Leadership for the Schoolhouse: How is It Different? Why is It Important?

by Thomas J. Sergiovanni

Book Overview

"A powerful template for crafting responsible and humane schools."
--Educational Leadership

"Reading this book will make educators feel they have come home to familiar land and can still build anew from there."
--Michael Huberman, professor, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

"Sergiovanni's alternative vision of schools as caring, intimate places built on mutual respect, civic responsibility, and shared purposes...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787955426
• ISBN13: 9780787955427
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Critique of "Leadership for the Schoolhouse"

In his book, Sergiovanni does an excellent job at providing schools with some answers with which to expand upon in the arena of education. He generates very interesting ideas such as his comparison of schools to organizations when instead they should be compared to institutions; thus, a schoolhouse should function as an institution and not as an organization. An organization does not allow room for self-management, moral virtue, and growth. An institution should promote these things, but sadly, it does not nowadays. Sergiovanni furthers his argument by suggesting that faculty, parents, administration and students should find interest in establishing an educational environment which emphasizes the importance of a learning ground possessing shared values. He believes that shared values promote a moral virtue to be created; thus, a community is built. Sergiovanni stresses the importance of smaller schools as an option for the many problems that face schools today such as student violence and student apathy. Another relevant topic is the point about cultivating good teachers. Teacher frustration is what sometimes leads to the downfall of good education. All of the above concepts can be linked to the main problem in the theories making up the foundation of the schoolhouse as well as the theories of leadership. These theories are too traditional for the modern schoolhouse; therefore, in order for true success to be derived from schools, it is going to take a lot of change on the part of implementing new theories into a world of education that has only valued traditional theories up until this point. "Leadership for the Schoolhouse" proposes various ideas and concepts in the hopes of producing an educational environment that helps all members of the environment excel in terms of personal, professional, and most importantly, academic success. This was a great read. It is very well written with thought-provoking ideas and I would suggest it to anyone interested in becoming a teacher or anyone who is already in an educational environment. It changed my perspective on many of my pre-conceived notions about teaching and it made me want to take action, to do my part toward the cause of change.