This winter I’ve been enjoying two new books that speak to the topic of memory as one ages. Now into my 50s this topic has become more interesting than it once was. First came along Julian Barnes’ final (?) book, Departure(s). I think I have probably read most of Barnes’ novels along the way. This … Read more
Each term as head of school at Phillips Academy, I’ve put out a series of books for the faculty to enjoy. Colleagues are free to keep the books, pass them along to others, or bring them back to the bookshelf in the head of school’s office. I choose titles that relate in one way or … Read more
Last academic year I kept up my tradition of putting out free copies of books on a bookshelf outside my office each term for the faculty to take and read but I didn’t manage to post the lists here on this blog as I went along. (Not that anyone complained!) I thought I’d put the … Read more
This Spring term, I’m putting out on the bookshelf outside the Head of School’s office copies of the following books for the Andover faculty. The idea is that the books can go and stay home, come back to the bookshelf, or end up as a gift to someone else. The Spring, 2016 list includes: Sarah … Read more
For the cozy Sundays in New England, with snow lying all around (as it is this morning in Andover, MA), here’s the line-up of books I have put out on the Head of School bookshelf for faculty at Phillips Academy: James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time. I re-read it over the winter holiday break and … Read more
A few times a year, I share a booklist with the Phillips Academy faculty and offer up copies of the selections on a bookshelf outside my office. I’m going with an all-fiction Head of School bookshelf for Fall, 2015. Last Spring, a faculty colleague suggested that I try a fiction list next, because that might … Read more
The long flights to and from East Asia this Spring Break afforded time to catch up on a stack of books I’ve been meaning to read for a while. For this Spring’s Head of School bookshelf, I’ve selected a series of titles focused on psychology and policy relevant to the secondary school field in education. … Read more
On October 17, 2014, we are launching the Andover Institute at Phillips Academy. The Institute will be a hub for innovation at PA, where our students, faculty, and others come together to explore new ideas in teaching and learning at the secondary school level. The idea is to have a “Bell Labs” here at Andover … Read more
A few times per year, I have been sharing a “Head of School’s bookshelf” with community members at Phillips Academy. It comes this time in two parts: 1) six books that are among those I’ve read in the past few months and which I commend as “community reads” because of one or more connections to … Read more
In each of the last two academic years, I’ve made short lists of books I’ve liked, related mostly (but not exclusively) to secondary education and the digital world, to share with the faculty of Phillips Academy. We buy a stack of each of the books, placed on the shelf outside my office, and share them … Read more