7 Must-Read Books Every Educator Should Know (Even If You Don’t Have Time to Read Them)

We know how busy educators are, so we’ve summarized seven powerful books that support the science and strategies behind Generation Wellness trainings. These titles offer research-backed insights into behavior, learning, trauma, and well-being. We’ve pulled out the key takeaways so you don’t have to read them cover to cover.

What Happened to You? by Dr. Bruce Perry & Oprah Winfrey

• Shifts the question from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”
• Emphasizes the importance of safety, relationships, and consistency in healing.
• Shows how stress and trauma impact brain development and behavior.
• Research: Neural pathways are formed through patterned, repetitive experiences—meaning consistent, safe relationships are critical for healing.
• Research: The part of the brain activated during stress is the least capable of logical thinking and learning.
• Research: Children with high levels of connection to at least one caring adult show significantly better outcomes in mental health, academics, and behavior.
• Research: Regulated adults co-regulate dysregulated children, reinforcing the brain's ability to return to a calm state over time.

GW Connection: This trauma-informed lens supports how we create Tier 1, 2, and 3 interventions, emphasizing regulation and connection before logic and punishment.

The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk

• Trauma lives in the body, affecting mood, behavior, and relationships.
• Talk therapy isn’t enough, healing must involve the body.
• Emphasizes mindfulness, movement, and safe connection as healing tools.
• Research: Trauma reshapes both the body and the brain, specifically the areas responsible for pleasure, engagement, control, and trust.
• Research: Mind-body interventions like yoga, mindfulness, and breathwork can rewire the nervous system and reduce trauma symptoms.
• Research: The brain's default mode network, which helps us make sense of ourselves and others, becomes disrupted by trauma, making it harder to feel safe, present, and connected.
• Research: Trauma survivors often have difficulty sensing and interpreting their internal bodily cues (interoception), which can hinder emotional regulation and self-awareness.

GW Connection: Every tool we teach—movement breaks, breathing practices, Regulation Stations, and more is rooted in helping the nervous system process and release stress.

Teaching with the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen

• Aligns teaching with how the brain learns best.
• Highlights the impact of emotions on student performance.
• Suggests simple strategies like movement, visuals, and repetition to engage learners.
• Research: Movement boosts attention, working memory, and overall academic performance.
• Research: Positive emotional states enhance the brain’s ability to learn and retain information.
• Research: The brain is a social organ. Students learn better in environments that foster connection, collaboration, and a sense of belonging.
• Research: Novelty and curiosity activate the brain’s reward system, increasing dopamine and making learning more memorable and enjoyable.

GW Connection: Our framework integrates brain-based practices to improve engagement and reduce disruptions.

The Whole-Brain Child by Dr. Dan Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson

• Children thrive when the brain’s logical and emotional centers work together.
• Kids aren’t “misbehaving”—they’re often dysregulated.
• Adults can guide kids back to balance through connection and empathy.
• Research: Integration between the emotional brain (right) and logical brain (left) helps kids respond rather than react.
• Research: Name-it-to-tame-it: Naming emotions calms the amygdala and helps regulate behavior.

• Research: Storytelling and narrative help organize memories and promote integration, allowing children to make sense of their experiences and build resilience.

• Research: Mirror neurons in the brain respond to the emotions and actions of others, meaning a calm, regulated adult can help a child co-regulate through presence and empathy.

GW Connection: Our Regulate–Connect–Reflect framework mirrors this model, helping students access their learning brain.

Brain Rules by Dr. John Medina

• The brain thrives when basic needs like sleep, exercise, and emotional safety are met.
• Emotion drives attention and memory.
• Learning improves when the brain is stimulated in multiple ways (movement, visuals, storytelling).
• Research: Exercise increases oxygen flow to the brain and enhances cognitive performance.
• Research: Stressed brains don’t learn the same way as relaxed, emotionally safe brains.
• Research: The brain processes meaning before detail, students are more likely to remember information when it’s tied to a meaningful context or personal relevance.
• Research: The brain’s attention span is limited (about 10 minutes), but it can be refreshed with a change in activity, emotional hook, or sensory input.

GW Connection: We incorporate these “rules” into real-time strategies for classrooms, like daily connection practices, movement, and focus-building activities.

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

• Explores the mental health crisis in today’s youth.
• Identifies tech overuse, reduced independence, and less social play as root causes.
• Calls for schools and families to reconnect kids with real life.
• Research: The shift to phone-based childhoods has led to dramatic increases in anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
• Research: Face-to-face interaction, physical activity, and unstructured play are protective factors for mental health.
• Research: Excessive social media use during early adolescence disrupts identity formation, increases social comparison, and heightens sensitivity to rejection.
• Research: Delayed exposure to smartphones and social media is associated with better emotional regulation, improved sleep, and stronger in-person relationships.

GW Connection: Our trainings prioritize peer connection, mindfulness, and play-based learning to address these exact challenges.

Lost at School by Dr. Ross Greene

• Challenges the traditional view of school discipline by focusing on skill-building instead of repetitive punishment.
• Emphasizes that “kids do well if they can,” highlighting lagging skills as the root of challenging behaviors.
• Advocates for empathy, collaboration, and proactive support rather than punishment.
• Research: Collaborative approaches to discipline reduce behavior referrals and improve school climate.
• Research: Students with executive functioning challenges need co-regulation and skill development, not consequences.
• Research: Punitive discipline can escalate behavior and damage relationships, especially for students with trauma histories or neurodiverse needs.
• Research: When students are involved in problem-solving conversations, they build autonomy, communication skills, and emotional regulation.

GW Connection: Generation Wellness trainings help staff shift from “what’s wrong with this student?” to “what skills are missing?” and provide interventions that teach peace (regulation, connection, and reflection).