Social Media Break, Graduation & Summer Reading/Listening

Social Media Break, Graduation & Summer Reading/Listening

From June 1-8 we took a break from posting on social media. During that time, we continued to think about and act on ways to support our community.

This is the time of year that we are sending congratulations to our high school grads, the class of 2020. In lieu of graduation gifts, we’ve made a donation in their honor to Rock The Vote. Rock the Vote aims to register and educate millions of young voters, be a trusted source of information, and ultimately empower young people to use their voices and create the political and social change that they believe in. We support their dynamic programming, including high school civic education, voter protection work, and election efforts. We have also supported Mutual Aid NYC, a community of volunteers supporting mutual aid organizing across the city, including the Brooklyn Bail Fund.

June is also Pride Month, and this year is the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Our friends at the podcast Footnoting History put together a wonderful list of resources. I welcome you to listen to their episodes on Black HistoryUS History, and LGBT History. You might also want to check out:

One of the most powerful ways to speak is to amplify the voices of those with deeper understanding and broader data; accordingly, Adam Grant suggests the following books:

When members of our community hurt, we all hurt. Let’s all be part of the change.

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Annual Summer Reading List

Photo by Fabiola Peñalba on Unsplash

For years, Valerie Strauss has published an annual summer reading list assembled by Brennan Barnard, the director of college counseling at the private Derryfield School in New Hampshire and college admission program manager of the Making Caring Common project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Barnard asks fellow high school college admissions counselors as well as college admissions deans for recommendations of books for students and parents to read. Some of the several dozen suggestions are related to the education world, and some are not.

You can find the full 2019 list here.

I have my own reading list for this year, and I am excited to add a few from his list. I am currently reading The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates. It was a slow start for me, but I am glad I kept reading; there are some wonderful messages around unity, inclusion, and connection, and I have enjoyed learning about her early years at Microsoft, how she ramped up her work in their foundation, and even her relationship with Bill. I was not expecting to learn about their relationship at all! How she weaves together data and storytelling appeals to me, and I more now than before (which I did not think was possible) believe that when you lift up women, you lift up humanity. This book is a call to action if you did not feel compelled already.

I have also read the following books this year:

  • Boy Erased
  • Difficult Women  
  • Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder
  • Fraternity
  • Becoming
  • To The Next Step
  • The Path Made Clear

And I will be adding the following from Barnard’s list to my list:

It seems that on almost every book list related to college, Julie Lythcott-Haims’ book is included, and I could not be more happy about that!!! I absolutely loved this book when I read it and its messages are as powerful and relevant today as they were in 2015. I suggest all parents read this book:

“How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success” by Julie Lythcott-Haims

Happy reading!!!

 

 

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