Laurel Schmidt talks about her book Gardening in the Minefield: A Survival Guide for School Administrators -524

<p></p> <p></p> <p>Laurel Schmidt talks about her book Gardening in the Minefield: A Survival Guide for School Administrators. This is episode 524 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.</p> <p>Laurel Schmidt is a lifelong educator (teacher, principal, district director), art lover, and writer. She's the author of a critically-acclaimed novel, How to Be Dead – A Love Story, and four non-fiction books on art, learning, and brain development. Today we will be focused on her book for school administrators - Gardening in the Minefield: A Survival Guide for School Administrators.</p> <p>She's a nationally recognized expert who has helped thousands of docents and museum educators master the art of leading dynamic inquiry-based conversations that have museum visitors and students longing for more. </p> <p>Laurel also works with the education departments of numerous museums in Los Angeles and New York. She is a consultant to The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), and co-author of Contemporary Art Start: A Curriculum Guide to Contemporary Art and Culture, published by MOCA in 1985. It is the centerpiece of an inquiry-based art education program. She is a consultant to the Guggenheim Museum, The Met and MoMA in New York City and presents at their annual Teacher Institute on The Arts. </p> <p>She was a member of the Education Advisory Board of the Natural History Museum and served for eight years on the Landmarks Commission in the City of Santa Monica, California. She has published numerous articles in national journals for parents, teachers and school leaders.</p> <p>However, writing is her lifelong passion. She is the author of Seven Times Smarter: 50 Activities, Games and Projects to Develop the Multiple Intelligences in Your Child (Three Rivers Press, 2001), Gardening in the Minefield: A Survival Guide for School Administrators (Heinemann, 2002), and Classroom Confidential: 50 Things Great Teachers Do Behind Closed Doors, and Putting the Social Back in Social Studies (Heinemann, 2007). Laurel is also a consu