Translates "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" into education. For the full effect, read "Zen" first, and as you read, keep asking, "But how can I put this into effect in the classroom?" This book will provide many of the answers.

Here, Gatto argues that schooling has tried to mechanize children for a long time. I'm not sure if I agree with much of his reasoning -- there are serious points to question -- but he's worth the read. Read with a grain of salt, but read anyway. (Check out the kernel of his argument at http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/historytour/history1.htm )

Wonderfully useful ideas and theories from the woman who inspired the movie "Dangerous Minds". The most immediately useful of the books on this list, and a great gift for any teacher.

I have a hard time reading this book. It's written in a quasi-mystical language I find infuriating. That aside, this book explicitly re-frames our basic concepts of teaching, going farther than any of the other authors here. For me, it was well worth the difficulty.

All right, I lied. At the beginning of this page, I said this list was going to be about GOALS in teaching, not methods... (sigh). This book is all about METHODS. I put it on here because it explicates the only comprehensive classroom discipline plan I've ever run across. It's cocky, it's inhuman... but it's really impressive.