Recommended Readings and Items of Interest
Very Good Reading and Professional Development
The Hand by Frank R. Wilson
How Its Use Shapes the Brain, Language, and Human Culture "A startling argument . . . provocative . . . absorbing." --The Boston Globe"Ambitious . . . arresting . . . celebrates the importance of hands to our lives today as well as to the history of our species." --The New York Times Book ReviewThe human hand is a miracle of biomechanics, one of the most remarkable adaptations in the history of evolution. The hands of a concert pianist can elicit glorious sound and stir emotion; those of a surgeon can perform the most delicate operations; those of a rock climber allow him to scale a vertical mountain wall. Neurologist Frank R. Wilson makes the striking claim that it is because of the unique structure of the hand.
Shop Class as Soul Craft
A philosopher/mechanic's wise (and sometimes funny) look at the challenges and pleasures of working with one's hands - Called "the sleeper hit of the publishing season" (The Boston Globe), Shop Class as Soulcraft became an instant bestseller, attracting readers with its radical (and timely) reappraisal of the merits of skilled manual labor. On both economic and psychological grounds, author Matthew B. Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a "knowledge worker," based on a misguided separation of thinking from doing.
Other ways to win
The focus of this book is the plight of many students in United States high schools who face an unpromising future on graduation. Written for students, teachers and parents, Other Ways to Win stresses that alternatives to college do exist for entering the labour market, many of which offer a higher probability of success. It argues that the key to future economic security is not education per se but obtaining the occupational skills that lead to high skills//high-wage work. The authors conclude with suggested strategies for high schools to adopt in order to improve students' preparation to meet an uncertain future.