Teach and Learn Like a Pirate

I have mentioned before how much I love podcasts. The podcast Talks with Teachers introduced me to their summer book club.

Last year I read Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess and I loved this book! My biggest takeaway from this book is this, "We must deal with circumstances such as we find them!" I read that statement as I walked into a brand new portable 4 days before school started with no air conditioning in 100 degree heat. "We must deal with circumstances such as we find them!", was my mantra. There was so much more in that book that influenced my teaching, but that quote stuck with me. This book helped me to think about empowering students and creating engaging lessons for my students to participate in. 

This month I have started Learn Like a Pirate by Paul Solarz. This book is different from Teach Like a Pirate in that it flips the responsibility of learning to the student. Paul Solarz has been teaching in a student lead classroom and in this book he shares how he encourages creativity and collaboration in the classroom. I started this book last week and I am hooked! My brain runs 100mph when I read as I look for ways to make my classroom more student led. 

Both of these authors are active on Twitter and their websites. 

Teach Like A Pirate

@burgessdave

Learn Like A Pirate

@PaulSolarz

Picture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/serlunar/3087210464/