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E-zine Teachers
as Leaders in School What makes a
great teacher? This is a difficult
question, for in these beginning years of the 21st
century, teaching is complex and challenging work.
I want to talk to you this morning about elements
that, if present, make for excellence in both
teaching and in being an educational
leader. 1) Have the
passion and the vision. The first thing
that comes to my mind is that you have to have both
a passion and a vision. A teacher-leader must have
a passion for teaching and learning, a plan for
creating a just and caring classroom and a means of
ensuring that everyone is learning every day. Great
teachers not only have a vision but also know how
to use their position in a positive way to
implement that vision. Very simply, great
teachers love to teach! Great teachers aren't stuck
in yesterday's successes or in the way they did
things three years ago. Great teachers learn from
the past but they aren't stuck there. The future
vision continues to propel them forward to each new
school year. 2) Collaborate
and work with one another. Visionary
leadership is not a solitary activity. We need to
allow others to help shape, develop and implement
our vision. Teacher leaders are
the ones with the superior teaching skills. They
have the know-how and are available for others to
observe and follow. In Florida I ran a
Demonstration Classroom program. Expert teachers
were picked to be Demonstration Teachers and other
teachers in the region could visit their classrooms
for an entire day. Visiting teachers could observe
lessons, talk to the Demonstration Teacher, get
advise and materials, and brainstorm teaching
strategies. Invariably, visiting teachers would
report that this was the most beneficial PD they
had ever attended! Teacher leaders
connect to other teachers as colleagues. There's
the feeling that 'you're one of us'. For many
beginning teachers, it is more comfortable to seek
help from another teacher than from an
administrator. The relationship is non-threatening
but at the same time is extremely
beneficial. Leadership involves
shared and collaborative decision-making. You might
suppose this means gathering together everyone who
thinks the same way you do. But if you believe that
&endash; you're mistaken! Effective leaders
instinctively know that it is important to listen
to those who disagree with them. They do not ignore
the concerns of their opponents or those who have
viewpoints that differ from theirs. They don't
surround themselves with 'yes men'. Instead they
work with everyone, not just the affirming
coalition of supporters. 3) Be concerned
about student learning. It seems to me
that, for students, the goal of going to school
should be to learn the vast number of things one
will need to be a well-functioning adult in the
21st century. The goal is not to see who can rack
up the largest number of points even if there is no
learning going on! If your students
are doing fine but other kids in the school are not
doing so well, you need not celebrate. All of us
are part of the greater whole. All teachers should
be concerned about all the students in the school.
If you are a success, if you are a teacher who
knows exactly how to motivate and challenge your
students, you may want to ask yourself what can you
do to mentor or assist those who are
not. 4) Set
priorities wisely. A good teacher
knows how to set priorities. This is an incredibly
important skill because the needs are so numerous
and there is no way every need can be your top
priority. One way to set
priorities is to look at the data. Understand what
it is telling you and plan accordingly. Because we
live in the 'Information Age' we are awash in
information and data. Information does us no good,
however, unless we know how to interpret it, set
priorities and use it. Sometimes the data can be
used to pinpoint a short-term problem and solution.
At other times it may be the catapult to spur us to
long term action. Or it can be used for planning
and prioritizing for the long term. 5) Be an
innovative problem solver. Good teachers who
are also educational leaders see things in context
but also can see connections between events,
problems and challenges that form the big picture.
Problems don't happen in isolation. Almost all are
a result of complex forces and events converging
right there in the hallways of your school!
Leadership means
mobilizing other teachers, your students' families
and the greater community in order to deal with
various problems and issues. Solving a complex
problem may well mean challenging people to live up
to their word, their vision and their ideals and
values. It often means finding ways for people to
face up to reality and take their first step on the
journey to change it. Any leader is bound
to meet resistance along the way. People are
comfortable with the status quo even when it is no
good! Problems that require leadership are the
ill-structured problems &endash; those with no one
correct or easy answer. It takes forceful
leadership to bring people to the point where they
are ready to begin solving a problem. The first
step is usually the most difficult. Remember that
moving people from inertia to change is a process
that may take a long time. 6) Don't worry
about being a 'superhero' Hollywood and the
rest of the media love to show us their ideal of a
good teacher or school leader. This is the
'superhero' type who, by sheer force of personality
and gumption, against all odds turns an entire
class or school from losers to winners. The problem
with this prototype is that it is not sustainable.
Even if you are a superhero sort of teacher, this
approach can rarely be maintained over the long
term. Unfortunately, most
'superhero' teachers thrive in the spotlight and
don't take time to nurture others along. In fact,
they generally set up others for failure, wearing
shoes no one else can fill. While some students
benefit from this type if inspiration, we can't
expect everyone to be the superhero type.
But we can expect
everyone to be a great teacher! 7) Have a Global
outlook We live in a world
&endash; a global village really &endash; where
there is little room or opportunity for those who
do not have an education. We live in a world of
global comparisons and international competition
and jobs that can be outsourced to the lowest
bidder. In this time of immense change, it seems
more and more is required of schools. We are in a time of
excessive demands on schools and educators along
with diminished resources to meet the growing
demands. It is an incredibly
difficult time to be an effective teacher in
America. We have an influx of poor students,
immigrant students and students eligible for
special education services. All of these and many
other similar student subgroups must pass the
tests. Many factors that affect school performance
are beyond our control, but we are considered
accountable nevertheless. This mandate challenges
our notions of good teaching and learning.
8) Deal with
Your Own Stress Sometimes it's an
emotional strain to be a great teacher in such
demanding times. Even though most teachers are
resilient and optimistic, stress and burnout often
result from attempting to deal with overwhelming
problems. We look for great
teachers to have strength, power and competence.
And yet they are also vulnerable human beings. If
you are a leader with a passionate vision, leading
others towards that vision will bring you emotional
and stressful challenges. Expectations about your
performance may far exceed your best efforts. Your
actions may be misinterpreted and you may be
attacked. These attacks may well be unfair and
unfounded but they hurt emotionally
nevertheless. In times of stress,
what you don't want to do is slip into the
unthinking management maintenance mode. Good
leadership is much more than good management.
Overly stressed teachers often revert to the
management mode to maintain the status quo. When
this happens, students do not learn as well, the
passion for teaching is lost, and the vision
becomes much harder to sustain. How can you deal
with stress? Have a strong sense of self. Find a
dedicated and understanding support group. Hold
fast to a fervent sense of mission and to that
vision we talked about earlier. Take some time to
get away from it all and some time to reflect and
relax. Rejoice in your successes and learn from
your mistakes and failures. Maintain an optimistic
outlook and know when it is time to change to a new
role. Conclusion A great teacher
sees the dream, sets the vision, communicates it
clearly, points out the direction to be heading and
enables students to do their best. Think of the
work of the early explorers &endash; our history is
full of them. There would have been little need for
their powerful leadership if the map had been
drawn, the course fixed and the path well worn for
them. The explorers were leaders precisely because
they were forging into new territory. Powerful leaders
emerge in times of challenge and immense change.
Like the early explorers, today's great teachers
are also exploring new and uncharted territory. For
this reason, I cannot give you the exact map or a
set of precise instructions. I can only share some
guidelines: 1. Have the passion
and the vision. 2. Collaborate and
work with one another. 3. Be concerned
about student learning. 4. Set priorities
wisely 5. Be an innovative
problem solver 6. Don't worry
about being the 'superhero'. 7. Have a global
outlook. 8. Manage your own
stress I think perhaps
there's one thing more… something that just
might be the most important guideline of all. That
is to do everything with a sense of love.
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