I have found these books particularly helpful in my preparation to shift my role as an educator from classroom teacher to administrator. Myself an aspiring secondary instructional leader who has yet to serve in the role, these works make me feel ready to thrive in that new position when the time comes. I recommend these reads to any teacher thinking of moving into any kind of leadership position within the school community, and offer a brief note on each.
Harvey Alvy & Pam Robbins, Learning From Lincoln, 2010-As an inexperienced president, Lincoln relied on two things: His values/judgment & the team around him. New leaders in any position can benefit from the lesson from Lincoln.
Alan M. Blankstein, Failure is Not an Option, 2004- If Bank of America is too big to fail, why aren't schools? Why is that not our mentality?
ed. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Curriculum 21, 2010- Great collection of essays on where education is heading. I particularly liked, "A Classroom as Wide as the World."
Thomas Hoerr, The Art of School Leadership, 2005- Examines types of leadership styles, and is filled with teacher anecdotes about what they look for in a leader.
Robert Marzano, Timothy Waters, & Brian McNulty, School Leadership that Works, 2005- Great stuff as always from Marzano. The title says it all.
William J. Reese, America’s Public Schools, 2005- Provides a general history of pubic schools in the United States from the early republic to No Child Left Behind. I found the chapter about LBJ's Great Society very interesting, which spawned a different research project specifically about the ed reforms of the 1960s.
Jon Saphier, How to Make Supervision & Evaluation Really Work, 1993- A real useful and growth centered way to learn about teacher evaluations and supervision. Even if I do not become an administrator this upcoming year, the material in this book made me a better classroom teacher as well. It allowed me to see my own teaching from the perspective of an evaluator.
Mike Schmoker, Focus, 2011- Even with all of the new technologies and fads out there, the four pillars of language remain the ability to read, write, speak, and listen effectively. Schmoker reminds us that as leaders its important to avoid jumping on every new trend until we first identify how it will improve literacy.
Marilyn Tallerico, Supporting & Sustaining Teachers’ Professional Development, 2005- Great stuff on adult learning theory in here. Transitioning from classroom to administration also means a shift in who we are primarily working with. Adults are different than children, obviously, which means a need for a different way of working.
Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap, 2008- Discusses similar issues as Curriculum 21, but still a great and very quick read.
Anne Wescott Dodd & Jean L. Konzal, How Communities Build Stronger Schools, 2002-Community relations are paramount to the success of practically all public enterprises, and schools are certainly no exception. Many anecdotes provide clear lessons in both good and bad PR from various schools in this book.
Todd Whitaker, Leading School Change, 2010- Whitaker is a fantastic resource for all educators, and I recommend any of his books. He offers practical solutions to some of the most basic interpersonal problems that occur in schools and plague leadership posts. I enjoyed this book thoroughly.
Todd Whitaker, What Great Principals Do Differently, 2003- The title says it all. See above.
No comments:
Post a Comment