As teachers, how do we foster and celebrate ability and natural capacities? In Out of Our Minds Sir Ken Robinson suggests that the answer may just be creativity. He points out that our world is shaped by human imagination. Emphasis is also placed on the fact that finding, and fulfilling, our creative potential helps us live a happier life.

Are you always asking questions about the world? Do you wish you were more curious? Warren Berger uses A More Beautiful Question to train you to think systematically and deeply about questions that we ask.

Different Schools for a Different World is a quick read for anyone who needs convincing or reminding why traditional education hasn’t, and isn’t, working. Links to organizations doing great work, the TRUDACOT model for tech integration, and examples of deep learning schools at the end are all handy. Use them to remind us that there are tools and examples for us to tap into for inspiration and guidance.

Seth Godin’s Linchpin proclaims that the industrial model of schooling and living as cogs in a machine is outdated, and in turn, explains how individuals can transform themselves into indispensable linchpins that create art, inspire human connections, and solve interesting problems. Godin chips away at traditional educational models that rely upon fear, compliance, and rote memorization; however, he also provides innovative alternatives centered around the belief in students, growth, leadership, and taking risks.

Adam Grant’s Originals doesn’t disappoint. He looks at a whole host of variables that play a role in how original ideas are spawned, accepted and rolled out to the world.