Reading List

The PGCTF staff sent out a list of recommended reading to the fellows in the introductory paperwork we received. I am making it a goal to read as many of the books from the list as possible, and I plan on commenting on the books and any other books I read as I am preparing to become a teacher. For now, I will simply share the list of 16 books, as I am sure it is not a secret meant only for PGCTF members. It seems that the books on this list are not dry, technical textbooks, but are things that would appeal to anyone interested in education and the challenges faced by schools in America. I think teachers, parents, and prospective educators would find them interesting as well.


Comer, James. Maggie’s American Dream: The Life and Times of a Black Family. New American Library (New York), 1988.

Delpit, Lisa. Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. The New Press (New York), 1995.

Dewey, John. Experience and Education. Simon & Schuster, 1938.

Grant, Gerald. The World We Created at Hamilton High. Harvard University Press (Cambridge), 1988.

Johnston, Michael. In the Deep Heart’s Core. Grove Press (New York), 2002.

Kotlowitz, Alex. There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America. Doubleday (New York), 1991.

Kozol, Jonathan. Amazing Grace. Crown (New York), 1995.

Kozol, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. Crown (New York), 1991.

Lortie, Dan C. Schoolteacher. The University of Chicago Press (Chicago), 1975.

Paley, Vivian. Wally’s Stories: Conversations in the Kindergarten. Harvard University Press (Cambridge), 1981.

Paley, Vivian. White Teacher. Harvard University Press (Cambridge), 1989.

Rodriguez, Luís. Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L. A. Curbstone (Los Angeles), 1993.

Rose, Mike. Lives on the Boundary. Penguin Books (New York), 1989.

Stevenson, Harold and Stigler, James. The Learning Gap: Why Our Schools Are Failing and What We Can Learn from Japanese and Chinese Education. Summit Books (New York), 1992.

Tyack, David & Cuban, Larry. Tinkering Toward Utopia: A Century of Public School Reform. Harvard University Press (Cambridge), 1995.

Wong, Harry K., and Wong, Rosemary T. The First Days of School. Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc. (Mountainview), 199