A reader asked for suggestions. I said I would ask for your ideas:
My sister is an experienced teacher struggling to keep her chin up in an impoverished district serving children whose parents are non-English speaking or meth addicts. She and her staff want to form a book study group this year – looking for ways to enhance their professional practice and their children’s lives – wanting desperately to have positive and productive conversations about this important work during these bleak times. Can you or any of your “followers” recommend some titles for them to consider? A retired teacher myself, I remain passionate about helping those who carry on.
Thank you for any and all suggestions.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
If one doesn’t advertise oneself, who will? Elementary, middle or high school? The Power of Their Ideas is the first book I wrote and I still think it works with teachers–but maybe especially urban teachers. Not sure.
I love Eleanor Duckworth’s The Having of Wonderful Ideas–a series of essays on — mostly on what learning looks like. For a suburban school–maybe John Holt’s oldie–How Children Fail. Or, actually for anyone.
I highly recommend “La Linea” by Jaramillo – it’s a young adult novel written by an ESL teacher in California who compiled her students’ stories into one powerful short novel. I use it with in-service teachers at my teacher education university, and it manages to cut across all lines. People who have lived the story enjoy it, and people who want to learn more enjoy it equally well. The language and character development are excellent. I think it would be a great first book to start everybody talking! Kristin Lems, Professor, ESL/bilingual Teacher Education, National Louis University Chicago
Johnathon Kozol’s Fire in the Ashes. Not specifically about educating the impoverished, but the most powerful book I have read recently on the toll that poverty takes on our children. I find myself looking at our students in a different way because of the stories told here.
Teaching Minds by Roger Schank is all about changing not just the cosmetics of a program but the entire philosophy of how to teach.
We studied this book several years ago.
We still talk about it.
Con Respeto: Bridging the Distances Between Culturally Diverse Families and Schools : An Ethnographic Portrait
Perhaps more important if your population in latino, but highly recommended.
Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn
It changes you in ways that I can’t explain. You meet Ishmael (a gorilla). Ishmael is the most gifted teacher.
I’m scratching my head here: what district only serves students with parents who are non-native or meth addicts?
Leaving that aside, Teaching with Love and Logic. Title’s trite, but the book isn’t.
Ron Clark’s ESSENTIAL 55
“Ron Clark knows how to teach by using discipline and affection in almost equal measure. He devotes his time to teaching these kids how to live in the world so that they have respect for themselves and those around them; rules that apply to all of us.”
My small rural Missouri school used this book as a book study a number of years ago. Although it’s an extremely easy read, it can start some invaluable conversations.
Here is an excellent book recently published (2010) Improving Education for English Learners: Research-Based Approaches. Sacramento, CA: State Department of Education.
Ron Clark’s new book, The End of Molasses Classes or Rafe Esquith’s There are No Shortcuts or Raising Exceptional Children.
Paul Tough’s “How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character”. NPR’s ‘This American Life’ aired a show this past week addressing the research and programs presented in Tough’s new book.
Teaching As A Subversive Activity – Postman and Weingarten
Transformation
Myth of Educational Reform – Popkewitz et al
Transformation of the School – Cremin
and
Harold and The Purple Crayon
Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov
It is old, but it is good: “Inside the Black Box – Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment” by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam from King’s College London’s School of Education. http://weaeducation.typepad.co.uk/files/blackbox-1.pdf. This talk by Dylan Wiliam in 2007 also has a lot of good insights: http://www.alt.ac.uk/sites/default/files/assets_editor_uploads/documents/altc2007_dylan_wiliam_keynote_transcript.pdf
Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire by Rafe Esquith
I can’t point to one book, but treat your children like people. Regardless of all the issues they have to deal with, they are still people trying to cope and make sense of their situations. They will react to their issues, understand that and accept that. We are all the same in that we adapt, react, change, and try to live in our own world. Help make their learning relative to their environment if possible. Hve empathy, not sympathy. Best skills you can have are listening and watching. Good luck! From experience, it’s all worth it!!!!
I would like to suggest two books because they are both short and easy to adapt to a book study with a faculty.
Start with
Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for the Future by Larry Brendtro, Martin Brokenleg and Steve Van Bockern (2002) published by Solution Tree. This is a good book on learning what type of culture the school should try and develop in order to support learning with at-promise (at-risk) students.
Next read:
The Hopeful Brain: Relational Repair for Disconnected Children and Youth by Paul Baker and Meredith White-McMahon (2011) published by PreText. This will help narrow discussion down to specific strategies to support students.
Conscious Discipline Dr. Becky Bailey.
“Drive” by Daniel Pink and “Here Comes Everybody” by Clay Shirky. Great for developing insight into creating meaningful work for students in the information age.
The books and dvd’s of Rick Lavoie are fantastic. His first program “The Frustration, Anxiety and Tension workshop” is one of the bestselling educational programs, for very good reason. “Last one picked, first one picked on” should also be watched by every Mayor, superintendent, parent and teacher in the country.
Sonia Nieto : What keeps teachers going in spite of everything?
If you could obtain only one book, I would strongly suggest Fred Jones’ “Tools for Teaching.” It is extremely practical and situation specific. It was an absolute game changer in my career. One of my graduate school colleagues loved it so much that she’s requiring it for her pre-service teachers.
Fred Jones’ “Tools for Teaching” (hands down…)
Here’s and oldy that I used to read before the start of the school year- Teacher and Child by Haim Ginott
Pedagogy, Policy, and the Privatized City: Stories of Dispossession and Defiance from New Orleans published by Teachers College Press in 2010
Thank you, everyone!