In my previous post, Leading From The Mind, I unpacked the Intellectual Operating System I use to stay sharp, creative, and focused as a school leader.
Here's what two decades in education have taught me:
Leaders who cultivate rich intellectual lives lead differently.
They lead with depth, not just competence.
They lead with vision, not just management.
They lead with wisdom, not just data.
They lead with heart, not mere reaction.
Today, I'm sharing ten books that have shaped and forged my mind as an educator and school leader.
This isn't a "Top Ten" list—these are simply the books I believe every educational leader should read. The ones that left an indelible imprint on how I think, lead, and educate.
They're not ranked, so pick whichever calls to you.
Here we go:
"Is it possible to teach English so that people stop killing each other?"
When professor Mary Rose O’Reilley dropped this question into a colloquium for young college teachers in 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, most people shuffled their feet. For O'Reilley it was a question that would not go away; The Peaceable Classroom records one attempt to answer it.
Drawing on her own teaching journey, O’Reilley challenges us to create classroom environments where voice, community, and reflection matter. She argues that practices like free-writing and journaling aren’t just pedagogy—they’re portals to deeper human formation, helping learners become more thoughtful, engaged, and peace-minded.
For school leaders who aim to cultivate more than just achievement—who aspire to nurture purpose, connection, and flourishing—this book offers a thoughtful, provocative spark. It reminds us that the culture of our classrooms shapes more than grades: it shapes the character and choices of our students.
If you’re looking to lead with intention, to build a community of learners who are not only skilled but also humane, then The Peaceable Classroom is a compelling read and a meaningful resource for change.
In Educational Leadership: The Moral Art, Christopher Hodgkinson shifts our perspective on school leadership—from managerial or technical tasks to a deeper understanding of leadership as a philosophical and ethical vocation. He argues that leadership in education is not simply about efficiency or systems, but about navigating value-conflicts, engaging deeply with purpose, and cultivating a humane culture in complex organizations.
For those who lead schools, teams, or educational systems and who believe that our work is far more than operational—who believe it is relational, moral, and meaning-making—this book offers a vital lens. It invites us to examine what it truly means to lead with integrity, consciousness, and commitment in settings rife with competing priorities and ethical dilemmas.
This is another book I return to year after year
I know this is not your typical school administration read, but it has been extremely beneficial to helping forge my mindset. In Extreme Ownership, two former Navy SEALs take their intense battlefield lessons and show how they translate into powerful leadership principles for any setting. Through gripping stories of combat, they distill key concepts like taking full responsibility for everything in your sphere, checking your ego, keeping plans simple and clear, and prioritizing and executing what matters most.
For school leaders and educational professionals who believe leadership goes beyond scheduling, budgets, and instruction, this book offers a hard-hitting reminder that culture, mindset and accountability matter deeply. It invites us to lead our teams with clarity, humility, and a sense of mission—so that when challenges arise (and they always do in schools), we’re ready to respond and adapt rather than pass the blame.
If you’re committed to building a school or department where everyone steps up, owns their part, and works together toward a shared vision of excellence and flourishing, then Extreme Ownership will shake up your assumptions—and help you lead with greater clarity and impact.
In The Challenge to Care in Schools, Nel Noddings argues that the heart of education ought not to be test scores or strict adherence to standardized curricula—but the cultivation of caring relationships and responsive environments where each learner’s dignity, strength, and growth matter.
For school leaders committed to creating environments of flourishing—not just achievement—this book provides a powerful framework. It challenges you to lead not with the question “How can we raise a test score?” but “How can we build a community where caring and competence go hand in hand?”.
I’ve written about this book many, many times…it is that good and that inspirational
If you’re seeking to design a school culture that values human connection, responsiveness, and meaningful growth, The Challenge to Care in Schools is a must-read.
In The Schools Our Children Deserve, Alfie Kohn offers a bold and thoroughly researched challenge to the “back-to-basics” and “tougher standards” movements in education. He argues that these approaches reduce students to passive receptacles for facts, and suppress intrinsic motivation, creativity, and deeper human flourishing.
For school leaders and educators committed to more than compliance and standardization—those who want to design school cultures that honor voice, inquiry, meaning, and equity—this book is both a provocation and a practical guide. It invites you to rethink assumptions about curriculum, assessment, motivation and purpose.
I would HIGHLY recommend anything and everything by Alfie Kohn, but if you just have one book to read of his, this is the one
This book, almost more than any other, helped give rise and shape to the work I do at Odyssey Leadership Academy.
Even before AI was a twinkle in the eye, Tony Wagner made a compelling case that in today’s rapidly changing world, the capacity to innovate is among the most essential skills our students—and our schools—must cultivate.
Drawing on profiles of young people who are already driving change and the adults who guided them, Wagner identifies a trio of forces at the heart of innovation: play, passion and purpose.
For educators who are committed to moving beyond status‑quo schooling and instead envisioning vibrant, future‑oriented learning environments, this book offers both inspiration and practical insight.
This is an all-time classic!!! In The Power of Their Ideas, Deborah Meier chronicles the work of a small public school in East Harlem and shows, with quiet force, how a culture of respect, inquiry and learner‑voice can transform outcomes—even in the most challenging contexts.
Meier argues that what matters most isn’t just curriculum or standardized metrics—but building community, student agency, and deep relationships among learners, teachers and families. She shows how the small‑school model allowed for fewer subjects taught in depth, rich connected learning, and a culture of shared responsibility.
For educators and school leaders who are committed not only to high achievement, but to equity, purposeful learning, and democratic schooling, this book offers a powerful blueprint and a stirring affirmation: when adults trust children’s ideas, and design learning around them, students flourish.
Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students Denise Pope
This is a MUST read for anyone doing work in schools.
In Doing School, Denise Pope offers a deeply unsettling portrait of how many high-achieving students in our schools are “going through the motions” rather than genuinely engaging with learning. Over the course of a year she follows five carefully selected students in a high-performing California public high school, revealing how the pressure to succeed (high grades, honors classes, résumé-building) drives these young people to manipulate the system, sacrifice their values, and lose connection to curiosity.
Pope shows that what looks like success—AP courses, high GPAs, college-acceptance letters—can mask a deeper problem: students trapped in a “grade-trap” where they feel they must play the game rather than learn.
If you’re seeking to lead a school community that honors not just achievement but flourishing, Doing School is a must-read—one that will challenge your assumptions and spark vital conversations about the kind of schooling we truly want for our students.
In Time to Learn, George Wood invites us to rethink what high school can be—not simply a place to deliver content or prepare for standardized tests, but a community where every student can engage meaningfully and belong. Drawing on the transformation of his own school in rural Ohio, Wood lays out how leaders and teachers can redesign structures—like scheduling, class size, relationships, student-voice—to serve all students, not just the highest achievers.
For schools committed to shifting culture, structure, and practice so that learning is inclusive, purposeful and human-centered, this book is a key resource. If you’re leading a change team, designing a new schedule, or simply asking “How can we engage and graduate every student?” then Time to Learn deserves a spot on your shelf.
In Thinker, Learner, Dreamer, Doer, Peter Gamwell and Jane Daly invite school leaders and instructional teams into a bold re-imagining of schooling for our time. As they contend with what they call the “Age of Complexity,” they argue for learning environments that move beyond standardized metrics and transactional schooling—toward settings that empower every student to think deeply, learn flexibly, dream beyond constraints, and do with purpose.
If you’re leading a school or a classroom and want to create conditions in which every learner can thrive as a thinker, a learner, a dreamer and a doer—instead of simply a performer—you’ll find this work a valuable addition to your leadership toolkit.
Wise presents belonging not as a nice-to-have but as a foundational condition for learning and flourishing. She un‐packs concrete “moments” (invitation, entering, contributing, diverging, exiting, repair) and design “levers” (space, ritual, role, system) that leaders and teams can use to shape inclusive, collaborative cultures.
For schools committed to equity, human-centred culture and belonging for all—this book offers actionable strategies to move from intention to design. If you want to transform your classroom, department or whole school into a community not just of learners—but of belonging—this is a must-read.
I have many, many more…but that’s not a bad list to start.
If you do grab a copy of any of these, let me know what you think
And please feel free to share any recommendations you have
I’m always up for a good read!
Scott
Resource I’m Offering
As you know by now, my heart is to see schools become healthy ecosystems where everyone flourishes
You also know my heart bends towards school leaders, as I believe that the health of the learning community is directly tied to the health of the school leader
That is why I wrote the The Flourishing School Leader Field Guide, your roadmap to leading with vision, hope, and humanity—without losing yourself in the process.
Blending practical tools with soul-nourishing reflection, this resource equips school leaders to thrive personally and professionally.
Inside, you’ll find self-assessments, thought provoking practices, mini-retreat guides, and proven strategies to rekindle passion, restore purpose, and create an ecosystem of trust and flourishing in your school community.
It is the guide I use to work 1-1 to coach school leaders, and you can grab a copy for only $40!!
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