Some believe leaders are born.  Whether that is true or not, in our profession, becoming a school leader most often begins in the classroom. Teachers feel the call to make a bigger difference or to fill a different role. They take the first step by entering graduate programs. Those programs, formerly known by the name 'Educational Administration', have, over these past years, become 'Educational Leadership' programs. But, too often, the difference in the names did not necessarily…

Of all the hundreds of questions provoked by the K-12 morass, here is the fundamental one: are the top people incompetent or are they subversive?

 Anybody who studies K-12  will come to this impasse: is the Education Establishment clueless or conspiratorial?

 Charlotte Iserbyt wrote a famous book which you can find free on the Internet: "The Deliberate Dumbing…

Spring is a time of renewal. Leaves open into lime green brilliance.  Perennials pop from the earth and spread an array of color. For educators, the chapter called 2015- 2016 is racing to a close. The next year comes into focus with budgets finalized and assignments made. Students and teachers and principals will be evaluated and next year's decisions will be made.

It may well be the time of year when educators feel most accountable. But is it motivating? Paid with public dollars, we…

What Defines a Good School?

• Ed Week

Words matter. They matter in all aspects of life, especially when we are talking about how to define a school. Of course, brick and mortar are only a small part of the story. The academic and emotional…

A most responsible decision is to open discussions where people with all opinions, bias, concerns, and support can be heard and considered. Coming together to make sense of all sides and arriving at a place where most of those involved can agree is challenging and takes a good amount of open mindedness. It might even mean a leader has to change his/her mind and position as the cloud of opinions clear and the facts are clear. An example from outside of education can be found in Robert…

Here's an article about public schools in West Virginia circa 1931. Those long-gone public schools were far superior to the schools we have now. Isn't that weird, not to mention tragic?

 We could get rid of the entire Department of Education, Common Core, everything the Education Establishment wants to impose on us; and do exactly what the people in West Virginia did 80 years ago. We would save a trillion…

Many institutions of higher education around the country offer an annual faculty award for innovative teaching. But, this phenomenon happens with much less frequency in K - 12 schools. We wonder how we can encourage the development of innovation for their students if they, themselves, are not recognized and rewarded for it. Does it present a dilemma for leaders whether or not to recognize with distinction, those teachers who pepper the school building with innovative thinking and…

36 Questions Which Lead Leaders

When change has no constituency and the status quo has a strong one, when the world in which our students live is in a constant state of flux, when our students and we, ourselves, have access to learning by accessing experts on YouTube and to communication through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, when our classrooms and facilities resemble the past century, we need to build a change constituency. Yet, it is only those leaders who have come by their leadership capacities naturally that…

The Power of Reading Aloud in Middle School Classrooms

—Source: Image by Flickr user Peter Taylor, under Creative Commons

Interviewing Famous Leaders in History

Subjects

• Arts and Humanities
• Social Studies
• World History
• U.S. History

Grades

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

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Brief Description

Students research a famous leader and then assume the role of interviewer and…

The Best Resources For Teaching “What If?” History Lessons

May 19, 2012 by Larry Ferlazzo

© 2011 …