Book Bites: A Brighter Future for Catholic Schools & Meditations for Mortals

Two interesting reads today - which given their construction and the personal relationship I have with several of the authors in A Brighter Future, leads me to present 2 book bites - summery and quick connection to the practice(s) of being a school leader.

Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts by Oliver Burkeman

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Good For: Those who feel overwhelmed and want a self-help book that's realistic: "The essential trouble...is the fatally misguided idea that reality can and should be made ever more controllable" (xxi).

Overview: 28 short reflections centered on a weekly theme providing the idea that we need to embrace our limitations in terms of time, energy, and focus in order to achieve what really matters. Come for some great quotes and anecdotes, leave with a vague sense that you can forgive yourself a bit.

Best nugget: Day 11 - befriend your rats! Paul Loomans names avoided tasks or life areas as "gnawing rats" - Rather than confront or attack them - befriend them - what would you be willing to do for the rat in terms of time or effort?

Day 23 - treat your to-do list as a menu

A Brighter Future for Catholic Schools: Innovation & Opportunity, edited by Dr. Timothy Uhl

Good For: Those seeking differing viewpoints (though mainly in the center and the left) on where Catholic schools can and should go and grow, with a focus on culture and faith.

Overview: 15 shorter chapters covering a range of topics, mainly focused on what the culture of a Catholic school is and can be and the impact that has in terms of faith, student body, mission, and more.

Best nugget: The extended conversations around charisms ("A charism is a God-given spiritual gift for good and for God" [87]) is key in an era of declining religious and clerical influence in our schools and parishes and points to how the laity can build mission and culture. This sense of mission should be a part of the whole school ("In a Catholic school, budgets are moral documents" [143]).