The Cage-Busting Teacher (Educational Innovations) - Softcover

FREDERICK M. HESS is a resident scholar and director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

The Cage-Busting Teacher applies the logic of Cage-Busting Leadership to the unique challenges and opportunities of classroom teachers. Detailed, accessible, and thoroughly engaging, it uncovers the many ways teachers can break out of familiar constraints to influence classroom practice, education policy, and school reform.
 
“In The Cage-Busting Teacher, Rick Hess has found a way to say what has, up to this point, existed only in the minds of teacher leaders. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to strengthen our schools in ways that are practical and real.” — Alex Kajitani, California Teacher of the Year 2009
                                                                                                                       
“Finally someone (besides me) is talking about the power and authority of teachers! As educators, we have to reject the suggestion that ‘You can’t do that.’ Push back, come up with your own ideas, and 96.4 percent of the time, you’ll find that you can do important things to improve schools. Such are the cage-busters.” — Lily Eskelsen García, president, National Education Association
 
“Hess’s work will empower teachers to collaborate successfully with their principals, parents, colleagues, and policy makers and continue to have an impact on their students and communities year after year.” — Elisa Villaneuva Beard, co-CEO, Teach For America
 
“The Cage-Busting Teacher is an indispensable playbook for every teacher who wants to figure out how to influence decisions that get made beyond their classroom walls. With an engaging mix of stories of successfully subversive teachers and facts about how policy works, Rick shows teachers that they have more power than they realize.” — Celine Coggins, CEO, Teach Plus
 
“The message of this important book by Rick Hess is clear: There’s a lot of talent among the teachers in our schools, and it needs to be unlocked and set free.” — Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers
 
FREDERICK M. HESS is a resident scholar and director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
 
The Cage-Busting Teacher is a volume in the Educational Innovations series.