You Sound Taller on the Telephone

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.

Dr. Dennis R. Dunklee is an Emeritus Professor in the Education Leadership Department in the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University. During his twenty-five years in public schools, he served as a teacher, elementary school principal, junior high and middle school principal, high school principal, and central office administrator. During his more than twenty years at George Mason University, he taught courses in education law and school leadership and served as an advisor and chair for master’s and doctoral candidates in school leadership. Because of his expertise and practical experience, he continues to be frequently called on to consult in the areas of effective schools, school law, administrator evaluation, instructional supervision, school-community relations, problem solving, and conflict resolution. In addition, he continues to be actively involved as a consultant and expert witness in numerous school-related lawsuits nationwide. As a university scholar and researcher, he has published, and continues to publish, textbooks, monographs, and articles on issues in the fields of school law, business management, administrative practice, and leadership theory. He also continues to present papers at international, national, regional, state, and local conferences and is a widely sought-after clinician for inservice workshops. Dr. Dunklee was an invited participant and presenter at the 2005 Oxford (University) Round Table on Education Law: Individual Rights and Freedoms. He received his Ph.D. in school administration and foundations from Kansas State University. His major area of research was in the field of education law, and his dissertation was on tort liability for negligence. He holds a master’s degree in elementary and secondary school administration from Washburn University. This is Dr. Dunklee’s eighth book for Corwin Press. His other Corwin books are You Sound Taller on the Telephone: A Practitioner’s View of the Principalship (1999); If You Want to Lead Not Just Manage (2000); The Principal’s Quick Reference Guide to School Law (2002 and 2006, with Robert J. Shoop); Strategic Listening for School Leaders (2005, with Jeannine Tate); Anatomy of a Lawsuit: What Every Education Leader Should Know About Legal Actions (2006, with Robert J. Shoop); and Poverty Is NOT a Learning Disability (2009, with Tish Howard and Sandy Grogan Dresser).