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Bidabe, Linda (2001)
No Ordinary Move: A Memoir.
Farmington, PA: Plough Publishing.
No Ordinary Move is a very
gratifying memoir of Linda Bidabe and her
courageous struggle to implement a special
education curriculum for children with severe
disabilities. She had me hooked at page one.
Born on a Kansas farm in 1945, she vividly
recalls her childhood and invites the reader
along for the journey. Linda was born a
leader. She is a very determined individual
and demonstrates this throughout her memoir.
She encounters many obstacles during her life,
obstacles in which she has the strength to
overcome. She later narrates her entrance into
adulthood, where she experiences life as a
teacher, wife and mother.
An educator at heart, Ms. Bidabe’s goal in
life is to help children with severe
disabilities fulfill their dreams. These are
children who are limited in both fine and gross
motor skills. She is successful because she
sees the importance of individualizing goals
for her students and she gives the reader many
examples of this in her memoir. She is a true
leader because she stands as the voice for ‘her
children’ and their families. Linda also
realizes the importance of involving parents in
their child’s development. She views ‘her
children’ (as she refers to her students) as
individual human beings with a goal in life.
She believes in their dreams enough to make
them reality. Just when the world is ready to
give up on most of these children, Linda Bidabe
motivates them to sit, stand, walk and some to
even run. However, she does not fail to
mention that she is not successful with every
student that enters her classroom. She accepts
others and has empathy for them. This is a
very inspirational woman; for every door closed
on her, she finds ten that are open.
After years of hard work, Linda Bidabe
founded the MOVE (Mobility Opportunities Via
Education) Program and Curriculum, a curriculum
that has been published in ten different
languages. She has lead educators from all
around the globe to help children in their
communities with severe disabilities. While
reading this book, I developed a high level of
respect and admiration for this woman. Linda
Bidabe finds great joy in helping others reach
their goals, a virtue that deserves applauding.
She shows the reader the importance of
establishing goals and working toward those
goals in positive ways. I not only recommend
this book to teachers, but to anyone looking
for a well written, inspiring autobiography.
Pages: 336
Price: $24.00
ISBN: 0-87486-915-3
Reviewed by Amy Henderson, Chapman University—San Diego Campus
Fullan, Michael (2001)
Leading in a Culture of Change. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
We are experiencing times of sweeping
change, with tighter fiscal constraints,
demands placed on educational leaders by the
"No Child Left Behind" act, and controversy
over high stakes testing, vouchers, and
accountability. Fullan’s book, Leading in a
Culture of Change, offers both insight and
direction for the current educational leader
whether at the central office or campus level.
Michael Fullan is the dean of the Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education at the
University of Toronto. He is also recognized as
an international authority on educational
reform. He is involved in training, consulting
and evaluation of change projects around the
world such as his efforts with the National
Literacy and Numeracy Strategy in Great
Britain.
Leading in a Culture of Change
centers around leaders focusing on key changes
that will allow them to lead effectively.
Discussing the change process, the author
refers to our culture as one that "seems to
specialize in pell-mell innovation" (p. ix).
Fullan opens by quoting Robert Steinberg: "The
essence of intelligence would seem to be in
knowing when to think and act quickly, and
knowing when to think and act slowly"(p. x).
Fullan is concerned with not only the decision,
but the timing involved in making the correct
decision. His sometimes-lighthearted approach
to the issues surrounding the change process
should not be misconstrued as a signal that
understanding the process is unimportant.
Fullan’s writing style is more familiar
than authoritative with liberal amounts of case
histories from both the business world and the
world of education. His mantra in this book is
that all of us can improve our leadership
abilities simply by focusing on a small number
of key dimensions. Fullan ties each chapter to
the previous one re-emphasizing the previous
chapter through reinforcement in the current
one. This method allows the reader to apply
the methods in a building block manner. I found
the book an easy read and quite enlightening,
reinforcing some of my personal beliefs
concerning successful leadership styles.
The first chapter, "A Remarkable
Convergence," is devoted to the discussion of
effective leadership, stating within the first
page "this is not a book about superleaders.
Charismatic leaders inadvertently often do more
harm than good because, at best, they provide
episodic improvement followed by frustrated or
despondent dependency. Superhuman leaders also
do us another disservice: they are role models
who can never be emulated by large numbers" (p.
1) The author weaves the business world and
the educational world together as learning
organizations, stating that if they fail to
evolve together they will fail to survive. He
espouses five themes for successful leadership:
moral purpose, understanding change, developing
relationships, knowledge building and coherence
making.
Starting his journey with chapter 2, "Moral
Purpose," Fullan weaves his way through all
five points in building block fashion, each
inextricably connected to the preceding point.
Moral purpose is seen as both an end and a
means. In education, every "leader", whether an
administrator or teacher, must see as an
important end, making a difference in the lives
of students. He continues by stating, "if you
don’t treat others fairly, you will be a leader
without followers" (p. 13). Fullan describes
two excellent examples of moral purpose. The
Monsanto company’s remarkable transformation,
under its new CEO, Robert Shapiro, started with
a series of "town hall meetings" discussing the
unsustainable problems of hunger facing
humanity. That discussion led to ten thousand
of Monsanto’s employees becoming involved
feeding the world. The second example is the
National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, the
nationwide initiative to improve both the
literacy and numeracy of Great Britain’s twenty
thousand schools in which Fullan has been an
active participant. The author clearly makes
his point, social consciousness and the concept
of being a good citizen apply internally as
well as externally whether in the business or
educational setting..
In chapter three, "Understanding Change,"
Fullan briefly describes Kotter’s eight steps
in Leading Change (1996, p. 21), Beer,
Eisenstat, and Spectors six observations (1990)
about bottom-up strategies and Hamel’s advice
(2000) to "lead the revolution" in eight easy
steps. Do following any or all of these recipes
for success guarantee success? Would a leader
know what is right in all circumstances? The
answer seems to be, probably not. I believe
Fullan means change is more than the outward
mechanics of the process. To truly understand
the change process one must take into account
the system and all stakeholders. Without
considering those involved, lasting change will
be impossible.
The title of chapter four, "Relationships,
Relationships, Relationships," speaks for
itself. Success of any venture depends upon the
people involved in the change process. Again,
Fullan uses an excellent example to emphasize
his point: District 2, one of thirty-two
community school districts, in New York City.
District 2 experienced an amazing system wide
improvement based on building relationships,
instilling a moral purpose, and understanding
the change process. The philosophy surrounding
building relationships for results espoused by
Anthony Alvarado, the District 2 Superintendent
during the time of change is a particularly
strong section. Fullan makes an excellent
point concerning change while discussing high
stakes testing. We must resist the urge to
focus on short-term results, by placing our
emphasis on long-term results and the systemic
improvements that will generate the lasting
change we are seeking.
Chapter five, "Knowledge Building,"
discusses the important differences between
knowledge and information. Many in-service
training sessions are guilty of only supplying
information rather than developing a knowledge
base that will support and enhance lasting
change. Focusing on gathering information
rather than developing knowledge to use the
information does not work. I see this as one
reason why it is so important to create
environments that are conducive to knowledge
sharing and network building among all
stakeholders.
In chapter six, "Coherence Building," the
author takes the reader on a journey of guiding
people through their differences and enabling
those differences to surface. He builds on the
hypotheses that creative ideas and novel
solutions are often generated when the status
quo is disrupted. He discusses the frustration
felt by many when a school district has a large
number of "improvement programs" operating at
the same time.
Fullan wraps the book up with the fable of
the Hare and the Tortoise. Lasting change is
not accomplished with lightening speed
techniques but rather with a more tortoise like
approach, tinkering with the status quo to
bring successful change. Positive change in any
organization is possible, but it must start
with leaders willing to invest time and effort
and involve all stakeholders in the change
process.
I found this book both enjoyable and
enlightening. Each page offered positive
insights into leading the change process. I
would recommend this book to all
administrators, whether at the central office
level or on the campus. It would be an
excellent centerpiece for staff development
revolving around the change process. Fullan
does not lead the reader to believe that by
following simple steps all will work out fine.
Instead he offers a path to change with many
positive examples of company’s and educational
systems growing, developing, and maturing
toward a common goal.
References
Beer, M., Eisenstat, R.,
& Spector, B. (1990). The critical path to
corporate
renewal. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School
Press.
Hamel,G. (2000). Leading the Revolution.
Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Kotter, J. (1996). Leading Change. Boston:
Harvard Business School Press.
Pages: 162
Price: $25.00
ISBN: 0-7879-5395-4
About the reviewer: John T. Roskosky is an
assistant principal at Irvin High School in El
Paso Texas and a student in the Educational
Leadership and Administration doctoral program
at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Harwayne, Shelley (2001)
Writing Through Childhood: Rethinking
Process and Product.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Writing Through Childhood: Rethinking
Process and Product is a resource for
language arts teachers interested in advancing
students’ written communication and literacy
skills. This discourse is based on a five-year
qualitative empirical study of K-6 students,
their writing, and teaching methods for aiding
their composition abilities. Harwayne presents
an honest, passionate, yet objective view of
elements affecting students’ written products.
The first part of the text articulates the
importance of eliciting students’ interest in
writing. This discourse provides teachers with
practical approaches for engaging students in
authentic tasks early in their composition
careers and highlights the significance of
allowing students to write about their
concerns. Harwayne provides descriptions of
elementary age students that can only be viewed
as insightful. She effectively magnifies these
targeted sketches assisting readers with the
conceptualization of her philosophy. The first
segment of the book expands upon the idea of
meeting students at their own academic and
chronological levels quite effectively,
outlining innovative ideas for contacting
students at lifecycle junctures. Students'
writing samples throughout the book support
Harwayne's instructional and adolescent
intelligence claims and provide educators with
examples of classroom applications.
Harwayne catalogs six major instructional
strategies for helping young authors develop a
stable, unified literacy foundation and a love
of writing. These strategies construct a
resource which profiles the importance of
journaling, work shopping, audience analysis,
shared celebrations and publications,
invitations, and collaborations. As an active
participant in the writing process penning
communications with students, the author easily
depicts, from an involved perspective, how
these elements may be met in the writing
workshop.
Harwayne dynamically presents a weighty
reading-writing connection. As an element of
"needs-based mini-lessons", she advocates
teacher compiled trade book libraries for use
as modeling devices (p. 116). These supportive
novels demonstrate writing techniques and
promote critical analysis. Harwayne’s list of
titles and suggested purposes is a valuable
tool for educators, shaving time off of their
already busy schedules.
A significant section of this text
explores the importance of student-teacher
conferencing. Harwayne submits thoughtful,
convincing passages supporting
conferencing,listing these meetings as
essential and non-negotiable components of any
literacy workshop. In a well developed section
that she calls "The Basics", Harwayne (pp. 84-
86) charts elements that enable teachers to
effectively plan time for individual
conferencing in the classroom setting. In this
segment she examines the classroom culture,
highlighting elements that facilitate effective
student/teacher conferencing and promote
continued class performance and productivity
during individual discussion periods. Teachers
will value her discourse and tone viewing it as
the voice of reflective, successful experience.
A major strength of this book is
Harwayne’s underlying philosophical
conceptualization of the learning process.
Understanding that we retain information best
through connected and authentic approaches,
Harwayne effectively integrates the five
language strands of reading, writing, speaking,
listening, and viewing. Interwoven classroom
applications are sprinkled throughout the text
providing the reader with an opportunity for
deep reflective understanding of language’s
many connections.
Writing Through Childhood: Rethinking
the Process and Product is a highly
readable text. Writing from a synthesized
perspective of teacher, staff developer, co-
director, consultant, author, principal, and
superintendent, Shelley Harwayne provides
practical arguments and guidelines for her
positions. Years of research lend credibility
to her reflections and interpretations of the
writing process. Readers will appreciate a
rich repertoire of appendices complete with
inspiring texts (listed by section), charts,
checklists and students’ work. Educators will
value the genuine understanding of the "human"
element within each of us, and the concrete
classroom applications presented. For those
interested in advancing written communications
and literacy, this discourse is not to be
missed.
Pages: 407
Price: 25.00
ISBN: 0-325-00290-8
Reviewed by Kim A. Harris, University of
Oklahoma
Sampson, William A. (2002)
Black Student Achievement: How Much do
Family and School Really Matter?
Lanham, Maryland and London: Scarecrow
Press.
William A. Sampson examines several
questions in his book, Black Student
Achievement: How Much do Family and School
Really Matter? He looks at problems that
have engaged researchers of urban minority
students for decades: what factors create a
successful student, what are the factors that
most influence learners to succeed, what
reforms are needed to assure student success?
Sampson’s hypothesis is that "differences in
family dynamics and /or home environment
account for the differences in school
performance." (p. vii)
This book presents a small case study
(a sample of twelve families) that was selected
to examine what qualities help students to
succeed. To focus primarily on student success
and the effect of the family, Sampson choose a
sample of students of the same race (African-American),
same socio-economic status (lower
income), same age cohort (ten-fourteen), and
the same community (West Side of Evanston
Illinois). He observed and interviewed the
three males and nine females over an eight-to
ten week period. Sampson admits that he is not
the first researcher to study minority student
success. (p.4-6) He points out that in his
casual interviews with successful black people
who like himself came from poor backgrounds,
"family" is the factor always mentioned as
crucial to their success. (p.6) He also
touches on the topics of family socio-economic
status, parental marital status, teen
motherhood, single-parent households and
negative peer pressure on successful students
etc. in probing the effect of the dynamics of
each family toward student success.
In the Preface and first two chapters,
the author reviews previous research and the
varieties of methodological approaches to
minority student success. Sampson describes his
choice of the methodology of prolonged
observation. He tells how he chose his sample,
approaching the families through trusted
community workers in an agency in the
neighborhood. The author goes on to describe
his classification of students as high, average
and low achievers in school based on grades and
teacher’s comments on official grade reports.
Sampson presents the case studies in the
following chapters (3-5) that are arranged in
the classifications of high, average and low
achievers. Each case study contains a general
introduction to the student and family from the
interview and questionnaire, and a section on
the observations.
The strength of the book, in this
reviewer’s opinion, is in the case study
chapters. The behaviors, problems and
observations of the students and families
discussed are those with which many urban
teachers are familiar in their daily classroom
lives. It is interesting that the participants
in the study are not described in stark
clinical terms, but with dignity. There is an
appreciation for the difficulties, stresses and
successes in their lives. Sampson even comments
on the personal observations of one of the
study participants with support material from
research studies. (p.99) Sampson also
interjects personal reminiscences from his own
experience (p.6, 186) showing that he is truly
a reflective urban education researcher and
practitioner!
The last portion of the book (Chapters
6-7) contains Sampson’s recommendations for
further study, a criticism of school-based
reform and suggestions for the pursuit of
family-based reform of education. This evolves
from his belief that the school-system is based
on middle-class values and those poor, minority
families who negotiate it best may have low
incomes but share middle class values. (p.57)
The book is written in approachable
style accessible to every reader: layperson,
educator, and researcher. It contains an
appendix with the questionnaires used in the
study, a bibliography (containing materials
with imprints from the 1990’s and 1980’s, with
the exception of classic texts and studies),
and an index. I would recommend it for pre- and
in-service teachers, urban practitioners and
policy researchers. It would be a worthy
addition to libraries that serve those readers.
It might also prompt university and student
teacher-researchers to embark on similar
research. Black Student Achievement: How
Much do Family and School Really Matter? is
a worthwhile addition to the literature on
urban education and minority student success.
Pages: 233
Price: $25.95
ISBN: 0-8108-4295-5
Reviewed by Sheila Kirven, New Jersey City
University
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