INTRODUCTION
I knew Jim before he knew himself. The first time I saw him
he was naked, puckered, and wailing. With an appearance and temperament like
that, I figured he’d survive about two miserable years. I was eight and
he was my kid brother.
Now he’s written his own book,
every last word. Go figure.
It’s a good book, too.
He’s a funny guy and that seeps through on every page. But mostly Jim is
a teacher, and by extension a storyteller. So on these
pages Jim mainly tells stories. He tells about Mr. Ruggles,
Mr. B, Mike Klippert, Paula Shea,
and a dozen or two more. His heroes, who turn out to be remarkably like Jim
himself.
They are all excellent teachers and
great leaders, champions to kids and blessings to parents. They are the
prototypes of what Jim wants all teachers to see and emulate because, as his
title says, Teachers Change Lives 24/7—and
that’s too big a responsibility to give to anybody who doesn’t
flat-out love kids and want to help open up an exciting new world to them.
In fact, Jim says it best in one of
the 175 ways by which teachers might excel in their life-changing quest:
If you
don’t love kids, love your job, and love
the field of education,
quit. Liking isn’t good
enough when it comes to
children’s lives.
I became involved in Jim’s literary pursuits
nearly five years ago when he and two of his cronies, Drs. Max McGee and Jim Rosborg (themselves top leaders in
All along, Jim has been wooing
educational audiences with speeches, keynotes, and strategic planning sessions,
and in the process has created his own, unique pool of wisdom, laced with
laughter and more than a few tears, all told through stories about the best
teachers, how to solve problems immediately, and how to make the school a
hallowed hall from which only good things emerge.
So I asked the kid when I could
share that information with you too, so many more of you could hear his words
and thoughts. This book is the result.
It’s a grand offering and
he’s done the odd Burgett family proud again.
But you decide…
(If you want to see what others
think of the book, check www.superintendents-and-principals.com).
Gordon Burgett
Publisher, Education Communication
Unlimited
Check here if you want to order the book
(in print or digital format)
or one of the many reports from the
"Excellence in Education for Superintendents and Principals"
series...
Would you like to read a sample chapter
from Jim’s book?
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