The WOW Factor

An oldie but goodie still flies off the shelves at Houston A+ Challenge on a regular basis: Phil Schlechty's Working on the Work from 2002.  It still circulates among staff and those A+ works with because it remains the best resource on student engagement that educators can lay their hands on. 

Building on his previous work, Shaking Up the Schoolhouse, Schlechty begins by categorizing student engagement in the classroom into five behavioral responses: authentic engagement, ritual engagement, passive compliance, retreatism, and rebellion.  These responses underscore the book’s strategic intent, which is to transform classroom practice into meaningful, engaged instruction.  The remainder of the book examines the ways in which leaders at all levels in a district can transform schools, and the thread through all of this is student engagement. 

For Schlechty, "Student engagement should be a central concern of the teacher . . . ritual engagement may produce good test scores, passive compliance may produce improved test scores—especially where retreatism and rebellion have been the norm—but real improvements can occur only as authentic engagement increases" (41-42).  To put it simply, classroom engagement must drive the work of schools.  In Schlechty's view, engagement requires meaningful, relevant subject matter that can be utilized both immediately and in the not-so-near future.  The book lends itself naturally to a group read, as it includes easy-to-use strategies and planning tools.  School leaders at any level would be remiss to overlook this excellent resource.

Purchase Working on the Work on Amazon.com

Purchase Shaking Up the Schoolhouse on Amazon.com