Building The World’s Greatest High School

Richard Parkhouse 2013
Read: 2014

I love this book. I love it so much and it has truly inspired me. I met with a group of leaders to share my enthusiasm for it, and I found that I’m kind of alone in my love for it. But I don’t think I’m wrong.

Perhaps I love it because it rings true with what I believe. When the author is faced with the realization that he is a great coach and a mediocre teacher, he rethinks everything. “One day, one of my fellow teachers, truly a mentor to me, came in and said, ‘Parkhouse, I have seen you out in the field coaching baseball, and I have seen you in the classroom teaching. You are two different people!’” That’s just it. Coaches keep teaching until everyone learns the tactic, skill, or lesson. Many teachers teach, test, and move on, regardless of who has learned, or who has not learned, that material.

The other key idea is that most high schools have a “royal family.” These are the scholars, athletes and leaders who get almost all of the accolades and attention. That cannot be the case. Every student deserves attention, and the authors have ways to do just that.

Any school, or any organization, which believes it is “good enough”  is going nowhere. This book is a great source of inspiration. I may be in a minority for loving it, but again, I know I am right.