Reviews for Keys to Success for Urban School Principals

The average rating for Keys to Success for Urban School Principals based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-10-09 00:00:00 Simone Ornaghi I had high hopes for this book, if not based on the main title alone, then on the subtitle and the back cover blurb. I was sorely disappointed. While it's not billed as a "how to teach" book--and that wasn't what I was looking for anyway--I didn't expect it to be a series of vignettes in which the author is basically doing group therapy with his middle schoolers, confronting them and ferreting out their deepest and darkest fears in the name of freeing them to be happier and more creative. He's casual with his students, who call him by his first name; he cusses freely, says things that are meant to be shocking, publicly delves into his students' private lives, and leads them through relaxation exercises during which a student who's having trouble figuring out what's behind some behavior lies on the floor taking deep breaths with the teacher holding his/her hand. On page 19, this middle-aged male teacher (not that his age or gender should matter in this instance!) tells a girl (middle school, so age 11-14ish) who's being seductive (and obviously hiding some deep and dark fear through this behavior) that her "tits are sticking out." (Yes, this is a direct quote.) That she drily replies, "I'm not certain that has anything to do with the book we're discussing," implying that she's not offended or even shocked (or that she's hiding one or both), doesn't alter the fact that I can't think of a single instance, real or hypothetical, in which that blunt comment, from any adult to any child, is even remotely appropriate. And this was during class, leading to a discussion of how, indeed, her sticking-out tits DO have something to do with the book. I should have stopped reading right there, but I'm not one to not finish books, so I persisted. I'm not saying that I gleaned nothing of value. That would be unfair. I just had to wade through way too much self-indulgent psychobabble to get there.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-01-17 00:00:00 Erik Olsen Bernie Schein has written the best inspirational book on teaching I have ever read. Most lose me after the first chapter and in some cases the first paragraph. If Holden Caulfield Were in My Classroom is a moving book about teaching, kids, coming to know oneself, taking risks, and facing up to ones fears, failures and successes. If you are a teenager, parent, teacher, or writer, this is a must read.