Education Issues and Concerns for Principals and Teachers

As professional educators, we are well aware of the constant changes in education policy and new approaches to teaching. Those of us who have been involved in education for some time, may find that many of these new ideas are really old ideas, presented in a new format. This gives us a unique perspective and a fuller understanding of recent changes, and as leaders, we are frequently expected to explain and comment on both current and past innovations. Yet none of us can be an expert in every field. And none of us can be up to date on every aspect of philosophical change. Parents, colleagues, and other professionals may look to us for an explanation or clarification on such topics as Bionics, Auto-didactic Learning, or the Zone of Proximal Development, but we may feel the need for a quick review ourselves on what these terms mean. We may need a ready reference that can outline the basic facts in a nutshell. This book aims to be exactly that. The professional resource papers presented here are written with the aim of providing basic information on a variety of education issues and concerns. Perhaps many of the topics will take you back to earlier times in your teaching career. Others may be relatively new innovations in unfamiliar terms. But regardless of the terms and titles being used, professional educators need to be in a position to offer insight and opinion on diverse education issues. The first ten topics presented here are concise summaries of Effective Classroom Teachers and Effective School Principals. These professional growth instruments were originally published by Education Administrators Associates, of which this author was a founding member.