Cage-Busting Leadership

Frederick M. Hess

• Publisher: Harvard Education Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781612505060
• eBook ISBN: 9781612505084
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

A practical and entertaining volume, Cage-Busting Leadership will be of profound interest and value to school and district leaders—and to everyone with a stake in school improvement.

Rick Hess aptly describes his aims at the start of this provocative book: "I believe that two things are true. It is true, as would-be reformers often argue, that statutes, policies, rules, regulations, contracts, and case law make it tougher than it should be for school and system leaders to drive improvement and, well, lead. However, it is also the case that leaders have far more freedom to transform, reimagine, and invigorate teaching, learning, and schooling than is widely believed.”

In his travels across the country, Rick Hess has met school and system leaders who have shared stories about evading, blasting through, or reshaping unnecessary and counterproductive constraints. Drawing on these stories, and with his sharp eye, Hess shows current and aspiring leaders how they can cultivate and sustain powerful cultures of teaching and learning.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• 1 It Doesn’t Have to Be This Hard
• 2 Seeing Differently
• 3 What’s Your Problem?
• 4 Seeing Through the Shadows
• 5 Swinging That Louisville Slugger
• 6 Everyone Knows Where the Booze Is
• 7 The Chicago Way
• 8 A World Without Borders and Boundaries
• Appendix A Cage-Busting for Beginners
• Appendix B In Every Problem Lies an Opportunity
• Appendix C When to Keep Programs—or Cut ’Em
• Appendix D Six Acronyms to Help Keep Things Straight
• Notes
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Index