During the school year I tend to be tapped out, but over school breaks and summer time, I love reading behavior books. These books give me such a great perspective on ways I can best support students! Here’s 5 that have really shaped me as an educator.
1.) Self Reg by Dr. Stuart Shanker
I LOVE this book – it taught me so much about how our brains work during certain elements of the dysregulation and self-regulation cycle, as well as the real difference between self control and self regulation. While I’m not crazy about the push for using “self-reg” as it’s own system created by the author, I do love how it’s all rooted in psych research and brain based learning theories. So good, and helpful to learn the science behind students behavior.
2.) The Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris
If you work with young children who have experienced trauma, this book will speak right to your heart. Dr. Burke-Harris is an incredible pediatrician (and now the first California Surgeon General!) who has dedicated her life’s work to preventative strategies to lowering ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Scores as well as combating the challenges that often accompany childhood trauma. Her book offers telling statistics and a wonderful mindset on how we should see all children.
3.) Troublemakers by Carla Shalaby
This book is one that I could read over and over – literally the first time I read it, I could have highlighted every line. It’s hard to find a favorite quote or page – it’s all SO good. The book covers how we often view student behavior, and how our system’s “tried and true” strategies are really very backwards, limiting, biased, and punitive, and overall not teaching children or allowing them to be critical thinkers. She offers beautiful thoughts on the way school should look for children and how we can “free” them from being stuck in a system that isn’t always for them.
4.) Just Give Him the Whale by Paula Kluth
If you work with children on the Autism spectrum, this is a MUST read. Kluth talks about relative strengths in students, and how meeting them in their interests – which are often seen as limiting factors – can be an important way to reach them. The book covers 20 ways to dive into the world of students with Autism from research, personal experiences, and accounts of individuals with Autism.
5.) The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk
If trauma is interesting to you – this should be next on your list. Van der Kolk goes deep into how our bodies remember trauma even if parts of our minds are healed, or repressing the trauma. He discusses how our bodies are affected by traumatic situations in both children and adults through historical context, neuroscience, personal accounts, etc.
Looking for more? Check out these behavior books, too! What would you add?
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