You Sound Taller on the Telephone

A Practitioner's View of the Principalship

This hands-on guide to being a principal is disguised as an engaging novel. It's filled with real situations that happen to school leaders every day. The main character's common sense, sensitive intuition, and passion for his students' welfare propel and underscore his actions. Through the actions of Grant Sterling you'll learn to:

• Examine what effective school leadership means to you
• Blend the crucial skills of leadership, management, and administration into your Principalship
• See how the best decisions always involve what's right for students
• Build your solutions from the tools and materials in the community

Use the "real-life' scenarios here to help you polish the talents you need as a school leader. Get comfortable with having to present and defend your viewpoint and having to persuade and convince others. Fine-tune your abilities in collaborative work and building on the ideas and knowledge of others.

You'll learn how to look for the best answers — rather than the right ones — to resolve situations. Find out how to use your own good instincts, knowledge, and courage to enhance your daily decision-making process.

For school leaders who want to understand how they can better serve students, community, and staff, this book is a must read. For courses in educational administration, it will stimulate ideas and further reflection. Questions at the end of each episode invite debate and discussion.