Abstract
‘Obuntu’ is a word with a rich meaning. This book not only introduced me to this South African concept of people being inextricably connected to each other, ‘I am because you are’, but it also invites the reader to explore how Obuntu functions within school improvement. The core concept and message of the book is that all aspects of school improvement are interconnected and need to be addressed. The key additional feature of the book’s message is, however, beautifully blunt, and to this reader’s delight shouts out that school success, student success, and teacher success only in part depends on what other people do: it depends almost entirely on what ‘you’ do.
I enjoyed the mixture of narrative and managerial function. The writer has used an effective style that means this work is accessible to a variety of readers, both the cover-to-cover reader and the dip-and-dive reader. Many ideas and topics are familiar; however, writing your own obituary is a striking suggestion, worth doing as it does focus the mind on how you as a manager would wish to be seen with regard to professional achievement.
The key to understanding how useful this book is can be seen by looking at the six main principles that are addressed: common mission, vision values, and goals; ensuring achievement for all students; collaborative teaming focused on teaching for learning; data-based decision-making for continuous improvement; gaining active engagement from family and community; building sustainable leadership capacity.
Having read these headings, possibly fear has struck in your heart, or joy has brought a smile to your face. I started with fear and moved to appreciate the sweep and usefulness of much that is presented in this book. The style is full of pace and there are many interesting quotes, case studies, and clear examples to help the reader absorb the key points of the book and to allow one to develop more in-depth understanding of good practice through the provision of useful resources, which are all downloadable.
Lots of ideas, lots of questions, lots of suggestions, lots of case studies and quotations. Aimed at the American market, this book is a useful shelf reference when something tricky pops up and you have no time to call in an expert.