Principals as Maverick Leaders: Rethinking Democratic Schools

After her school wins the coveted United States National Secondary Education Award, a school principal embarks upon an educational odyssey. The principal discovers that the reasons for winning the award are a sham! As her school falls apart, she begins to reflect on the stagnant school organization and the ineffective prescriptions for improvement. She wonders why as a democratic nation, American schools do not model the practice of democracy for students. The principal begins her quest to unearth the flaws in her own thinking about the way schools work in her quest to create more democratic schools. Endeavoring to understand how systems really work, the principal puts her new ideas into practice and shares with the reader the lessons learned from past practices. This book presents a guide for principals in the form of rules that suggest that educational leaders must ask themselves why they do what they do. It also takes readers through a series of vignettes focused on how principals can practice democracy in the schoolhouse, while challenging themselves and their school community.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Part One-The Principal as Classical Mechanic Chapter 2 Rule 1Ask Yourself Why Society Schools Children Chapter 3 Rule 2Flush Out Your Theory of Organization Chapter 4 Rule 3 Probe the Mechanical Universe Chapter 5 Rule 4 Examine How You Know What You Know Chapter 6 Rule 5Modify the Theory of the Mechanical Universe Chapter 7 Rule 6Know Thyself Chapter 8 Rule 7Understand the Ontology of Control Chapter 9 Rule 8Never Accept the Convenience of Control Chapter 10 Rule 9Know the Difference between Parts and Wholes Chapter 11 Rule 10 Observe the Interactions of People, Data, Systems, and Theory Part 12 Part Two Chapter 13 Taking the Quantum Leap Chapter 14 Vignette OneLessons Learned: Drive Fear from the Workplace Chapter 15 Vignette TwoLessons Learned: Conversation Leads to Dialogue Chapter 16 Vignette ThreeLessons Learned: Build Culture through Shared Beliefs Chapter 17 Vignette FourLessons Learned: Listen to the Shareholders Chapter 18 Vignette FiveLessons Learned: It's All about the Whole Thing Chapter 19 Vignette SixLessons Learned: The Yin in the Yang Chapter 20 Vignette SevenLessons Learned: Unbundling Structures to Fit Students Chapter 21 Vignette EightLessons Learned : Understand Interactions: People, Data, Systems, and Theory Chapter 22 Vignette NineLessons Learned: Use Data to Uncover Deep Seeded Dilemmas Chapter 23 Vignette TenLessons Learned: Sketch a Human Face Over the Data Chapter 24 Vignette ElevenLessons Learned: Transform Possibilities into Actualities Chapter 25 Vignette TwelveLessons Learned: Get Buy-In from the Shareholders Chapter 26 Vignette ThirteenLessons Learned: The Collective Approach Triggers Success Chapter 27 Vignette FourteenLessons Learned: The Flaw in Every Plan Chapter 28

About the Author :
Michael Peter Chirichello was a teacher, principal, superintendent of schools, and college professor for four decades. He is currently visiting professor at Northern Kentucky University, where he teaches aspiring doctoral students. Sharron Goldman Walker was a public school teacher and principal for almost four decades. She continues to write books and articles about the practice of democracy in the schoolhouse in order to preserve freedom.

Review :
A provocative guide to leading school change and to transforming schools into democratic learning communities. This book features a compelling guide for principals in navigating the '10 rules' of educational leadership while helping to define a new, comprehensive role for principals as 21st century school leaders. It offers a practical balance between theory and practice and as such, is sure to be extremely useful for novice and experienced principals alike. In addition, it presents an inspiring narrative that champions the role of education in preserving democracy and freedom. Principals as Maverick Leaders is itself maverick-like. It offers a non-traditional view on the art and practice of leading schools. The concepts addressed are linked to many years of experiential practice but are viewed through the lens of the classical thinkers and philosophers. The conversational dialogue is an interesting medium for linking today's realities of leading schools with the great philosophers. This book would serve as a good resource in higher education for an educational philosophy course or an organizational theory course. The narrative structure of Principals as Maverick Leaders guides readers to re-think classical theories in terms of the challenges of contemporary school reform strategies. Those principals who embark on this journey through interdisciplinary intersections will find that they have created a roadmap for their enriched professional reflection and have arrived at a new vision of integrated nature of meaningful transformation of our educational organizations. A revolutionary look from inside our school system. When the people who really care about our schools read this book, they might bring about the very changes needed to make our public schools what they were originally intended to be—a democratic institution. What a concept! If you have ever reflected upon our schools as complex structures and questioned the reasons our schools have evolved into stagnant organizations, this is a book that will have immense meaning for you. Chirichello and Walker have written an inspirational book of stories and reflections that capture the essence of schools as democratic, integrated, and complex organizations. It is relevant, real-life, and provides hope for those who have asked, 'Why am I doing this?' It is a must read for current and future school leaders and anyone else truly interested in improving the culture of schools and the teaching-learning process. I plan to use this book as required reading in my graduate leadership and organizational culture classes. This book is a MUST read for all potential school administrators; especially those who see themselves as 'trailblazers', 'risk takers', or 'innovators' who are truly interested and committed to reform. As a principal and superintendent, I would put this book on the required reading list for all of the administrators in my district. It is an outstanding practical guide for those who wish to become a successful educator. At last! 'The road less traveled' takes us on a fresh, new approach to the education of our children. Wonderful ideas that will strengthen and secure our democracy.