they can simply delete it before even opening it or reading it.

What ways are you sharing information you’re learning about with the people in your building? Comment below and let me know!

Here’s a link to my first set of emails about the book Culturize.

✌

-Stewart