Leading in the Belly of the Beast

Leading in the Belly of the Beast is an anthology of essays from transformational school leaders around the country who lead in a school system that is not set up for the success of their students, namely students of color and students living in poverty. The book highlights leaders who begin from the premise that the institution of school/system of education in the United States, since its inception, has been established to maintain the racial, cultural, and economic status quo – and to maintain divisions among these racial, cultural, and class groups. These leaders use this very assertion as a foundation for their transformational leadership from within the system. Leading in the Belly of the Beast includes the voices of nine educators in a variety of positions of school leadership, from principals and deans to teacher leaders. The unifying experience of these leaders is that they all currently work in the context of a school and, therefore, have authentic and fresh experiences and expertise to share. The goal of Leading in the Belly of the Beast is to emphasize the need to understand that our current system of education as not broken but as functioning to achieve exactly the results it was designed to achieve, and then to demonstrate why and how transformative leaders can and must achieve different results for students of color and students living in poverty, even while operating in the “belly of the beast”.

Leading in the Belly of the Beast presents a fascinating array of astute, insightful, and intelligent first person accounts by teachers and administrators about their experiences confronting the privatization, vocationalization, and fiscalization of education in our time. A widely diverse group of educators tell their stories through individually authored pieces that meld together dynamically into a collective conversation of indispensable importance to everyone who cares about today's students and the hand they have been dealt by history.--George Lipsitz, author, How Racism Takes Place; Professor, Department of Black Studies, UC Santa Barbara, Understanding diverse perspectives of community is increasingly urgent for developing equitable school systems. Leading in the Belly of the Beast, edited by Gardner, an experienced teacher and school leader, brings together six different leaders in education from across the country, many of whom work primarily with students of color and students living in poverty, to engage issues of institutional accountability and equitable school development. In these intentionally curated essays, the six contributors bring to bear diverse perspectives on the current state of the US education system and how to elicit transformational change. Their perspectives range from addressing systemic challenges to school equity to developing community solidarity and purpose. This text takes a thoughtful look at developing schools designed to succeed through responsive school leadership. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals.-- "Choice", This book is a powerful and inspiring tool for educators who work within schools and educational institutions that enable inequality, disrespect students, and perpetuate failure. It is at the same time a rich source of examples of creative resistance, a guerilla manual for progressive struggles and a call to action.--Herbert Kohl, author, 36 Children, I Won't Learn from You, and The Discipline of Hope, This is an impressive collection of essays by thoughtful and experienced educators on the complex challenges facing urban schools. Drawing on their practical and professional experience as leaders on the frontline of addressing the needs of our nation's most vulnerable children, the authors share their insights and the lessons they have learned from doing this critical work. For school leaders, parents and educators of all kinds, this book will be an invaluable resource.--Pedro A. Noguera Ph.D, distinguished professor of education UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies

Trevor Gardner has always believed that education is the most powerful way to transform society to be more just, healthy, and equitable; to this end, he has worked as a teacher and school leader in San Francisco and Oakland for over 20 years. He is currently the Director of Teaching and Learning at ARISE High School in Oakland, CA. His first book, Discipline Over Punishment, was published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2017.