Summer offers educators the chance to, as Stephen Covey taught us, sharpen the saw. Covey touted the need for balance in our physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual lives. When all four dimensions are balanced, the result is personal and professional synergy. The sum of synergistic living is always greater than its parts. When all four dimensions are attended to, everything falls into place.

The modern educator can easily be overwhelmed by the challenges of teaching in the 21st century. If we don’t take the time to renew ourselves on a personal and professional level, we won’t be effective in supporting the growth of our students. The greatest gift of being an educator is that every school year starts anew.

What will you do to sharpen your saw this summer? What books will you read for personal and professional pleasure? Send me your thoughts (chriwool@aol.com) and I’ll add them to this post or you can reply via the comment box below. I’ve included some links below to potential summer reading lists. Here are responses to those questions from a few colleagues and PLN members:

I am planning on reading, Falling In Love With Close Reading as well as articles etc. on arts integration since we are in the exploratory stages. I’ll be sharpening the saw at the beach as much as possible.

-Donna Usewick, @dsusewick

For recreational reading, I hope to read The English Girl by Daniel Silva and The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. For professional reading, I plan to read Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind by Eric Jensen. I am traveling to Ireland as soon as school is out and taking a short trip to St. Michael’s, Maryland at the end of July for some golf. I hope to get some more golf in on the Fridays that schools are closed. I am also attending the NAESP conference in Nashville this July.

-Theresa Zablonski, @tzablonski

I will be reading The Homework Myth by Alfie Cohn, Positive Discipline by Nelsen, as well as Sue O’Connell’s book on math practices. This summer, I plan to reflect on the school year and think about each aspect of our school and how to make improvements. For myself, I will spend time with my family and hit the beach!
-Cheryl Cox, @CoxCherylcox628

The Ultimate Summer Reading List for Teachers via Scholastic:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/ultimate-summer-reading-...


The best books about educational leadership via Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Books-About-Educational-Leadership/lm/R1...


Top Ten School Leadership Books via @AngelaMaiers:
http://www.angelamaiers.com/2010/06/top-10-school-leadership-books....

You can follow Chris on Twitter @principal64.