6 INVITED CHAPTERS
concerns which connect us. The Internet and instantaneous access to information will catch up
with us.
James (2008) states, “Tribalism breaks down the community—but it comes on quickly
when our cultural myth is threatened ....we must teach them to think.” The struggles of the
Civil Rights Movement and desegregation are one such example, where social justice and
thinking minds prevailed over a tribal and prejudiced mentality. We can’t be afraid of
diversity or simply give voice to inclusion and social justice we must demand and
demonstrate it every day and every way. She drove home the point by discussing
demographics in this illustration, “we made it all up anyway- what is Caucasian? Asian? ...
why are polar bears white? ...to get into better schools?” The absurdity is how we get
through life—we don’t see ‘it’ until it becomes absurdly obvious. For example, ADA was not
the beginning of the existence of wheelchairs or physical challenges, it is simply when we
acknowledged them. James suggests we know a historical tipping point by how strongly we
‘feel’ it. Therefore, we need leaders to help us see the absurdity of the present and to identify
a new, logical, and relevant future. We must change the course and reclaim the American
Dream—we still need an epidemic not of standards but of impact.
One of my favorite Einstein quotes is, “We can’t measure all that counts and not all that
can be measured counts.” We have to stop the insistence on focusing only on what can be
tested, counted, and categorized, instead focusing on teaching how to think, and remembering
at the heart of education is the driving force of our work: to educate every child. I don’t know
is the beginning of learning according to Pink (2008) but I believe it is also critical to want to
learn and to believe I can. We must create those schools, systems and preparation programs
to focus on closing the gaps, addressing the full range of skills and doing so for all.
We must swallow the leadership pill by being integral leaders, builders of inclusive
cultures filled with self-efficacy (Blanchard & Muchnick, 2003) because the world of
education is “more sophisticated, diverse and informed than ever before” (p. ix). We cannot
live in the simplistic and dysfunctional world of dichotomy anymore. Our lives, our schools,
our children, and our decisions are not black/white, either/or, manager/leader, feminine/
masculine, autocratic/democratic, people/task, hierarchy/participatory, right/left. We must do
the business of leading not by ‘ors’ but by ‘ands’. We live in an amazing time of potential to
connect and correct by coming to common ground—let us lead the way from the front by
meeting and exceeding standards, taking responsibility, dedicating ourselves to lives of
service, thinking, courage, initiative, perseverance and above all by being integral leaders of
leaders (Morgan & Lynch 2006).
REFERENCES
Blanchard, K. & Muchnick, M. (2003). The leadership pill. NY: Free Press.
Freidman, T. (2005). The world is flat. NY:Gale.
Fullan, M. (1993). Change forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. London:Falmer Press.
Gerber, R. (2002). Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt way. New York: Prentice Hall Press.
Gladwell, M. (2002). The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference. Boston: Back Bay Books.
James, J. (2008). Cultural intelligence: Thinking in the future tense. General session address presented at the
2008 National Association of Secondary School Principals National Conference. San Antonio, TX.
Kirsch, I. Braun, H. & Yamamoto, K. (2007). America’s perfect storm: Three forces changing our nation’s
future. Princeton: ETS Policy Information Center.
Kotter, J. (1996) Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business Education Press.
Leithwood, K., Louis, K. S., Anderson, S., & Wahlstrom, K. (2004). How leadership influences student learning:
Review of research. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Applied Research, University of Minnesota.