Inside the Board Room: Reflections of a Former School Board Member

(Paperback)

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Reading Howard Good's latest book, Inside the Board Room, is an education in itself. Humorous, provocative, touching, and philosophical, the 20 essays in this book will open eyes to what really goes on in the classroom and on the school board. Good draws on his extensive experience to examine some of the hottest educational issues including school reform, civic education, the function of honor societies, the decline of reading and writing skills, the role of guidance counselors, and the effectiveness of school boards. Readers may not always agree with his perspective, but they will always be enlightened by it. Whether writing about the perils of standardized testing or the challenges of board service, the author's prose is as fresh as the start of a new school year.

Inside the Board Room isn't an abstract treatise, instead it is that rare thing among education books-quick, lively, and down to earth. In the tone of a good friend with a sharp sense of humor, Good shares stories of his experiences as a board member, a teacher, and a parent. This is a book for anyone who has ever taught, served on a school board, or simply tried to raise a well-rounded child. Its mixture of practical advice, moral inspiration, and wry humor will leave a lasting impression.

Reviews

Inside the Board Room: Reflections of a Former School Board Member is mandatory reading for potential school board candidates, veteran trustees, students of the local governance process and seekers of educational change. With brutal honesty and sardonic humor, Howie Good shares vignettes from his tenure as school board member and board president. His stories confirm that even the best intentions and the noblest causes fall victim to local politics, personal power plays, lack of knowledge or desire to know, and bureaucratic inertia. Good's writing mimics his classroom delivery, using laughter and self-realization to communicate life's toughest lessons. -- Joanne Loewenthal, superintendent of schools, Hampton Bays, New York
Writing with a sense of humor, he questions the status quo on school reform, civics education, the decline of basic skills, and the role of guidance counselors. * Reference and Research Book News *
Good, a SUNY New Paltz journalism professor and former president of the Highland school board, writes with insight, humor, and a well-ground axe about the inner workings of the American public education system and the often insoluble issues faced by the hardworking people who volunteer for school board service. * Chronogram *
A series of humor-filled, light-hearted, yet brutally insightful vignettes. * Teachers College Record *
School board service is serious business, but if board members can't take a light-hearted look at themselves now and then, public education is in for hard times indeed. Luckily, we've got Howie Good to help. His sometimes cynical, sometimes biting observations are always right on target. By shining a bright light on the foibles of the boardroom, he illuminates a path to good governance. -- Sally Banks Zakariya, editor-in-chief, American School Board Journal

Author Bio

Howard Good is a professor of journalism at SUNY New Paltz and former president of the Highland (N.Y.) school board. A frequent contributor to American School Board Journal, Education Week, and Teacher Magazine, he is the author of ten previous books, including Educated Guess: A School Board Member Reflects (2003) and The Theory of Oz: Rediscovering the Aims of Education (2005), both available from Rowman & Littlefield Education.