Examines the forces that keep educators and students from feeling fully empowered. Contains self-help and planning activities for teachers and administrators interested in transforming schools.

This book is about power -- power in the classroom, in our schools, and in our society. Schools, teachers, students, and teaching exist in a churning cauldron of interrelated institutions and social forces. Power relations in schools reflect these larger societal forces and the interconnections of our institutions. This book is also about empowerment -- the empowerment of teachers and students. It explores the process through which people develop more control over their lives and acquire the skills and dispositions necessary to be critical and effective participants in our society. The heart of this book, and Kreisberg's unique contribution to the empowerment literature, is his elucidation of the difference between power over and power with in his search to understand the nature of power that can empower individuals and communities. Kreisberg draws upon educational, political, feminist, and psychological theory, and, especially, the voices of teachers, in his framing of the question: What are the dynamics of power that we as teachers can create in our relationships with our students that will be empowering for both our students and ourselves?

In school reform, students are rarely consulted. This book presents a step-by-step process for involving students in transforming schools and empowering them to make real decisions that affect their education.

President Obama has on a number of occasions rejected policies that have been tried and do not work. Legislation such as No Child Left Behind and policies such as Race to the Top are neither effective nor based on sound research. Educational policy-making is now, more than ever, the preserve of politicians, advocacy foundations, and lobbyists parading as corporate leaders. Teachers have little voice; their role is merely to be held responsible for policies foisted upon them. In Transforming Schools: Alternative Perspectives on School Reform, our aim is to provide alternative perspectives to the dead-end educational policies by which our governments have become consumed. We turn the spotlight on a select range of topics that have become the focus of concern and we consider the implications for school improvement. These topics include school reform in general, the achievement gap, literacy, standardized assessment, social justice and ecojustice, aesthetic and moral education, and general education.

This book calls for moving teachers to the center of decision-making in public schools. It honors teaching and teachers by redefining the role in a democratically organized professional setting. While modern reform employs the language of school restructuring, genuine change that will enhance the status of teachers is not at the top of the agenda. This book recognizes that for authentic empowerment to materialize, the nature of the teaching role must significantly change. At the same time, teacher preparation will also have to be overhauled in order to equip teachers with all that a new status demands. It also proposes that the role of the principal must be dramatically transformed and recommends returning principals to the teaching function as part of their task and places them in greater accountability to the professional teaching staff itself. The book presents a hopeful message that is grounded in a progressive perspective our conservative epoch demands.

Transforming Schools demonstrates how transformation is no longer an option in teaching and learning - it has become a necessity. Changes in the way we work and the challenges of issues such as climate change, poverty and migration mean that teaching and learning need to alter to incorporate capacities that will help us meet those challenges. The 4Cs: Creativity, Critical Reflection, Communication and Collaboration have long been present in education, but Transforming Schools demonstrates how schools can change teaching and leadership to embed and enact the 4Cs to make them central to dynamic and exciting learning. Miranda Jefferson and Michael Anderson demonstrate how a renewed approach to teaching that integrates the 4Cs can better equip today's learners. They draw on their own international research and experiences in school transformation in a variety of school settings, working in partnership with practitioners, researchers, students and the community. The authors consider how schools might reorganise themselves to become more relevant to their students and to the community. Practical strategies for transformation are included throughout the chapters to demonstrate how learning can be supported and how the 4Cs can be made explicit in schools. These examples will support school leadership teams and teachers to explicitly teach the 4Cs in relevant and challenging ways. This book is essential reading for those looking to transform schools and more effectively meet the needs of today's learners.

Advance Praise for Moving the Rock “The future comes at us fast — which means school reformers don’t have time to wait. They need real tools in real time. That’s why Moving the Rock is so important. Grant Lichtman has guidance for anyone — teachers, parents, administrators, government officials — intent on helping young people succeed not ‘someday,’ but today.” — Daniel H. Pink, best-selling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind “Grant Lichtman’s book is a clear and comprehensive guide to the “what" and the “how” of educational transformation. Organized around essential levers for change, it is a must-read for anyone who wants to make a difference in our schools.” —Tony Wagner, Harvard Ilab Expert in Residence, and best-selling author of The Global Achievement Gap and Creating Innovators” “This book gives me hope for a brighter future in education. Despite the dark clouds imposed by misguided policies, Grant Lichtman diligently tells stories of grass-roots innovations in the classrooms and schools all over the world. Moving the Rock is an inspiring call to action for all educators.” —Yong Zhao, Ph.D., Foundation Distinguished Professor, School of Education, University of Kansas “If you have children, or teach children, or want our children to succeed, this is a must-read book. Grant Lichtman throws down the challenge for all of us; that WE can change education, and he shows us just how successful schools everywhere are overcoming change-killing inertia in our schools.” —Todd Rose, best-selling author of The End of Average; Harvard University Moving the Rock: Seven Levers WE Can Press to Transform Educationgives educators, parents, administrators, students, and other stakeholders a clear paradigm for transforming our outmoded schools into schools that will help our children to meet the challenges of tomorrow. It’s no secret that our educational system is stuck. Moving the Rock shows the important roles all of us can play in un-sticking it by moving seven specific levers that will change the focus of education from what we teach to how we learn. Importantly, moving the levers is completely possible today, and in fact is already happening now in many schools. Drawing on research and extensive experience in the education community, Grant Lichtman outlines the seven essential levers that can profoundly change our schools so that we are teaching all our children how to learn, including • Creating the Demand for Better Schools • Building School-Community Learning Laboratories • Encouraging Open Access to Knowledge • Fixing How We Measure Student Success • Teaching the Teachers what They Really Need to Know • and more At the end of each of each chapter there are one or more challenges, ways that all of us can collectively turn the pioneering work of others into transformation for all our schools.

From The Author Our children and adults within our schools need you to be at your absolute best. An educator who is constantly working toward "Staying Grounded" will be someone who is a strategic leader who leads within and amongst the levels of self, others, and the organization they serve. Leadership of self includes the responsibility of being self-aware and proactive in developing personal strengths. This is what the 12 Principles will provide for you if you have what it takes. I know you do! I've heard that leadership is never about wielding one's authority, it's about empowering people. This book is meant to take that concept many steps further. For years my wife Erin has asked me when I would write a book about my views about the future of our education system and school leadership. The two are inextricably linked together. I hope this book will provide you with everything you will ever need to make that come true for the child(ren) or school(s) you have the privilege of serving. My work as a superintendent of schools, Fulbright specialist, TEDx speaker and associate professor of education has allowed me to acquire some insightful viewpoints into our education system and the people who work within it. I've been fortunate to work with children beginning in Pre-K through teaching educators and administrators working toward their doctorates in education. In many cases, their education spans thirty plus years. Editorial Reviews "Michael Hynes is one of America's most respected educators. A celebrated teacher and visionary superintendent, he is driven by a deep conviction that education must address the whole child - mind, body and spirit - and that leaders and administrators have crucial roles on making sure it does. He knows exactly how taxing those roles can be and that, whatever the pressures, they have to be guided by humane principles and compassionate practice. Staying Grounded is a trove of ethical and practical wisdom for managing the system as it is and for leading the changes that are needed for all our children to flourish as they must." Sir Ken Robinson, Educator and New York Times Best Selling Author "Michael Hynes is a visionary superintendent and Staying Grounded lays out a core set of principles to guide school leaders. In focusing on the inside work defining the leader's attitude and purpose, the outside work of creating a compelling philosophy of education, and the future work of understanding where we are going, he creates the architecture for a just and humane school system. By starting with a foundation built on a sense of purpose, relationships, and taking care of yourself, he reminds us of Oscar Wilde's famous aphorism: 'Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.'" James Harvey, President of the National Superintendents Roundtable "After reading Dr. Hynes' inspiring book, I found myself wondering what would happen if he became a State Commissioner of Education. The state's focus would shift 180 degrees, from obsessing over test scores and accountability to an entirely different paradigm of physical, mental, and emotional well- being for students and staff. This would be a Copernican revolution in education. If only." Diane Ravitch, Research Professor of Education at NYU and educational policy analyst