Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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68 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Connors Satifies, April 6, 2003
Fashioned literally as a menu for administrative success, Neila Connors' If you Don't Feed the Teachers They Eat the Students, is a straight talking street smart triumph that is a must for the library of every school administrator. It offers many clever and strategic yet practical suggestions that can be implemented immediately by administrators at all levels. In the savory first chapter entitled, "Whetting your Appetite-the Menu Please" Connors promises a book steeped in practical experience and not research, a promise she keeps throughout. Nevertheless, it should come as no surprise that many of her suggestions parallel current educational research, especially with regard to building relationships with staff members and effecting positive changes in organizations.
Connors organizes the eight-chapter book to mirror the cooking and eating of a fine meal. From Chapter 3-"Creating the Ambiance-Preparing to Dine" to Chapter 8-"The Check, Please!" Connors' clever design is sure to ring true with those who enjoy both their meals and their reading material presented in tidy scrumptious portions. For example Chapter 4 discusses "Passing the P's", which, instead of asking for round green vegetables, provides a list of important attributes of successful administrators, all of which begin with the letter "P". The chapter goes on to describe each item in detail, but articulating these thoughts by a listing of "P" words is convenient and, dare I say, tasteful. Connors really gets cooking in the third chapter, where she sets the tone for the remainder of the book by articulating what seems to be her core belief. "The quality of employees will be directly proportional to the quality of life you maintain for them," is the quote from Charles E. Bryan that begins the chapter, which Connors follows it up with passionate and detailed suggestions about how to set up and maintain a quality environment in a school. Along with trumpeting administrators' needs for a belief in yourself, your potential, and your ability, she describes the obstacles that often get in the way. Most comical is her discussion of the attributes of the "Climate Controllers" who exist in every school. Her descriptions of Climate Busters, Climate Manipulators, Climate Cruisers, and Climate Improvers, are sure to bring smiles to the faces of even the most jaded administrators. Ending the chapter is a list of ten strategies that contribute to a healthy and happy climate, a list that could easily go on a poster or in a picture frame and remain on an administrator's desk for the remainder of her career.
While this book never claims to be something it is not, the large numbers of lists make it read much more like a reference book than a narrative. For those readers who prefer a cleverly worded vignette to help articulate a point, this book will fall short. However, if you're interrupted and put the book down, it doesn't take long to refocus when you start reading again. This may indeed be the book's most endearing feature for those administrators who try to read this book during the course of a normal school day. Even those serious readers who sour on its campy organizational theme will certainly agree that Connors' book is filled with enough excellent tidbits to make it reasonably satisfying. In fact, every administrator will find something usable in it that has the potential to make an immediate impact. An appetizing and quick read, this book is probably best used as a reference manual or for an occasional administrative literary snack. If a research article is the entrée, this is certainly a most satisfying and memorable dessert.
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74 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Feeding staff for recognition and a postive school climate, March 25, 2002
I am in my third year as an administrator in a public high school and currently enrolled in a doctorate program in educational administration. As part of my studies I have read several books and reviews on leadership and management, and even though Neila Connors offers a disclaimer that her book is not research based, focused on results of surveys, or theoretically driven, her information is line with current research. Her book takes a more humorous and lighter approach on the importance of an effective leader or administrator recognizing teachers and creating a positive school climate.
The author has complied a list of characteristics for truly effective educational leaders through her numerous observations of successful leaders. The "head cook" must have a vision that others are willing to buy into and be wanting and not forced to follow. A short section in the first chapter allows the reader a chance to reflect on his/her current status as an effective school leader by answering a series of short questions and "Whetting Your Appetite" for further reading.
Later chapters such as "The Need to Feed" and "Creating an Ambiance" give the reader a list of indicators of effective leaders that can be used as a measuring stick and as a guide to what to include in our everyday roles as educational leaders. There is also a series of yes/no questions that can help determine the hunger that your individual schools and teachers may be experiencing. The ambiance or school climate is seen as one of the main responsibilities of a school principal and there is a list of seven attributes a leader must have in order to have a positive school climate and help insure the teachers feel satisfied. Areas such as open communication, active participation by all, and human relation skills all come with suggestions and tangible applications.
"Pass the P's Please" is a chapter that gives a list of actions exhibited by strong leaders within a school such as, positive attitudes, passion for their profession, and persistence. Not only do strong managers exhibit certain actions, but they also possess certain talents or skills. Prized principals are people oriented, prepared, problems solvers, and parent and public minded. Whether these are talents that must be sought in searching for potential principals or skills that may be taught to existing administrators, the book gives many examples of how these attributes are used in a positive school setting.
Neila Connors adds additional insight by sharing meaningful experiences she has observed in great schools and offers suggestions in dealing with teachers who "Can't Stand the Heat, (and need to) Get out of the Kitchen." She stresses the importance of maximizing the talents and potential of star teachers while working with, but not being consumed by, the negative quacking of low performing teachers. She gives strategies for working with the quacking staff, but more importantly how to prevent them from causing you and others to lose your appetite towards children and education. Feeding the teachers can go a long way in quieting the quacking and preventing it from even becoming an issue.
The last section of the book gives 150 activities or "desserts" you can prepare and serve to your staff so they will not eat the students. The book addresses a very serious issue of teacher recognition and school climate in a time where teacher stress is increasing. Standardized testing/accountability and budget cuts are all having an impact on teacher satisfaction and school climate. We as administrators need as many resources as we can get that are written in concise and applicable forms to help us become great managers. Helping teachers grow and reach their goals is vital to creating a great school and recognizing and feeding them is a vital part of this process. The author has included a variety of inspirational quotes and stresses that the best teachers remember what it is like to be a student, and the best administrators remember what its is like to be a teacher. I found the book a great resource for applying researched based concepts that I have read about in other books and articles.
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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful guide to success!, April 14, 2000
This book should sit on the desk of every school administrator in America. Being a teacher or administrator is an extremely challenging role and this book provides a very practical (and fun) set of ideas for supporting and renewing them. These ideas will not only create a positive and safe climate for learning but will make those who use them effective leaders. I found the following parts of the book particularly helpful: an inventory to determine if "your teachers are hungry", the "P's" associated with being an effective administrator in the 21st Century, and the 150 ways described to renew a staff! I hope you love this unique book as much as I do!Jim Forde :-)
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