Teacher Leadership And Empowerment Essay

New Leadership Roles for Teachers and Administrators: The core teaching standards have new and higher expectations for teachers like around leadership. Teachers are considered responsible for the learning of all students, and are expected to see themselves as leaders right from when their career begins and advocate for the needs of each student. They also have a responsibility to actively investigate and consider new ideas to improve teaching and learning and to advance the

This past school year I have been social chair of Nursing Students Without Borders. I have organized, implemented and hosted social events throughout the Fall of 2016 and the Spring of 2017. This past year the leadership of NSWB has worked to make NSWB community focused which is why the position I held was added this past year. I have been able to mentor a pre-nursing student through NSWB. I was able to answer the questions honestly from a pre-nursing student and provide support during the application process. I have been able to participate in leadership meetings and have learned how to plan well and how to improve event planning.

Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders. This quote by Tom Peters best summarizes my philosophy of teacher leadership. As a teacher leader, it is up to me to inspire, direct, and encourage others so that stronger teacher, administrative, and student leaders may be born from the process. Teacher leadership involves collaboration between teachers, administrators, and teacher leaders with the goal of positively impacting the student learning environment. With student learning as the ultimate objective, teacher leadership “becomes an indispensable avenue for school improvement” (Coggins & McGovern, 2014, p. 21). So how do I as a teacher leader begin this process? I believe that teacher leadership can be achieved through three means: modeling, mentoring, and collaborating.

In this paper, I will reflect on my new knowledge and skills that I have acquired regarding teacher leadership, supportive communication and collaboration. I will also reflect on practical application of these skills, such as assessing the needs, problems or issues, and creating the action plan to address the issues. In the end, I will define how teacher leadership can positively affect student learning and achievement.

Despite the many challenges I face daily, remembering that I significantly influence the lives of each my students will help me in becoming a better teacher leader. Reason and Reason (2011) states that a mission will not come to fruition without ownership and ownership cannot be stimulated without consistently reminding everyone why they come to work each day. It is my mission every day to transform lives in my classroom and school environment. I have chosen a career in education because I believe that it is one of the most important functions performed in our culture. I believe that teachers individually and collectively have the ability to not only change the world but to improve it.

Teachers as leaders. Crowther, Ferguson and Hann (2009) in their book, Developing Teacher Leaders (2nd ed.) defined that “Teacher leadership is essentially an ethical stance that is based on views of both a better world and the power of teachers to shape meaning systems. It manifests in new forms of understanding and practice that contribute to school success and to the quality of life of the community in the long term.” They also described the six elements of Teachers as Leaders Framework. (Crowther, F., Ferguson, M., and Hann, L. (2009). P.

Orr, like many others, believes that a teacher leader is someone who “impacts education beyond their own classroom”; however, she is quick to point out that she believes it is more than just the work teachers accomplish with administrators within their own schools. Orr wants the idea of teacher leaders to encompass far more than that.

Good leader needs to be able to identify teacher capabilities, and in what capacity they best fit in the school to reach the organization 's goals and provide resources to help teachers, and grow their capacity to become effective. According to Mantz, the tricky part is putting enough pressure on them for continual growth in meeting the vision of the school, progressing quickly, but not to the point where teachers become overloaded, and want to quit. Two years ago, the district had five teachers resign mid year. Teachers need to be pushed to meet the desired results, but there must be a balance, or they leave. Increased professional development after classroom observations has helped teachers strengthen capabilities through evaluations. Teachers make goals, then, are provided formative feedback early in their teaching experiences, which builds capacity, and provides more flexibility in the master schedule.

Aside from the administrative duties, educational leadership involves soliciting the cooperation and working with teachers to improve the pedagogic processes in their schools. Furthermore, this will require team effort from all the stakeholders to achieve these goals and adherences to the school’s mission and vision.

Teacher leaders and administrators play a vital role in the overall organizational structure of a school. As discussed in Educational Leadership, there are ten roles that teacher leaders tend to gravitate towards. The roles of teacher leaders vary according to duties and responsibilities placed on the teacher leader, they include the following: resource provider, instructional specialist, curriculum specialist, classroom supporter, learning facilitator, mentor, school leader, data coach, catalyst for change, and learner (Harrison & Killion, 2007, pg. 74-77). As a teacher leadership at Lake Oconee Academy, I personally see my duties and responsibilities covering several of these roles. Since the beginning of my employment at Lake Oconee

The West Fargo Public School system is not only the fastest growing school district in the State of North Dakota, it is also one of the most innovative and creative. The district’s Mission is “Educating today’s learners for tomorrow’s world”. Teachers employed by the district take this Mission statement to heart and live it in their own lives. To them, education is a lifelong process, not just something everyone experiences between the ages of 5-17. Evidence of this can be seen in the fact that this past summer 20 elementary and secondary teachers began a 20 month educational journey by enrolling in West Fargo’s second Teacher Leadership Academy (TLA). The Academy is a collaborative effort between West Fargo Public Schools and North Dakota State University’s Educational Leadership Program. The 20 teachers began their journey this summer and will be meeting during the school year every-other Wednesday after school. At the end of five semesters they will be awarded the Masters of Education (M. Ed.) degree. Some of the unique features of the Teacher Leadership Academy are: a) rather than traveling to campus for their coursework, Academy students are taught at the district’s Leidal Education Center, b) classes are facilitated by not only university professors, but the district’s two assistant superintendents [Dr. Allen Burgad and Mrs. Beth Slette], and c) course assignments are focused around the district’s initiatives and strategic plan.

One of the main things to being a leader is being passionate in the field one is working in. If you do not care about the field you are working in, then someone else is not going to look up to you as a leader. All of the teachers at school show they are passionate about their job and therefore we look up to them to be leaders. Angela said, “Passion makes the impossible possible”. When we have to write a paper, we sit there for hours trying to think of a topic and think that it is impossible, but the teachers who have passion about teaching students helps us realize how it is possible and that makes them even more of a leader. If one is passionate about their area of study, then they are going to be teachable which will make them an even better leader.

I am a born leader. Even when I am not looking for leadership opportunities they always seem to fall into my lap. My life has been one that is based on service to others, so I regularly volunteer for committees and extend myself to help others. It is important to me to be the best teacher I can, I regularly attend professional development sessions and implement my new learning in the classroom. However, upon starting the Teacher Leadership Master’s program at Lamar University, I was just beginning my career as a teacher leader. I had not had many opportunities to show leadership outside of my grade-level team. During team planning meetings, I normally directed the discussions. My coworkers looked to me for guidance and interpretation of the curriculum. I regularly made suggestions about teaching strategies. Additionally, I was a member of various campus committees including the Campus Performance Objective Committee (CPOC) where worked together with campus administrators and community partners to develop the Campus Improvement Plan. However, I did not view these tasks as leadership opportunities.

Those who learn to be instructional leaders acquire many characteristics that are beneficial to their schools and communities. The writer concurs that Instructional leaders exhibit a clear sense of direction for their schools and prioritize and focus attention on the things that really

The concept and practice of teacher leadership have gained momentum in the past two decades. Teachers are assuming more leadership functions at both instructional and organizational levels of practice. Empirical literature reveals effects of teacher leadership practice, teacher leader characteristics, and conditions that promote and challenge teacher leadership.