A teacher leader is not just a go to work and teach classes and then go home teacher, but an invested person that really wants to do whatever they can to make the system better. A good leader, no matter what organization, system, or institution has to have a heart to serve. A teacher leader is a person that is willing to serve their students, school, district, state, and country to help improve the system for the benefit of the students. One resource that does an excellent job showing what it takes to be a leader can be seen here. This article is about forming a network of teachers in New England that work to make the system better in their region. One of the goals for this program is to get teachers involved in policies that effect their schools. So often politicians make decisions about the school system without talking with teachers. Here is a great quote I found in the article that really makes a good point, "Teachers are the most important factor for student success, and no one knows more about teaching and learning than teachers themselves," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. I thought their was some truth in this statement.
Another source that I thought was worth sharing can be seen here. This is a simple list that has teacher leader qualities. The list is interesting to examine and shows some basic things that may help us define what a teacher leader is composed of. What I liked about the list is that it can be seen as a general list of what a leader is, but this list is specifically geared toward teachers. As a teacher I want to embody these principles in my career, not just to be seen as a teacher leader by my peers, but more importantly by my students.
Is it fair to ask teachers to step up and be more politically active in addition to the already busy schedule of the school year?
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I think it depends on what you're asking them to do. Teachers should probably be on a one or two boards and committees, but to ask them to do so much in addition to teaching is a bit much. People forget that teachers still work a lot actually being a teacher. I don't want people in the district offices to lose sight of the fact that teachers are still teaching and grading papers and working lessons and all that.
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