This document provides a summary and analysis of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged". It begins by explaining the novel's opening line "Who is John Galt?" and how he is the key to the mysteries in the story. It then summarizes Rand's objectivist philosophy that is expressed through the novel's plot of society collapsing when productive men go on strike in response to exploitation. The purpose is to discuss why the world is declining and where talented people are disappearing to. Rand believed the novel demonstrated what would happen if economic production was hindered and corruption rose among non-productive politicians and businessmen. The plot expresses Rand's beliefs in capitalism, individualism, and the importance of reason and achievement.

1. Dr. William Allan Kritsonis
Example of PhD Comprehensives in Educational Philosophy
Incorporating Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning to Create Successful
Strategic Plans for Public Schools
PH.D Student in Educational Leadership
College of Education
Prairie View A&M University
Introduction
Strategic Planning is the process of looking at all aspects of your school and planning
ways you can move your school forward. It provides the ‘big picture’ of where you are, where
you are going and how you are going to get there. Running a school is time consuming, stressful,
challenging and enjoyable. Educational leaders can incorporate Ways of Knowing through the
Realms of Meaning (Kritsonis 2007) in creating a well structured and successful strategic plan
for our nation’s public schools.
Strategic planning is a process of defining schools strategy, or direction, and making
decisions on allocating its resources. Strategic planning is the formal consideration of a school’s
future. Strategic planning deals with at least one of three key questions:
1. "What do we do?"
2. "For whom do we do it?"
3. "How do we excel?"
The basic aim of strategic planning is to actively determine the nature or character of the school
and to guide its direction
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2. The need for effective strategic planning is very important to the success of our schools.
The general operation of schools comes with many challenges. These challenges require
educational leaders to develop plans to adjust their practices to meet the academic and behavioral
needs of all students. The need for effective strategic planning has also intensified because of the
constraints in resources and increased expectations for accountability from external agencies
such as state governments (Welsh 2005).
Educational leaders have to effectively meet these challenges. They must interpret the
regulations and policies and then develop system-wide action plans to effectively put these
strategies into practice. Solutions now require detailed blueprints for systemic change that
identify strategic performance indicators and benchmarks. These plans require that educational
leaders, teachers, counselors and other related professionals work collaboratively to identify and
improve positive academic and behavioral supports across the curriculum. This must be done
with simplicity and commitment within the organization. Therefore, professional collaboration is
critical for the learning and performance of the highly diverse students that comprise today’s
classrooms. Incorporating the Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning (Kritsonis
2007) can create better strategic plans.
Purpose of the Article
The purpose of this article is to discuss ways our educational leaders in public schools can
incorporate the Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning
(Kritsonis 2007) to take strategic planning from the modernism age to postmodernism age to improve our
nation’s educational system.
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3. 1. Symbolics
The first realm of meaning is symbolics which includes speech, symbol and gesture.
Educational leaders must establish ordinary language as part of a well planned strategic plan
which is well written. The language in the strategic plan must be understood by staff, students,
parents and stakeholders. The language should be precise and have a clear message. It should be
specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited. Specific means the language should
be clear and able to be understood by all, including those not involved in the process. Measurable
means the plan should articulate the desired outcome, not the specific strategies. For example,
not ‘improve student outcomes’ but ‘raise benchmarks testing results by ten percentages by the
end of the year’. The meaning of terms should be explained for all to understand.
Symbols used in the strategic plan should be universal and express the ordinary language
in a clear manner and can be understood without any questions asked. Feeling, value and
emotions, can be express using nondiscursive symbolic form. Educational leaders should make
symbolics the foundation on which they develop their strategic plan. Implementing symbolics is
the first of the six realms of meaning which will take the school system from the modernism age
to the postmodernism age.
2. Empirics
The parents or students looking at a modernist strategic plan of their school will not be
able to understand what is expected of them because the vision and the mission is not clear and
does not have a ordinary language. The old strategic plan format is so difficult to understand by
parents and students that they did not read the plans. Educational leaders are changing the style
of the strategic plan and utilizing the second realm of meaning which are empirics. Empirics will
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4. make for factually and well informed strategic plan. Empirical require ordinary language and
mathematics for its expression. Empirics deal with the sciences Williams Kritsonis said; “to
know a science is to be able to formulate valid general description of the matters of fact’.
(Kritsonis, 2007, p. 175). Sciences are important to the educational leader in creating the
strategic plan the educator has to think of how students learn and why learning takes place. The
educational leader needs to understand student behavior as well.
The educational leader has to analyze the internal and external environment of the school.
The external environment normally focuses on the students. Management should be visionary in
formulating students’ strategy, and should do so by thinking about the diversity of the schools. In
order to determine where the school is going, the leader needs to know exactly where the school
stands, then determine where it wants to go and how it will get there. The resulting document is
called the “strategic plan”. Which is detailed and factual. According to English (2003) the
dominoes of educational administration begin with the idea of a scientific field as a
metadiscourse. It is true that strategic planning is the tool for effectively plotting the direction of
a school, but educational leaders must have a physical measurement of the future of the school.
Achievable means that the goal should be rigorous and cause stretching but it also should
be possible to reach. People will soon lose interest in a goal they can never attain. Realistic, is
similar to achievable. A modernism strategic plan goal would imply that all students will receive
one hundred percent on the benchmark tests when clearly the only way this can be achieved is by
creating a test so simple that anyone could pass. The postmodernism strategic plan will be
realistic and it will encourage good teaching and learning. All goals need to yield some results by
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5. the end of the strategic planning period, and preferably there should also be some short-term
goals leading towards the bigger goal in the future.
3. Esthetics
Esthetics is the third realm of meaning which educational leaders can incorporate into the
school’s strategic plan to make it more workable at the end and achieved goals. Postmodernism
strategic planning theory in schools has moved away from the traditional business model to a
‘strategic thinking’ approach. This is a strategy that is less a fixed design and more a flexible
learning process that relies on school educational leaders constantly listening and synthesizing
what they hear and learn from all sources.
This does not necessarily rule out a formal strategic planning process, but it assumes that
the formal plan is open to change and refinement so educational leaders are always open to
responding to rapid change. Teachers allow their students to spend large amount of time
developing their talents. Teachers encourage student’s expressiveness in order that they may gain
confidence and appreciation. (Kritsonis, 2007, p. 290). A plan will not work if people are not out
there making it happen. People will not work with any enthusiasm on a plan they do not ‘own’.
The more members of the school community are involved in the development of the plan, the
more people will buy into the plan, the more people will be motivated to make the plan work.
Educational leaders should include teachers, school staff, students and parents in some stage of
the development of the strategic plan. The educational leaders may also consider involving local
business people, the local community, old scholars and any other relevant people.
The strategic plan arises from pragmatic, flexible strategic thinking that relies on
judgment as much as on spelling out action steps and the measurement of benchmarks.
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6. The ‘strategic plan’ should concentrate on very few targets over a relatively short period of time.
These plans may be developed using a strategic thinking process which occurs over a series of
faculty meetings and a board retreat; and it may result in the development of a rolling sequence
of project-based reviews and change, focusing each year on one or two departments, key focus
areas or program areas. The important focus in strategic planning is to concentration on a few
targets at a time, for example improving TAKS scores of African American students.
The other critical element is that the educational leader journey is to get, school board
and school staff on the same page when it comes to strategic planning and thinking. There must
be a shared understanding about the key areas the educational leader is going to concentrate on
both staff and the board must have full confidence and trust in the educational leader to report
accurately about the school, its programs and trends in education. A postmodernism educational
leader will work on one goal within a specific time period. A modernism educational leader will
take on the entire strategic plan all at once and will not involve other members of the school.
4. Synnoetics
Synnoetics is the realm of engagement. It deals with personal knowledge of educational
leader. Educational leader can empower all that is involved with the school. The leader must get
the staff to buy into the vision and mission. The educational leader has to work his or her magic
to get everyone involved to see the strategic plan as their own. They must see that the plan is all
about the success of the students in our care.
The educational leader has to be intersubjectivity when developing a strategic plan. The
educational leader must use personal ideas and experiences. Educational leaders must see their
school as the best school. They have to think that all students can achieve. They have to think
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7. they are the one who is going to close the achievement gap between Caucasian students and
African American students if that it the problem their school faces.
The postmodern educational leader works to empower their staff to move away from the
modernist thinking that some students just cannot learn. The educational leader will find creative
ways to help teachers to think outside the box and to develop new ways of helping weak students
to get stronger. The postmodern educational leader makes regular workshops a part of the
strategic plan for the improvement of the teachers and staff. The postmodern educational leader
leave his or her office and walk the school daily, meet with parents and students, and talk with
teachers and staff. The educational leader sees all members of the school body as a piece of the
puzzle that he or she needs to solve. The leader has to observe each member of the school and
see where they fit in the puzzle so he or she can create a working puzzle that will raise the school
to the top.
5. Ethics
Honesty is the educational leader’s motto. The educational leader has to ask the question,
“Was I fair in dealing with the situation”, or “Could I handle it in a better way?” If the
educational leader makes a mistake they are willing to admit it and work on making change. As a
postmodern educational leader, he or she always remembers they are the man in the mirror and
they have to be true to self. Ethics can keep the educational leader on the right path. The
educational leader must be fair to all teachers, staff, students and parents regardless of race, age,
or religion. The educational leader will not write goals into the strategic plan that they know they
can not achieved during the time they commit. Educational leaders do not make promises that
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8. they know they cannot fulfill. They ask for help as needed. Educational leaders have moral
values and live by them when working with teachers, staff, parents, students and stakeholders.
6. Synoptics
Synoptics is the sixth realm of meaning that educational leaders can use to summarize
goals and objectives into a mission’s statement and or a vision statement for their school. In
developing the mission or vision statement using the six realm of meaning educational leaders
will develop a mission or vision that will sell what he or she is doing to make the school the top
achieving school in the district.
History is very important to a school. It tells how much the school has grown and reveals
the schools successes over the years. A mission and vision statement will explain the history of a
school. Educational leaders include a mission statement in the strategic plan tells the
fundamental purpose of the school. It concentrates on the present. It defines the students and the
critical processes. It informs you of the desired level of performance. A mission and vision
statement outlines what the organization wants to be. It concentrates on the future. It is a source
of inspiration. It provides clear decision-making criteria.
A school vision statement must become assimilated into the school’s culture. Educational
leaders have the responsibility of communicating the vision regularly, creating narratives that
illustrate the vision, and acting as role-models by embodying the vision, creating short-term
objectives compatible with the vision, and encouraging others to craft their own personal vision
compatible with the school’s overall vision. In addition, mission statements need to conduct an
internal assessment and an external assessment. The internal assessment should focus on how
members inside the school interpret their mission statement. The external assessment which
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9. includes all of the school’s business to stakeholders is valuable since it offers a different
perspective. These discrepancies between these two assessments can give insight on the school
mission statement effectiveness.
Incorporating the realm of meaning synoptics in the development of the strategic plan can
help the educational leader keep record of the changes in the student body, race, gender and sex.
Educational leaders can display student’s achievement in the past, the present and the future.
Student progress has to be factual so educational leaders can make changes for improvement and
track students. Synoptics can help leaders to stay with the diversity changes that all schools are
facing in our nation’s education system. Syonptics help leaders in the selection of qualified,
capable teachers. All teachers are not fit for the classrooms. Syonptics help the educational
leaders to develop strategic plans that will be detailed with timelines.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the purpose of this article was to discuss ways our educational leaders in public
schools can incorporate the Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning (Kritsonis, 2007) to take
strategic planning from modernism to the postmodernism age to improve our nation’s educational system.
Describing what strategic planning is can also provide an understanding of what it is not. Strategic
planning involves anticipating the future environment, but those decisions are made in the present.
This means that over time, educational leaders must stay abreast of changes in order to make the
best decisions at any given point. Educational leaders must move away from modernism’s way of
management and become more postmodernism. The Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning
(Kritsonis, 2007) can help create a well written and detailed strategic plan. Educational leaders need to
incorporate Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning (Kritsonis, 2007) in the development of
9

10. strategic plan for their schools. The six realm of meaning will assist in a creative strategic planning
process, and the fresh insight today might very well alter the decision making for tomorrow.
References
English, F.W. (2003). The postmodern challenge to the theory and practice of
educational administration. Springfield, IL; Charles C. Thomas.
Kristsonis, W.A (2002). William Kritsonis, PhD on SCHOOLING. Mansfield, OH: Book
Masters, Incorporated.
Kristsonis, W.A (2007).Ways of knowing through the realms of meaning: A philosophy
for selecting the curriculum for general education. Houston, TX: National
FORUM Press.
Michael, A., Jude, K. (2005). Strategic planning for nonprofit organizations. Manhattan,
NJ: John Wiley and Sons
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11. The Romance and Guilt of Atlas Shrugged According to Ayn Rand
The novel’s opening words are the immortal query: Who is John Galth? This is a mysterious
expression which no one seems to know the derivation or exact meaning of. But it is widely used
by the public, not as a serious question, but as a statement of apprehension, uncertainty, and
hopelessness. John Galt turns out to be the key to all the mysteries in Atlas Shrugged.
Atlas shrugged expresses Ayn Rand’s beliefs in regards to multiple facets of her
philosophy. The collapse of society when the “men of the mine (p1) go on strike in response to
their exploitation presents Ayn Rand’s belief in the necessity to human life of reason,
independent-mindedness, individualism, individual rights, and the market economy.
The purpose of the Article
The purpose of this article is to discuss and answer the question of why the world is
running down, and where the productive and talented people are disappearing to. There is a
classic quest, to find this out, and to locate the man responsible. There is a search for the secret
of marvelous motor, and its vanished inventor.
Atlas shrugged is the story of a world that has grown tired of Capitalism. It is no longer a
place where achievement or work is rewarded Instead capitalism and business are looked upon as
a necessary evil. The greatest Capitalist all disappear leaving the world to take care of itself.
Rand believed that economic freedom was the factor mostly responsible for the major
achievements of African American inventors and businessmen success during the nineteeth
century and early twentieth centuries. Atlas Shrugged attempts to demonstrate what might
happen to the world is such economic production and the rise of corruption among businessmen
and politicians who look to live off the production of others without producing anything
themselves.
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12. Plots express Any Rands’s belief in regards to multiple facets of her philosophy. The
collapse of society when the men of the mind go on strike in response to their exploitation
presents Ayn Rand’s belief in the necessity to human life of reason, independent mindness,
individualism, individual rights and the markey economy. In the world of Atlass Shrugged,
society stagnates when independent productive achievers began to socially demonized and even
punished for their accomplishments even though society had been far more healthy and
prosperous by allowing encouraging and rewarding self reliance and individual achievement.
Independence and personal happiness flourished to the extent that people were free and
achievement was rewarded to the extent that individual ownership of private property was
strictly respected. The hero John Galt lives a life of lasissez faire capitalism as the only way to
live consistent with his beliefs. In addition to the plot’s more obvious statements about the
significance of industrialist and mental work to society this explicit conflict is used by Rand to
draw wider philosophical conclusions both implicit in the plot and via the characters own
statements.
How can administrators use Ayn Rand’s Philosophy to operate Schools
Successful administrators are leaders; they have to be able to empower staffs so they can
buy into the goals and motto of the school John Galt was a great leader he had the ability to
convince all the great minds in Atlas Shrugged to go on strike with him and leave the country to
care for it. A leader influences others to do things that they may not otherwise do. An effective
leader is a person of integrity. This leader is successful and a lifelong learner and encourage all
staff member to be.
In conclusion, Rand’s philosophy in Atlas Shrugged demonstrates her principle at work
in the actions of her character and brings her philosophical concepts to life. She succeeds in
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13. using her character to explain the concepts of Objectivism. Rand do did succeed in making her
heroes embody the rationality and self-interest upon which her philosophy is base. As the plot
unfolds, Galt is acknowledged to be a creator and inventor who embody the power of the
individual.
He serves as a counterpoint to the social and economic structure depicted in the novel.
The depiction portrays a society based on oppressive bureaucratic functionaries and a culture that
embraces the stifling mediocrity and egalitarianism of socialistic idealism. He is a metaphorical
Atlas that drives the novel. Positions are expresses on a variety of topics, including sex, politics,
friendship, charity, childhood, and many others. A educational administrator can use the Atlas
Shrugged and shape the culture of the school.
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14. Summary of Fenwick W. English Ideas on Postmodernism
Introduction
Fenwick W. English is the author of The Postmodern Challenge to the Theory and
Practice of Educational Administration. He is the R Wendell Eaves Distinguished Professor of
Education Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In his book, he gives
his ideas on postmodernism and how it can help educational administrators improve their
schools.
Purpose of the Article
The purpose of this article is to discuss Fenwick W. English’s Ideas on Postmodernism as
it is written in The Postmodern Challenge To The Theory And Practice Of Educational
Administration. (2003)
Summary of Fenwick W. English’s Ideas on Postmodernism
Postmodernism to Fenwick W. English understands that posture of exclusivity reject the
ideas of, there is only one right way or one right science or one right method of inquiry to pursue
truth as it is constructed. To him postmodernism is not about replacing one version of truth or
science with another. It is about challenging and opening up the central premise that only one set
of borders is possible to define and support professional practice. (English 2003)
The postmodernist’s denial of certitude is open to many expressions of thought and
theory as long as none of them seek to suppress silence, marginalize, humiliate, denigrate or ease
other possibilities. English said that everything can be considered, except any for exclusivity,
which would subordinate everything else (English 2003). English argues that the postmodernist
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15. approach's theory with the idea that metanarratives (theories) are essential for the establishment
of professional practice. He thinks theories can be beneficial in educate the whole child in
different setting. To kill the certitude’s ideas of what effective education, English claims
standardized list (“effective schools”) or “school improvement models” based on
decontextualized behaviors on a “research base” has to be developed and practice in schools.
(English 2003).
Fenwick W. English said, postmodernism is a kind of open-bordered approach to inquiry.
While a postmodernist may accept forms of reductionism in the name of “Occan’s Razor, “he or
she does so skeptically and only temporarily, in order to decide on a course of action within a
specific context. A person who refuses to form a theoretical base for professional practice
forfeits the possibility of systematic improvement over time. (English 2003).
To English postmodernist ideas on theory have been the butt of great academic spoofing
in education, modernist will act surprise when the topic of the importance of postmodernism in
education is introduces in some professional circles. That’s because the modernist perspective
believes to be neutral and appropriate for all discourage regarding professional matters. English
made it clear that postmodernism is very serious because it does seek to expose the contradiction,
conceits, hypocrisies, as well as the intellectual and conceptual dead-ends of modernism.
Fenwick W. English said that postmodernist have developed a special kind of vocabulary
where words and phrases represent peculiar references, which mark their own discourse.
Incorporating English’s ideas in the classroom can make for success. Each child will be able to
learn at his or her pace. Students can be group according to their ability and not rush because he
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16. is included in a class with students whom are fast learner. Inclusion is great but it is modernism.
Schools need to build on a postmodernism system.
Concluding Remarks
In conclusion, the purpose of this article is to summarize Fenwick W. English’s ideas on
postmodernism. His ideas on postmodernism as written in The Postmodern Challenge To The
Theory And Practice Of Educational Administration is ideas are strong and when follow or
adopted by educational administrator will change the way children are educated. To him
postmodernism is a change from the old way of managing and running schools to a more
effective way. English demonstrates a new and improved way to make schools more successful
in educating each child. Fenwick W. English’s ideas on postmodernism show educational
administrations that stepping outside the box will not harm the educational system, but it will
enhance the growth for success. His ideas challenge leaders of schools to change the way they
operate schools and open their doors for successes for every child who walk the hallways.
Reference
English, F.W. (2003). The postmodern challenge to the theory and practice of educational
administration. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
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17. Ayn Rand: Using Selfishness to Gain Success
Introduction
Ayn Rand develops the ethical principles of her philosophy of Objectivism. Rand’s complex
philosophy embodies all aspects of intellectual life including politics, economics, epistemology,
aesthetics, and ethics. Though she does address issues of politics, economics, epistemology, and
aesthetics throughout the book, Rand focuses on how these issues apply to the ethical theory of
Objectivism. Rand talk about the importance of being selfishness and how to incorporate in your
life. ). Ethics is an objective necessity of man’s Survival not by the grace of the supernatural nor
of your friends nor of your whims, but by the grace of reality and the nature of life.” “The
Objectivist ethics proudly advocates and upholds rational selfishness which means: the values
required for man’s survival qua man which means: the values required for human survival not
the values produced by the desires, the feelings, the whims or the needs of irrational brutes, who
have never outgrown the primordial practice of human sacrifices.”Ever since their first
publication, Ayn Rand’s works have had a major impact on the intellectual scene. Her new
morality the ethics of rational self-interest challenges the altruist-collectivist fashions of our day.
Known as Objectivism, her unique philosophy is the underlying theme of her famous novels.
The of Purpose of the Article
The purpose of essay is to discuss several of the most salient ideas presented in the Virtue
of Selfishness that impact the lives. Rand give readers a framework to build their lives.
Man’s values will let him know what pleasures to seek (Rand, 1964) Pleasure entails a
sense of self efficacy. Psychologically, pleasure keeps man living and allows him to experience
enjoyment in life. Metaphysically, pleasure is the reward of successful actions. A rational, self-
confident leader is motivated by a love of values and a desire to achieve success for himself and
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18. his school. He has good outlook on life. The choices that he makes are in line with his value
system. His self-esteem is high and he experiences great pleasure in the o[eration of the school.
The educational Leader that has genuine efficacy, along with pride in is work can truly find
pleasure in his life.
A compromise is an adjustment of conflicting claims by mutual concessions (Rand, 1964). An
irrational thinking leader will compromise his morals in order to please another person or people. He will
be convicted that what he has compromised was not what he believe in his heart. A rational leader would
want to have a good conscious and learns that being faithful to one’s beliefs is an absolute. When a leader
has compromised his value system, he feels terrible and because he has a conscious, he learns quickly that
he must right the wrong or stick to his convictions in the future. Anything less would be a betrayal to
oneself. Life does not require compromise for the rational, healthy functioning mind.
Rand declares that any action taken for the benefit of others is good, and any action taken
for one’s own benefit is evil. Thus the beneficiary of an action is the only criterion of moral
value and so long as that beneficiary is for anybody other than oneself, anything goes.
Hence the appalling immorality, the chronic injustice, the double standards, the insoluble
conflicts and contradictions that have characterized human relationships and human societies do
play out in education and the leader has to know when to be selfish.
In conclusion, by the metaphysical nature of the educational leader and existence, the
leader has to maintain his life by his own effort while running an effective school. The values a
leader needs, such as wealth of knowledge, are not given to him automatically as a gift of
nature, but have to be discovered and achieved by his own thinking and hard work. His ultimate
moral value is his concern for his own well being which lead him into success.
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19. References
Ayn Rand encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved February 16, 2009 from
http://www.iep.utm.edu/r/rand.htm
Kraut, Richard, Aristotle’s Ethics, Retrieved February 16, 2009 fromed in his heart. A
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristole-ethics/
Kritsonis, W. A. (2005). Ways of knowing through the realms of meaning. Houston, Texas
National Forum Journal
Rand, A. (1964). The virtues of selfishness. New York: Penguin Putnam.
Liberalism vs Objectivism. Retrieved February 16, 2009 from
http://www.ojectivistcenter.org/cth-32-2119_qa.aspx
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