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9781475805475

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What do woodstoves and ancient Eastern philosophy have to do with public schools and with treating our educational system's weaknesses? Political Will and Improving Public Schools: Seven Reflections for Americans to Consider is a provocative critique and insightful assessment of the entirety of our current public school system, but also provides such practical and commonsense remedies that one has to ask why these have not already been fully administered. While Heller calls us all out of our comfort zones, the suggestions for real public school reform are not so far-fetched as to be the delusions of a dreamer, but are instead practical and feasible and certainly within the scope of the achievable. If you are despairing about the state of education, this book might just give you hope for a cure. -- Pam Bullock, coordinator of academic services, Community College of Vermont In a refreshing counterpoint to the emphasis on technical leadership focused on skill learning, Heller resets the importance of leading for compassion. Drawing on diverse references from Lao Tzu poetry to brain research to public policy he provides a tool kit of culture building strategies to deal with topics ranging from dropouts to teacher induction. -- Alexander D. Platt, co-author, Skillful Leader Series These essays serve as a great tool for principals, teachers and, quite frankly, anyone working in public education today. Dan Heller brings his compassionate approach to educational leadership to reflect on some of the most important issues facing public education today. It has been thirty years since the American Association for Higher Education started calling for the creation of a network of teaching professionals about forming alliances between high schools and colleges yet today we still struggle with collaboration in general and specifically in helping create alternatives for students who struggle in high school to find an alternative path to success. Dan offers a framework as well as specific ideas that work to achieve this collaboration and help these students. This book should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in helping push public education beyond its self-induced limitations and speak to the importance of creating real options for our students to succeed. -- Walter E. Cramer, Ed.D., dean of students, Western Connecticut State University

What do woodstoves and ancient Eastern philosophy have to do with public schools and with treating our educational system’s weaknesses? Political Will and Improving Public Schools: Seven Reflections for Americans to Consider is a provocative critique and insightful assessment of the entirety of our current public school system, but also provides such practical and commonsense remedies that one has to ask why these have not already been fully administered. While Heller calls us all out of our comfort zones, the suggestions for real public school reform are not so far-fetched as to be the delusions of a dreamer, but are instead practical and feasible and certainly within the scope of the achievable. If you are despairing about the state of education, this book might just give you hope for a cure. -- Pam Bullock, coordinator of academic services, Community College of Vermont In a refreshing counterpoint to the emphasis on technical leadership focused on skill learning, Heller resets the importance of leading for compassion.  Drawing on diverse references from Lao Tzu poetry to brain research to public policy he provides a tool kit of culture building strategies to deal with topics ranging from dropouts to teacher induction.    -- Alexander D. Platt, co-author, Skillful Leader Series These essays serve as a great tool for principals, teachers and, quite frankly, anyone working in public education today.  Dan Heller brings his compassionate approach to educational leadership to reflect on some of the most important issues facing public education today.  It has been thirty years since the American Association for Higher Education started calling for the creation of a network of teaching professionals about forming alliances between high schools and colleges yet today we still struggle with collaboration in general and specifically in helping create alternatives for students who struggle in high school to find an alternative path to success.  Dan offers a framework as well as specific ideas that work to achieve this collaboration and help these students.   This book should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in helping push public education beyond its self-induced limitations and speak to the importance of creating real options for our students to succeed.   -- Walter E. Cramer, Ed.D., dean of students, Western Connecticut State University

Author Information

Daniel Heller has been an educator since 1975.Besides teaching, Dan has served as a department head, director of professional development, principal, and curriculum coordinator. He has presented on educational topics throughout the United States and in Canada and China. His other books include Teachers Wanted: Attracting and Retaining Good Teachers (2004), Curriculum on the Edge of Survival: How Schools Fail to Prepare Students for Membership in a Democracy (2012) and Taoist Lessons for Educational Leaders: Gentle Pathways to Resolving Conflicts (2012). He has also published numerous articles, chapters, and columns for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Phi Delta Kappa, the National Council of Teachers of English, and others.

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