There are some books in education that are so good, that you buy the hard copy, the Kindle version, and the audio copy, too. Kids Deserve It is one of those books.
Simply put: Kids Deserve It by Todd Nesloney and Adam Welcome needs to be read by every person working in a school.
We’ll say it again for the folks in the back of the room: If you work with kids, you need to read this book!
Because if each of us were to implement just one idea from Kids Deserve It, we would see an incredible impact in our schools.
As you read, you’ll be reminded of why you’re doing the things you’re doing. You will be inspired to try new things, too. And you will get to parts that will make you want to put down the book (or pause the audio version) and scream: “YES!”
* Side note: I (Greg) actually pulled over on the side of the road, paused the audio version, opened up the book on Kindle, highlighted a section, and called Kali to shout the quote into the phone. Kali was covering a PE class of 45 boys at the time so she couldn’t take the call. But it would have been epic. But we have the voicemail.
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I (Greg) actually started using Twitter this summer and quickly noticed that everyone was adding #KidsDeserveIt to their posts. The hashtag was everywhere!
At the time, I had no idea it was a book or a podcast. I just knew that what Todd and Adam were posting made sense and that kids deserved our very best as educators.
After reading Alicia Ray’s #DBC50Summer blog post, I went back and started listening to the podcasts and Todd’s TedX Talk and Adam’s videos on YouTube. I’m so glad I did. Because #KidsDeserveIt is more than a hashtag. Way more.
It is a movement, a community of educators, who will do whatever it takes to make school awesome for students – and for each other.
And that’s a key point. Because to make the schools that kids deserve, we need each other. The work is too hard and too important to go at it alone.
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I (Kali) discovered the #KidsDeserveIt podcast in early 2016 while on maternity leave with my youngest son. I drove my two older children to school each morning and I needed something to listen to on the long drive home – twice a day.
It inspired me. It kept me going. It made me excited and to return from leave and get back to the classroom.
I have literally been counting down the weeks until we arrived on Book 17 to finally read it.
It sums up everything I believe about education. It puts into words everything I feel.
As teachers, we have an incredible opportunity to make a difference. Every single day. Not only for our students, but for each other.
Kids Deserve It will remind you why and show you how.
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We’re going to plug the audio version for a moment, as we both bought it on Audible and have been listening to it in the car – an awesome option with our busy lives as parents and educators.
There is nothing like listening to Todd talk about his grandmother and discovering his love of reading. I (Greg) cried.
There’s nothing like hearing Adam say #KidsDeserveIt and #YouDeserveIt repeatedly. There’s so much passion in his voice. I (Kali) laughed with Adam a lot.
And every single word they say is true. Kids really do deserve the best and so do educators. And the ideas discussed in this book will make schools better for kids AND for adults.
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Kids and the educators in their lives also deserve to laugh and have fun at school. And the chapter on Ron Clark is hilarious. We won’t give it away!
We had our own “Ron Clark” moment when Adam showed up at our school.
Yes, Adam just showed up. Out of the blue.
One day in August, Kali saw on Twitter that Adam was going to be in a tiny town a few miles north of us. She thought, “Hey, if he’s presenting in this small town, why not ours?” So she challenged Greg (on Twitter!) to get Adam to come to our school. That weekend, Greg began emailing with Adam to see if we could make it happen.
And then, that Monday, Adam showed up. Standing in the middle of our tiny school office. One of our secretaries yelled, “Kali, Greg, you have a guest!”
I (Kali) immediately recognized him and his first words revealed that my assumptions were correct. Adam. Welcome. Showed up in our office! I tried to explain to our confused office staff who our guest was, but my words could not simply convey my excitement enough.
We will not forget his generosity of time. We will not forget his encouragement.
I (Kali) still walk by the office and hope to see Adam standing there, waiting to visit us again. Someday soon we need to make that happen!
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So many ideas were presented in this book. So. Many. Ideas.
Each chapter is a call to action and a reminder of what we should be doing for our kids. Here are just a few of the titles:
Go Big, Be Creative
Don’t Live on an Island
Innovate! Be Different!
Be a Leader Worth Following
Do the Little Things
Everyone Needs a Cheerleader
Todd and Adam are those cheerleaders. They celebrate the important role educators play. And they push us to do more.
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There is something incredible in every single chapter of Kids Deserve It and something worthy of quoting on almost every single page. As we’ve been reading each of the DBC books, we have started to set a limit of how many things we’ll highlight and post (otherwise we’d be Tweeting all day). With Kids Deserve It, however, that limit was quickly forgotten!
Kali had just too many things to share with the Twitter world and everything was share worthy!
Greg highlighted almost everything in the intro, but this part really stood out:
The emotional experiences we create for our students matter:
It is our job, as educators, to create the learning environment:
We also have a responsibility to share what we are learning and what we are doing:
As educators, we need to remember that we do, indeed, make a difference:
No matter what role we play in a school, all of us can lead:
And all of us can love our students:
Every kid deserves an adult to be their champion:
And every interaction with a student (or colleague) is an opportunity to show them that we care:
It won’t be easy, but it’s worth it:
And, we need to tell our stories and seek out the stories of others:
The things we are told and the stories shared with us may hurt, but they can also make us better and stronger:
Because in the end, kids deserve everything we’ve got:
There are many things that we can do to improve education. Complaining is not one of them:
Adam and Todd, thank you. Thank you for writing a book that speaks to our hearts and our minds. Thank you for telling your stories and sharing your ideas. Thank you for believing that kids deserve it.
Those were our takeaways from Kids Deserve It. What are yours?
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