223Acknowledgments
There is never anything new under the education sun. There is nothing
new in this book. Everything in it has been passed down from past gen-
erations of teachers and school leaders. It is totally derivative. I can only
hope that I have used this collective wisdom in ways informative, enlight-
ening, and sometimes amusing to you, the reader.
Many people and institutions passed down this lore to me over the span
of my career. I could never acknowledge all of them, but there are several
to whom I must give credit.
First, a thank-you to the principals from whom I learned my trade:
Murray Cohn at Louis D. Brandeis High School and Saul Baily at the
High School of Fashion Industries. From them, I learned valuable lessons
about retaining one’s humanity amid the sometimes Kafkaesque world of
school and district bureaucracies. I also learned from my many colleagues
and fellow principals in the Manhattan High School superintendency. The
principalship is a lonely position, and one can only really share its burdens
with other principals.
Second, thank you to the staffs and students of Brandeis High School
(1970–1980) and Fashion High (1980–2002). So many there helped me
become a good teacher and later a school leader. Special thanks to my tal-
ented, dedicated, and supportive team of assistants at Fashion High: Madi,
Marcia, Peter, Bill, Nina, Mike, Lorraine, Efraim, Hilda, and Howard.
Third, thank you to the Manhattan High School superintendents I
worked under, whose advice and understanding belied the bureaucracy
they worked for: Louise, Pat, Steve, Granger, and Tony. Likewise, thanks
to the dedicated professionals at the then Board of Education—among