Good Reads

 

“Good Enough is the New Perfect:  Finding Happiness and Success in Modern Motherhood,” by Becky Gillespie and Hollee Temple

Each month I try to pick a book that brings something new to you as the reader. Whether it’s a topic geared toward a new audience or some new finding that everyone should hear about, I always try to keep it fresh. Well, this month is no different. It may shock some readers or may not connect with you, so I am going out on a limb…This month’s book is all about the women of Generation X and  the pressures of being the best at everything: being the best at work, home, with other mothers, in the gym, and with our children and how this is affecting us.

This month’s book is called, “Good Enough is the New Perfect: Finding Happiness and Success in Modern Motherhood,” by Becky Gillespie and Hollee Temple. No, this book is not about giving up and rolling over to the many ways moms are pulled each day, instead it’s a little insight in to why we feel we need to do it all, perfectly, every time, and will work ourselves into exhaustion until it’s done right.

A quick history lesson: Generation X comes from the Baby Boomers. Okay, maybe you already knew this, but the significance is that the Baby Boomers came from an oppressed group of mothers who pushed their daughters to have it all. The idea was to focus on success within your profession than worry about children. Although the Baby Boomers didn’t quite get it right, hence the name baby boomers, Generation X was once again pushed, now by their grandmothers and mothers to become something great! They could be anything for the first time in history there are more successful professional working mothers out there than ever before. This is a great accomplishment, but the book goes into describing the repercussions of wanting to be successful in our professional life and our mommy life and the pull that begins to happen, where we just can’t have it all.

Learning to figure out how to make your life work for you and learning the true meaning, the book’s meaning, for “good enough” can simply mean that there may be dishes dirty in the sink over night for example. This book is a true life coach in itself, giving suggestions based on what real women are dealing with and how they made it work.

I thought this book may hit some of you extremely successful mommies out there at CCDS and so this is my recommended read this month. Sorry men, this book may not be on your must –read list but it could be the saving grace your sister, neighbor or wife may need.

Get yourself a copy!
www.amazon.com

 

“You Can’t Make Me, But I Can Be Persuaded,” by Ulrich Tobias

This month, I chose to read the book, “You Can’t Make Me, But I Can Be Persuaded,” by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias. I committed the ultimate sin with this book. I judged the book by its cover. I mean who hasn’t felt that their children have said this once or twice, “You can’t make me,” plus the little boy on the cover is just too adorable.

      Tobias writes a wonderful book, explaining what a strong-willed child is and about how to best handle, motivate and foster them to become wonderful members of our society. The strong- willed personality is explained to be a creative, loving, bright person who can turn in a moment to become an extremely stubborn, defiant, immovable force. Strong-willed children (SWC) tend to look at simple requests as ultimatums, do not like to do things just because you “are supposed to,” but needs it to matter to them personally and are often more “difficult” compared to children that just comply.

Unfortunately, in this day and age many SWCs are misdiagnosed by doctors as having certain learning disabilities and are medicated because they don’t simply conform to the rules and guidelines they are given. Tobias explains, an SWC herself, that these children with “firm convictions, a high spirit and a sense of adventure,” may in fact change the world. Great leaders of our past like Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and Marie Curie persisted against all odds in order to accomplish the many amazing things they were able to do and possessed many attributes of SWCs.

I would recommend this book to any parent or fellow educator who is feeling frustrated with their children that possess any of these SWC traits. There are many great examples of ways to better handle situations, such as truly picking battles that are worthwhile and letting others go that aren’t worth jeopardizing your relationship with your SWC, and rewording requests so they don’t sound like a direct order but with more respect and in a quiet calm tone, or reminding yourself that the use of emotional responses like irritation and anger are the worst way to attempt to secure cooperation plus you just look silly! I do have to put one warning out there though, as this book does have some religious undertones. As an educator, I am very used to a separation from church and state so I just read over those parts, but overall this is a definite worth wile read that I will keep in my library to be able to refer back to when I need a pep talk. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Get yourself a copy:

amazon.com

"The Leader in Me," by Stephen R. Covey

I love the feeling I get after finishing a good book. I feel empowered, ready to try new techniques, and ready to conquer the world with a new more positive and enlightened outlook. That’s exactly how my husband felt after reading the book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” by Stephen R. Covey. He felt a connection with the book and immediately referred me to it.

That was over a year ago, and about a month ago I finally picked it up, finished the forward and was already booming with ideas. I loved the book and its principles and I decided I wanted to do something to better myself, my personal self and my professional self, and maybe even help some others along the way. I decided I would work to have this empowering and enlightening feeling each month by reading new books about children, my true passion, and how to help them be the best they can be.  I am looking forward to continue to learn and possibly point others on to a good read to help spread that great feeling. Each month I am going to be choosing a new book that will hopefully speak to you or may help a friend of yours.

I chose this month’s book from my original inspiration, from the same author of, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Covey, wrote, “The Leader in Me.” This book is an account of school leaders that were inspired by the 7 Habits and decided to bring them into a school environment. Covey starts off making some valid and honest points about today’s public school system and how teaching to the test isn’t properly preparing our children for our ever changing society. What once was a fact—based driven society, where the factually smartest populations succeeded, is  now a new more global reality where facts can be effortlessly found through an internet search and creativity and people skills are of the utmost importance. So instead of focusing on fact absorption, Covey explains that if you focus on a “primary greatness, which has to do with a person’s integrity, work ethic, treatment of others, motives and levels of initiatives,” the successes in academic achievement will follow.

Among many schools mentioned, there was a school that was spotlighted in the book that had been the first to take the 7 habits and adapted them to children.  They had begun by researching their parent population at that school, and data revealed that all cultures valued and were concerned about their children being able to think for themselves, take responsibility for their lives, to show initiative, and to be tolerant of diversity; which helped the school develop the “leadership” theme that created a new culture for their school. Everything they do, whether in math, literature, science, physical education, etc. it is all interconnected to leadership, to help promote a primary greatness.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It hit home with me as an educator because I have been working on promoting a “team” atmosphere, similar to leadership, within my classroom and the idea of primary greatness is so perfectly said and such a great concept to focus on. All I could want is for my students to leave with the pursuit of a primary greatness, to have integrity, good work ethic, internal motivation, initiative and a positive treatment of others ; because with these aspirations, secondary greatness will follow.

You may be thinking that all of this has to do primarily with schools. You are right, it would be great and wonderful to adopt some or all of this into the school system if possible, but it also connects to parents. Parents can have a huge involvement with this as well, and if you like what you have read so far, I urge you to first pick up the book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” by Stephen Covey, then bring it into your everyday language and behaviors at work and at home. “The Leader in Me,” is inspiring, very truthful and is a great tool to help bring these principles into your home when you are ready. We are here to develop our youth to be the next leaders of this new global society and this is a wonderful way to help them achieve greatness!

Get yourself a copy!

http://www.amazon.com