Last year, each week during the summer we posted about some great reads!  Before we kick off this year’s club, we’re retiring to some of the top hits from last year.  This week, we return to one of the best books from last year’s list: the short (51 pages) but provocative book: Why School? by Will Richardson.

You can check out his blog here, or his Tedx talk here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni75vIE4vdk

Why School? is available for e-readers for less than $2, so we thought it was worth the investment based on the recommendation we got. If you’re not sure, take a look at the blurb about the text from Amazon:

Traditional educators, classrooms, and brick-and-mortar schools are no longer necessary to access information. Instead, things like blogs and wikis, as well as remote collaborations and an emphasis on ‘critical thinking’ skills are the coins of the realm in this new kingdom. Yet the national dialogue on education reform focuses on using technology to update the traditional education model, failing to reassess the fundamental design on which it is built.

In ‘Why School?,’ educator, author, parent and blogger Will Richardson challenges traditional thinking about education — questioning whether it still holds value in its current form. How can schools adjust to this new age? Or students? Or parents? In this provocative read, Richardson provides an in-depth look at how connected educators are beginning to change their classroom practice. Ultimately, ‘Why School?’ serves as a starting point for the important conversations around real school reforms that must ensue, offering a bold plan for rethinking how we teach our kids, and the consequences if we don’t.

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