Thinking in the Future Tense. - Review - book review

School Administrator, Jan, 1997 by Brian L. Benzel

The demand for change in our culture makes it essential that educational leaders both master and apply the skills Jennifer James describes in Thinking in the Future Tense.

Some educational leaders resist change while others embrace it too quickly. James asks us: "Are we to deny it, resist it, or accept the fact that we, too, must change?" If we expect all children to learn, then our capacity is enhanced when we expect the same for ourselves, those with whom we work, and those we lead.

Thinking in the Future Tense outlines the provocative issues and questions every leader confronts. Leaders must start with building personal skills (like perspective, pattern recognition, and flexibility) as the foundation for working within the institutional setting. Communicating vision and global values takes energy, intelligence, and cultural knowledge. Each of these eight skills is discussed with a set of challenging ideas and a framework for helping apply the skills to the reader's situation.

(Thinking in the Future Tense, Jennifer James, Simon and Schuster, Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020, 1996, 254 pp. with index, $24 hardcover)