Official Review: Real Principals Have No Class

[Quinto]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Real Principals Have No Class" by DeLene Sholes.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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In her book Real Principals Have No Class, DeLene Sholes shines the spotlight on relationships among stakeholders in the education sector. The mentioned stakeholders include parents, teachers, neighbors (community members), administrators, staff members, local business leaders, students, school board members, and staff representatives. Writing in a self-deprecating manner, she narrates her experiences while overseeing a school which had on several occasions been earmarked for closure by Florida State's Department of Education.

From her high school days, she never was cut out to be a teacher. Rather, she was the quintessential class clown who disrupted class by making jokes and strange noises; she would do anything to draw laughs from her classmates. A while later, circumstances would force her to enroll in college and get a degree and teach. At first, in Atlanta, but later, the allure of the pristine beaches in Linnett County would attract her to an elementary school nearby, Baker School.

A catch-22 situation existed at this school. The school couldn't attract enough students because of its outdated facility, and the Department of Education, on its part, wouldn't release the money to build a new school until there were enough students to justify it. An immediate consequence of this is that the school was not accredited by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges. And parents wanted to place their children in accredited schools. Furthermore, a culture clash developed between the people who had fished and farmed in Baker Point for decades and those who were moving in and were vocal about the changes that needed to be made.

So, presently, issues that never existed before now become the talk of the town, e.g., whether religion should be taught in school or not, increasingly use of foul language in school, forms of disciplining children and the place of traditional school events, like Halloween Carnival.

Other problems highlighted by DeLene are as a result of the migration of people into the county together with their resultant conflicts. These include disparity in socioeconomic levels, education, religious beliefs, moral values, political views, and occupations. Yet others were closer to home and touched on the school going children directly, including defilement, assault of minors, and loss of a parent through divorce, separation, illness or death.

Naturally, there arose forces either seeking to quell the rising tension or fan it even more. The author talks of the emergence of the "Mafia Moms" as an example of a radical group of parents who were constantly finding fault in the school board, and especially with her. Even established school policy became an enigma, e.g., some parents felt free to wander in and out of classrooms at any time without checking in at the office.

For someone who made a late career decision, DeLene has the right disposition when it comes to dealing with people. An average person would long have thrown in the towel in many of the cited challenges she faced – one of her fervent critics, Georgia Ann, would even comment publicly that, "Maybe it would be better if we had a man for a principal."

Not surprisingly, then, she found the solutions to the myriad of problems bedeviling her in her steadfastness. Her personality is friendly, easy-going, trusting, funny, and open-minded. This is evidenced by the many anecdotes in the book and her wonderful relationship with her husband. Moreover, her language is respectful and courteous even when dealing with difficult adversaries.

The book seems to be professionally edited. However, I also came across two errors, a missing period and misplaced inverted commas. It’s a captivating book to read because of the no-holds-barred kind of approach adopted by the author; because of this, and since it’s based on a true story, I would expect the names of the actual characters to have been changed to protect their privacy.

I recommend the book to educational administrators, teachers, and parents. Moreover, elected leaders to school boards and politicians will learn a lot from it to ensure appropriate educational legislation is in place. Conversely, this book will only be unsuitable for someone with a myopic view. Lastly, because of the strong points highlighted above, I rate this book 4 out of 4.

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Real Principals Have No Class
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Like Quinto's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kandscreeley]

I really can't imagine being a teacher or a principal; all the problems that you would face. In this day and age, everyone is watching which just makes things even more complex. I'll have to read this one, especially with such a high rating! Thanks.

[Mindy Conahye]

I'm not sure I would gain much by reading this book as I'm not an educator, but it sounds very well written and to hit a lot of important aspects of the problems faced by people in the educational field. I like that the book appears to be professional edited.

[Quinto]

I really can't imagine being a teacher or a principal; all the problems that you would face. In this day and age, everyone is watching which just makes things even more complex. I'll have to read this one, especially with such a high rating! Thanks.

I wholly agree with you, kandscreeley. For the principal in question, her career life was unusually challenging. Mainly because of going against the education board's recommendations. Thanks for your kind comments.

[Quinto]

I'm not sure I would gain much by reading this book as I'm not an educator, but it sounds very well written and to hit a lot of important aspects of the problems faced by people in the educational field. I like that the book appears to be professional edited.

I agree with you, mac83. There are some important aspects pertaining to education that are highlighted. Thanks for your kind comments.

[gali]

A book revolving around the trials of an elementary school principal sounds intriguing. Looks like the author has many interesting stories to share. It is good that the book highlights the relationships among stakeholders in the education sector and other issues. That the book was well edited is another plus. Thank you for the review!

[Ruba Abu Ali]

This book touches on several crucial issues pertaining to education; a topic that's close to my heart. Thanks for the excellent review.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

This is an educational historic book on rebuilding an Elementary School. The book is full of funny anecdotes and it is free on Kindle Unlimited. The OnlineBookClub review was well-written and represented the book perfectly.

[Renu G]

I downloaded the sample, and having read the review, I feel pained about the plight of children in elementary school. Perhaps, by reading this book, the stakeholders might come up with some solutions.

[TerraLynne]

As both a parent of school age children and a former social worker of school age children with behavioral issues, I can attest to many of the themes in this book (using this review as a reference). I believe books such as these should be read by anyone who pays local taxes, whether they are directly involved with schools or not. The community as a whole benefits immensely by having educated children and young adults. If you pay taxes, you are an important part of this process! And, even more importantly, if you are an elected official in control of the tax monies given to schools, books such as this should be required reading! The education system here in the USA needs work and books such as this which share the truth in ways that anyone can comprehend are very valuable. Thank you to the author, both for your service to children as well as your willingness to tackle this difficult subject! I look forward to reading this in the near future

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

The amount of problems and difficulties educators face is astonishing. We, as parents or students only get to see the surface but the effort that people like DeLene Sholes often goes unnoticed. I'm glad this book shines a light on some of these problems and helps raise awareness of the importance of supporting our community's education.
Thank you for your enthusiastic review.

[Sirajuddin A]

The issues faced by the educationists in the education sector are discussed in this book, and the author narrates her experiences while running a school.

[LV2R]

This book is about a woman principal of an old elementary school with common problems faced by teachers and school administration. It would take a character like hers to withstand so many issues. It is good to hear that the principal's personality was "friendly, easy-going, trusting, funny, and open-minded."

[Elizabeth Pass]

I read this book and enjoyed it. I had never before heard of a teaching principle. Nor did I know that some schools still teach multiple grades in one class. The narrative was pretty entertaining.

[Strangerthanfiction]

This sounds like an educational and informative book about the school systems of today and the struggles that educators, administrators, even parents and students, and more face on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. Thanks so much for sharing.