Online August 2009 | Volume 66 | Number 11

Best of Educational Leadership 2008–2009

Introduction

Marge Scherer

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Joy in School

Steven Wolk

Many of our greatest joys in life are related to our learning, but, unfortunately, most of that learning takes place outside of school. Educators can put more joy into the experience of going to school and get more joy out of working inside school by focusing on several essentials. Help students find pleasure in learning by giving them the freedom to explore what they love. Give students some choice in how they will go about their learning and how they will demonstrate their knowledge. Allow students to create original work, and show off that work. Give students and teachers time to tinker. Make school spaces inviting. Get students—and teachers—outside. Read good books. Offer more classes in gym and in the arts. Use more authentic assessments and student self-assessments. Get teachers, students, and administrators together from time to time to have some fun.

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Excellence for All

Robert J. Sternberg

The way we define excellence dictates the way we achieve it. The author looks at four models of excellence that operate in schools today. The first looks only at the lowest-performing students, focusing all resources on getting these students to score above “proficient” on standardized tests so that the school will be in compliance with NCLB. The second lavishes its attention on the highest-performing students in an effort to get more graduates into prestigious colleges. The third focuses on the middle, celebrating social and intellectual conformity. The fourth looks only at the statistical average in an attempt to compare favorably with other schools in the area. The author proposes a better model for achieving excellence, which is to focus on excellence for all students in not only the traditional three R's (reading, writing, and arithmetic) but also the other three R's (reasoning, resilience, and responsibility).

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Footprints in the Digital Age

Will Richardson

Being literate in the 21st century means being able to function in and leverage the potential of collaborative, transparent online groups and networks. Before educators can help their students make the most of this powerful potential, they need to understand that the willingness to share one's work—and to some extent one's personal life—fosters these connections. Although many students are used to sharing content online, they need to learn how to share within the context of network building. In addition, they need to understand that publishing has a nobler goal than just readership—and that's engagement. Educators must help students learn how to identify their passions; build connections to others who share those passions; and communicate, collaborate, and work collectively with online networks.

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The New Stupid

Frederick M. Hess

A decade ago, many education leaders dismissed student achievement data and systematic research as having only limited utility when it came to improving schools or school systems. That was the "old stupid." But now the pendulum has swung the other way. In the "new stupid," data-based decision making and research-based practice can stand in for careful thought, serve as rationales for the same old fads, or be used to justify incoherent proposals. The "new stupid" uses data in half-baked ways, is characterized by trouble translating research, and gives short shrift to management data. Educators can steer clear of the new stupid by remembering the limitations of data, seeking out appropriate data, and applying judicious thinking.

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The Lessons Are in the Leading

Gordon A. Donaldson Jr.

Many educators find themselves practicing leadership—forming relationships that bring others together to work on important school problems and tasks—before they learn leadership in more formal ways. This article explores how these ad hoc leaders can develop their leadership skills through a process called performance learning. As practiced in the University of Maine's graduate program in educational leadership, this process involves forming small learning teams that support each member in identifying leadership dilemmas he or she is facing, coming up with strategies to address these problems, practicing the new strategies, applying them, and reflecting on the results.

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Orchestrating the Media Collage

Jason Ohler

Being literate in the 21st century means being able to read and write multiple media forms and integrate them into a single narrative or "media collage" in the context of Web 2.0. Eight guidelines can help teachers guide students through the learning process to develop the literacies they need. These include shifting from text centrism to media collage, valuing writing, integrating the arts, blending traditional and emerging literacies, harnessing both report and story, practicing private and participatory social literacy, developing literacy about digital tools, and pursuing fluency.

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Best Practices for Adolescent ELLs

Judith Rance-Roney

Adolescent English language learners present particular challenges for schools. The population of adolescent ELLs is diverse, and their educational needs are affected by differences in immigration status, quality of educational background, native language, cultural distance from U.S. culture, future plans, and economic status. The article offers five practices that can help schools improve educational achievement for these students: acceptance of shared responsibility by school staff; a dual curriculum that promotes language development as well as academic needs; careful consideration of how to integrate immigrants with the general school population; extended learning time; and individual progress records.

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Schools of Conscience

Charles C. Haynes

At a time when the United States faces unprecedented challenges at home and abroad, public schools must do far more to prepare young people to be engaged, ethical advocates of "liberty and justice for all." This article explores what makes some people behave ethically—even at the risk of their own lives—and asserts that developing moral habits of the heart is the central mission of schools. It describes "schools of conscience" that support students in their search for meaning while teaching them the civic principles and virtues necessary for sustaining the common good in a democracy.

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