1. Courses
  2. The Main Idea Book Club | C...

The Main Idea Book Club | Come Curious, Leave Smarter


Keep hope alive this fall with our Main Idea Book Club. Join Jenn David-Lang and Washington state principals Kim Doepker and Terrie Garrison as we dive into book summaries to help you problem-solve, connect with others around each book's central theme, and walk away with concrete implementation ideas. Get the skills to grow yourself, and grow your school.

We know you don't have the time you want to always engage in your own professional learning or reading, so let us kick-start the process for you. Through Katie Novak's "four Ps", you'll get a sense of:
  • Place: Join our community of leaders and learners preparing to keep hope alive through what could be a rocky and divisive fall.
  • Purpose: Reconnect your own purpose with each book's monthly theme.
  • You can leave with the tools and resources you need to move the book's ideas into action.
  • Progress: Reflect with others about how you'll monitor hope and move towards a sense of belonging.

Why Join Us

FAQs & Course Details

Are clock hours included? Yes, each session you fully attend (45 min or more) includes 1.25 Leadership Clock Hours. They are included in your purchase and available after the last session.
Do I need to buy and/or read the books? No, The Main Idea has already created 8-page book summaries for you to read to get the gist of the book, or if you will, the main ideas.
When do I need to read the book summaries? Please read the 8-page summaries prior to each Zoom session. We will cover some of the content, but we'd like everyone to come prepared to discuss the summary.
Will the sessions be recorded? No. The sessions will be very interactive, with lots of time spent in breakout rooms, so the recordings won't be very valuable.
How long is each session? Each session will last one hour.

Facilitators

Jenn David-Lang
Founder
The Main Idea
Terrie Garrison
Principal
Puyallup School District
Kim Doepker
Principal, Garrison Middle School
Walla Walla Public Schools


Book Overviews

The Culture Code

Combining leading-edge science, on-the-ground insights from world-class leaders, and practical ideas for action, The Culture Code offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded. Culture is not something you are - it’s something you do.

Onward

Onward tackles the problem of educator stress, and provides a practical framework for taking the burnout out of teaching. Stress is part of the job, but when 70 percent of teachers quit within their first five years because the stress is making them physically and mentally ill, things have gone too far.

Illuminate the Way

In Illuminate the Way: The School Leader's Guide to Addressing and Preventing Teacher Burnout, veteran teacher and instructional coach Chase Mielke outlines the three dimensions of burnout—exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy—and provides the methods to help foster agency, relatedness, and competence in your staff.

Belonging in Schools

Belonging is an instinctual feeling: you know when you feel it—and you really know when you don’t. Creating a sense of belonging in the classroom has a significant impact on student learning and well-being; it serves as a gatekeeper for other aspects of learning to take root. But how do we create classrooms and schools where every student knows they belong?