2024 Eduwonk Book List! Plus New Wonky Folk, Ask A Psychometrician, And Top 5 Posts This Year!
A new commission with a eye toward change
Happy holidays! It's that time of year. You need gifts for various people. You're behind. I'm a few days behind. And books are always a great gift. So here's another Eduwonk Holiday book list. That's below, and 2023 list here. 2022 here. Plenty of still topical books on those.
Before we get to that list a few items: On Monday, I took a look at an off-the-wall teacher pronoun case in Ireland, and why things won't be so off the wall here when these cases start hitting.
The Bipartisan Policy Center is launching a new Commission on the American Workforce, chaired by former governors Deval Patrick (MA) and Bill Haslam (TN). I'm chairing the K-12 workgroup and excited to work with a great group of commissioners on what forward-looking policies for education and workforce can look like. As you may have noticed, the major authorizing statutes are all overdue for reauthorization, that's a problem, and an opportunity. Margaret Spellings is definitely a 'let's go' type, and that's needed.
New Wonkyfolk out today. Jed and I look back on 2024, forward to 2025, and we do it in holiday outfits with terrible lighting. (Apologies to Jason Isbell.)
Listen below or wherever you get podcasts. Or, check out show notes, transcripts, links here.
Yesterday on LinkedIn Michelle Croft and I discussed assessment and assessment policy, with a surprise guest appearance from Scott Marion, and took questions. You can watch that here.
Here are the top five Eduwonk posts of 2024:
Shellacked: What Are The Education Takeaways From The Election
The Bloom Is Off The Seth Rose. What To Think About Corey DeAngelis?
2024 Eduwonk Holiday Book List.
If you're trying to make sense of the election then it's hard to beat Ruy Teixeira and John Judis' Where Have All The Democrats Gone? Consider it a pre-mortem on what was going on and consequently a must-read. There is a reason you can't open any serious political blog or Substack or listen to a podcast without discussion of Ruy's work. Emerging Democratic Majority may have missed, but now the argument is over. He won.
If you're wondering why the country increasingly hates its elites, then you can do a lot worse than open Musa Al-Gharbi's We Have Never Been Woke. Among the errors this sector made in its "DEI journey" was an adherence to rigid orthodoxy while coding all critics as conservative (and tuning out conservatives along the way). Al-Gharbi, along with Adolph Reed Jr., Barbara and Karen Fields, and others, offers a critique of the structure of American life that might resonate more than the latest effort to word police. Might lead to a richer conversation. Should be required reading across the leadership of the sector.
I first got to know Marrianne McMullen when she was working for Andy Stern when he was getting reform pilled. She's a smart communicator and doer, and when you meet her the kind of magnetic person you instantly want on your team. Her new book Persuasive offers professional and personal lessons based on her years of experience. This one will make a great gift for the up and coming change agent in your life.
Kirsten Baesler, the wonderful state chief in North Dakota turned me, and many others, on to the book Great on Their Behalf. A.J. Crabill has worked in school districts, for them, and taught leaders. This straightforward book lays out a roadmap for more effective school boards. I'm skeptical of books in this genre, but whether you are on a local or state board, or just work with or around one, there is advice in here for you.
Ethan Mollick's Co-Intelligence is a book everyone thinking about AI is reading, so you probably should, too. It's not the last word, or the first word, but is a useful overview of how to start thinking about AI and its implications if you are not already. Then seek out the critics, and get ready to be excited and puzzled.
My 7th-grade teacher told me my essay about the potential for nuclear war was awfully pessimistic. Well, yes. I told her I did not see an optimistic way through it. This year's totally off edu-book is not a happy one and in the same vein. Annie Jacobson's Nuclear War: A Scenario is a sobering reminder that in the modern nuclear age we always live 20 minutes away from disaster. And we ought to pay more attention to that and some things we could do to lessen the risk. Great stocking stuffer for the worriers in your life.
Happy holidays, thanks for reading in 2024, see you in 2025!