Introduction

This book proposes that the collective responsibility of teachers as classroom and school leaders working together to solve their own problems provides the fulcrum of school change. It makes the case that teachers and school leaders do not operate in a vacuum, but rather, they work within the larger context of policy and other social influences.

Building Blocks

Grubb and Tredway provide the building blocks of history, policy, and social analysis that are necessary if teachers are to be effective in the collective school—a place where adults thrive as learners and are able to co-create joyful learning experiences for children and youth.

Encouraging Critical Thinking

By encouraging teachers to move out of the individual classroom and to think critically and institutionally about the schools they would like to work in, about their own responsibilities for creating such schools, about the range of policies from outside the school and how they can influence those policies rather than being subjected to them, this book shows that a teacher's influence is not limited to the classroom and students, but can significantly shape and inform external policies and decisions.