What S Worth Fighting For In The Principalship

This book will help principals (and teacher leaders) fight for fundamentally positive changes that will benefit themselves and their students. Because principals are very often overloaded either with what they are actually doing or with all the things they think they should be doing, their actions, however unintentionally, are frequently shaped by outside events and/or the actions or directions of others. In the heart of this book, "Guidelines for Action, " the author helps principals break the cycle of dependency both for themselves and for those with whom they work.

The premise of this book about the new role of the principalship is that the educational system fosters principals' dependency. Effective school administration is based on empowerment and collaboration. This book examines the problem of dependency and how to overcome it. Section 1 describes the nonrational world of the principal, challenges to the principalship, and changes in the principal's role. Conservative practices that limit principals' success and reinforce dependency are identified. The theme of the second section, "New Conceptions of the Principalship," is that the present system is not working. Essential concepts and qualities of the new principal are outlined. Action guidelines for three parts of the problem are offered in section 3: (1) advice to incumbent principals on "what's worth fighting for"; (2) suggestions for school boards and system administrators; and (3) ideas for fostering the central role of perpetual learning. (38 references) (LMI)

ANDY HARGREAVES Department of Teacher Education, Curriculum and Instruction Lynch School of Education, Boston College, MA, U.S.A. ANN LIEBERMAN Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stanford, CA, U.S.A. MICHAEL FULLAN Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada DAVID HOPKINS Department for Education and Skills, London, U.K. This set of four volumes on Educational Change brings together evidence and insights on educational change issues from leading writers and researchers in the field from across the world. Many of these writers, whose chapters have been specially written for these books, have been investigating, helping initiate and implementing educational change, for most or all of their lengthy careers. Others are working on the cutting edge of theory and practice in educational change, taking the field in new or even more challenging directions. And some are more skeptical about the literature of educational change and the assumptions on which it rests. They help us to approach projects of understanding or initiating educational change more deeply, reflectively and realistically. Educational change and reform have rarely had so much prominence within public policy, in so many different places. Educational change is ubiquitous. It figures large in Presidential and Prime Ministerial speeches. It is at or near the top of many National policy agendas. Everywhere, educational change is not only a policy priority but also major public news. Yet action to bring about educational change usually exceeds people's understanding of how to do so effectively.

In addition to its outstanding analysis of "total teachers" and school culture, this book provides action guidelines for teachers and for principals that are filled with insight that will help school educators take responsibility for reform.

The time has come to change the context of school leadership! The role of the principal is pivotal to systemic school change. That is the fundamental message in The Moral Imperative of School Leadership, which extends the discussion begun in Fullan's earlier publication, What’s Worth Fighting for in the Principalship? The author examines the moral purpose of school leadership and its critical role in "changing the context" in which the role is embedded. In this bold step forward, Fullan calls for principals to become agents as well as beneficiaries of the processes of school change. Concepts explored in-depth include: Why "changing the context" should be the main agenda for the principalship Why barriers to the principalship exist Why the principal should be seen as the COO (chief operating officer) of a school Why the role of the principal should figure more prominently within the system

As in the other two books in this series, the authors provide guidelines for teachers and principals to help them expand and improve their thinking and practice, and to show policy makers and communities what they can do and why they should do it for the sake of the future of children and society.

Life Is . . . A Journey Worth Fighting For Everyone has a story to tell. Whether we are young or old, our story began the moment we took our first breath. Every one of us chooses the life that we want to live and the story that we want to leave behind the moment we take our last breath. The story of our life is what we make it as we live and learn each day. Life is a journey of personal growth and learning experiences. It is about lessons learned and actions taken to improve the quality of life. This book will take you through a teenage girl's journey through life. Her struggles continued after she dropped out of school, got married at the age of fifteen going on sixteen, and becoming a young teenage mother who managed to finish high school and ultimately obtain a PhD. Both she and her husband were also struck with cancer, but no matter what obstacles came her way, she continued to trust in God and kept moving forward with many dreams for her future. Some facets of life such as life is an opportunity, beauty, a dream, a game, a promise, sorrow, a song, a struggle, a tragedy, an adventure, luck, too precious, life is life, fight for it are words that spoke to her as she came across a poem that inspired her to write this book. She immediately began reflecting on her life and making connections to the words and her interpretation of the message in the poem. A feeling overcame her as if the poem was telling her life story. She experienced the facets of life stated above at different stages in her life and in different situations. As a result, she came to the conclusion that life is a journey worth fighting for. Life is not perfect, and people should not pretend that it is. Some have to work harder than others in order to facilitate their journey through life. Challenges such as bullying, growing pains, dropping out of school, dealing with a failed relationship or marriage, loss of income or job, job reassignment, drug abuse, alcoholism, getting older, and disease are just a few of the struggles that we may experience at different points in life. At times, we may have to put up a good fight and not give up by overcoming obstacles that may interfere with the quality of life, the life God wants for us that will ultimately lead us to eternal life. No matter what age one may be or what obstacles come our way, we should never stop dreaming.