What Matters Most for School Leaders

25 Reminders of What Is Really Important
Robert D. Ramsey - Consultant
What Matters Most for School Leaders
October 2004 | 224 pages | Corwin
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eBook
ISBN: 9781483361161
Available from January 0001
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ISBN: 9781412904513
Available from January 0001

Description

Reawaken, refocus, and recommit to your career as a school leader!

If you are a school leader who has ever felt lost, confused, or disheartened, then this single, compact, survival guide is for you! A primer of what is truly important for today's school leaders at all levels, it is a how-to book made up of twenty-five fundamental insights and baseline beliefs that never change. Staying focused on what really matters, each page reminds administrators of the simple, guiding truths and timeless values that made them want to become educators in the first place.

Each section acts as a compass that showcases:

  • Commonsense, cornerstone principles
  • Life lessons from school leaders
  • Real-world examples from successful administrators
  • Practical tips on how to concentrate on what counts, and apply what's most important on the job everyday

What Matters Most for School Leaders contains hard-earned wisdom and forgotten truths that are freshly viewed and packaged in modern-day terms. Call it a pep talk or a refresher course, it reawakens, rekindles, renews, and refocuses on the perspective, passion, and priorities of school leaders, reviving their sense of purpose and enhancing their image in the educational field.

Contents

Preface: Why This Book? Why Now?

Preface: Why This Book? Why Now?

Introduction: Some Things Never Change

Introduction: Some Things Never Change

1. What You Do Is Special

1. What You Do Is Special

2. Primero Los Ninos: Children First

2. Primero Los Ninos: Children First

3. There Are No Throwaway Kids

3. There Are No Throwaway Kids

4. Strong Schools Make a Strong Nation

4. Strong Schools Make a Strong Nation

5. Schools Are Sacred Places of Hope

5. Schools Are Sacred Places of Hope

6. Teaching is the Greatest Profession

6. Teaching is the Greatest Profession

7. Passion is the Engine That Drives School Leadership

7. Passion is the Engine That Drives School Leadership

8. What Matters Most Costs the Least

8. What Matters Most Costs the Least

9. Schools Are Only as Strong as the Community Allows

9. Schools Are Only as Strong as the Community Allows

10. When It's Your Own Kid, It's Different

10. When It's Your Own Kid, It's Different

11. That Pesky Golden Rule Still Works

11. That Pesky Golden Rule Still Works

12. Someone Has to Be the Grown-Up

12. Someone Has to Be the Grown-Up

13. Good Leaders Learn to "K.I.S.S." and Enjoy the Happiness of Subtraction

13. Good Leaders Learn to "K.I.S.S." and Enjoy the Happiness of Subtraction

14. You Can't Have Too Much Integrity

14. You Can't Have Too Much Integrity

15. Commonsense is Better Than a College Degree: The Grandma Test

15. Commonsense is Better Than a College Degree: The Grandma Test

16. Sometimes Kids Need Candy More Than Milk

16. Sometimes Kids Need Candy More Than Milk

17. A Chicken Doesn't Stop Scratching Just Because Worms Are Scarce

17. A Chicken Doesn't Stop Scratching Just Because Worms Are Scarce

18. The Reverse Side Has a Reverse Side

18. The Reverse Side Has a Reverse Side

19. The Best Leader Is a "Servant Leader"

19. The Best Leader Is a "Servant Leader"

20. Your Mother Didn't Raise You to Be a Bureaucrat

20. Your Mother Didn't Raise You to Be a Bureaucrat

21. Politicians and Armchair Quarterbacks Don't Get It--So You Have To

21. Politicians and Armchair Quarterbacks Don't Get It--So You Have To

22. If You're Not Having Fun, You're Doing It Wrong

22. If You're Not Having Fun, You're Doing It Wrong

23. Things Are Never as Bad as You Think They Are; and You're Braver, Stronger and Smarter Than You Imagine

23. Things Are Never as Bad as You Think They Are; and You're Braver, Stronger and Smarter Than You Imagine

24. You Work to Live, Not Live to Work

24. You Work to Live, Not Live to Work

25. It's Worth It!

25. It's Worth It!

A Final Word: The Ouija Board Effect

A Final Word: The Ouija Board Effect

Resource A: What Others Say About What Matters Most (In School and In Life)

Resource A: What Others Say About What Matters Most (In School and In Life)

Resource B: Other Books About What Matters Most

Resource B: Other Books About What Matters Most

Resource C: Other Lasting Truths That Couldn't Be Squeezed Into This Little Book

Resource C: Other Lasting Truths That Couldn't Be Squeezed Into This Little Book

Index

Index

Description

Reawaken, refocus, and recommit to your career as a school leader!

If you are a school leader who has ever felt lost, confused, or disheartened, then this single, compact, survival guide is for you! A primer of what is truly important for today's school leaders at all levels, it is a how-to book made up of twenty-five fundamental insights and baseline beliefs that never change. Staying focused on what really matters, each page reminds administrators of the simple, guiding truths and timeless values that made them want to become educators in the first place.

Each section acts as a compass that showcases:

  • Commonsense, cornerstone principles
  • Life lessons from school leaders
  • Real-world examples from successful administrators
  • Practical tips on how to concentrate on what counts, and apply what's most important on the job everyday

What Matters Most for School Leaders contains hard-earned wisdom and forgotten truths that are freshly viewed and packaged in modern-day terms. Call it a pep talk or a refresher course, it reawakens, rekindles, renews, and refocuses on the perspective, passion, and priorities of school leaders, reviving their sense of purpose and enhancing their image in the educational field.

Contents

Preface: Why This Book? Why Now?

Preface: Why This Book? Why Now?

Introduction: Some Things Never Change

Introduction: Some Things Never Change

1. What You Do Is Special

1. What You Do Is Special

2. Primero Los Ninos: Children First

2. Primero Los Ninos: Children First

3. There Are No Throwaway Kids

3. There Are No Throwaway Kids

4. Strong Schools Make a Strong Nation

4. Strong Schools Make a Strong Nation

5. Schools Are Sacred Places of Hope

5. Schools Are Sacred Places of Hope

6. Teaching is the Greatest Profession

6. Teaching is the Greatest Profession

7. Passion is the Engine That Drives School Leadership

7. Passion is the Engine That Drives School Leadership

8. What Matters Most Costs the Least

8. What Matters Most Costs the Least

9. Schools Are Only as Strong as the Community Allows

9. Schools Are Only as Strong as the Community Allows

10. When It's Your Own Kid, It's Different

10. When It's Your Own Kid, It's Different

11. That Pesky Golden Rule Still Works

11. That Pesky Golden Rule Still Works

12. Someone Has to Be the Grown-Up

12. Someone Has to Be the Grown-Up

13. Good Leaders Learn to "K.I.S.S." and Enjoy the Happiness of Subtraction

13. Good Leaders Learn to "K.I.S.S." and Enjoy the Happiness of Subtraction

14. You Can't Have Too Much Integrity

14. You Can't Have Too Much Integrity

15. Commonsense is Better Than a College Degree: The Grandma Test

15. Commonsense is Better Than a College Degree: The Grandma Test

16. Sometimes Kids Need Candy More Than Milk

16. Sometimes Kids Need Candy More Than Milk

17. A Chicken Doesn't Stop Scratching Just Because Worms Are Scarce

17. A Chicken Doesn't Stop Scratching Just Because Worms Are Scarce

18. The Reverse Side Has a Reverse Side

18. The Reverse Side Has a Reverse Side

19. The Best Leader Is a "Servant Leader"

19. The Best Leader Is a "Servant Leader"

20. Your Mother Didn't Raise You to Be a Bureaucrat

20. Your Mother Didn't Raise You to Be a Bureaucrat

21. Politicians and Armchair Quarterbacks Don't Get It--So You Have To

21. Politicians and Armchair Quarterbacks Don't Get It--So You Have To

22. If You're Not Having Fun, You're Doing It Wrong

22. If You're Not Having Fun, You're Doing It Wrong

23. Things Are Never as Bad as You Think They Are; and You're Braver, Stronger and Smarter Than You Imagine

23. Things Are Never as Bad as You Think They Are; and You're Braver, Stronger and Smarter Than You Imagine

24. You Work to Live, Not Live to Work

24. You Work to Live, Not Live to Work

25. It's Worth It!

25. It's Worth It!

A Final Word: The Ouija Board Effect

A Final Word: The Ouija Board Effect

Resource A: What Others Say About What Matters Most (In School and In Life)

Resource A: What Others Say About What Matters Most (In School and In Life)

Resource B: Other Books About What Matters Most

Resource B: Other Books About What Matters Most

Resource C: Other Lasting Truths That Couldn't Be Squeezed Into This Little Book

Resource C: Other Lasting Truths That Couldn't Be Squeezed Into This Little Book

Index

Index

SAGE Publishing Logo

What Matters Most for School Leaders

25 Reminders of What Is Really Important


October 2004 | 224 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Hardcover 27/02/2023 9781412904513 $90.95
Paperback 27/02/2023 9781412904520 $40.95
Lifetime 27/02/2023 9781483361161 $37.00

Reawaken, refocus, and recommit to your career as a school leader!

If you are a school leader who has ever felt lost, confused, or disheartened, then this single, compact, survival guide is for you! A primer of what is truly important for today's school leaders at all levels, it is a how-to book made up of twenty-five fundamental insights and baseline beliefs that never change. Staying focused on what really matters, each page reminds administrators of the simple, guiding truths and timeless values that made them want to become educators in the first place.

Each section acts as a compass that showcases:

  • Commonsense, cornerstone principles
  • Life lessons from school leaders
  • Real-world examples from successful administrators
  • Practical tips on how to concentrate on what counts, and apply what's most important on the job everyday

What Matters Most for School Leaders contains hard-earned wisdom and forgotten truths that are freshly viewed and packaged in modern-day terms. Call it a pep talk or a refresher course, it reawakens, rekindles, renews, and refocuses on the perspective, passion, and priorities of school leaders, reviving their sense of purpose and enhancing their image in the educational field.


Table Of Contents:

  • Preface: Why This Book? Why Now?
  • Introduction: Some Things Never Change
  • 1. What You Do Is Special
  • 2. Primero Los Ninos: Children First
  • 3. There Are No Throwaway Kids
  • 4. Strong Schools Make a Strong Nation
  • 5. Schools Are Sacred Places of Hope
  • 6. Teaching is the Greatest Profession
  • 7. Passion is the Engine That Drives School Leadership
  • 8. What Matters Most Costs the Least
  • 9. Schools Are Only as Strong as the Community Allows
  • 10. When It's Your Own Kid, It's Different
  • 11. That Pesky Golden Rule Still Works
  • 12. Someone Has to Be the Grown-Up
  • 13. Good Leaders Learn to "K.I.S.S." and Enjoy the Happiness of Subtraction
  • 14. You Can't Have Too Much Integrity
  • 15. Commonsense is Better Than a College Degree: The Grandma Test
  • 16. Sometimes Kids Need Candy More Than Milk
  • 17. A Chicken Doesn't Stop Scratching Just Because Worms Are Scarce
  • 18. The Reverse Side Has a Reverse Side
  • 19. The Best Leader Is a "Servant Leader"
  • 20. Your Mother Didn't Raise You to Be a Bureaucrat
  • 21. Politicians and Armchair Quarterbacks Don't Get It--So You Have To
  • 22. If You're Not Having Fun, You're Doing It Wrong
  • 23. Things Are Never as Bad as You Think They Are; and You're Braver, Stronger and Smarter Than You Imagine
  • 24. You Work to Live, Not Live to Work
  • 25. It's Worth It!
  • A Final Word: The Ouija Board Effect
  • Resource A: What Others Say About What Matters Most (In School and In Life)
  • Resource B: Other Books About What Matters Most
  • Resource C: Other Lasting Truths That Couldn't Be Squeezed Into This Little Book
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

"This compact guide of 25 fundamental insights and baseline beliefs offers a common-sense approach to school leadership, providing practical tips and strategies."
The School Administrator, February 2006
The author weaves quotes, inspirational messages, and stories in a masterful way.
Gary McCartney, Superintendent of Schools, South Brunswick School District, Monmouth Junction, NJ
The book's major strengths are its readability and its excellent number of practical, doable suggestions for busy principals and superintendents to implement.
Sandra Harris, Associate Professor, Lamar University

Recommendations