Teacher Leadership Final Essay

ECI 508
Teachers as Leaders
Spring 2015

Amanda H. Turner
April 23, 2015
As I come to the end of my graduate experience and look back on the last two years of
learning I can see how much I have grown as a person and educator. Through my courses I have

been challenged to think critically about the way in which I teach and my ideologies about
working with adolescents. Ending my graduate program with the Teachers as Leaders course has
made for a very rewarding and eye opening semester. It never occurred to me that leading could
and should be an integral part of teaching. Through this class I have learned what teacher
leadership is, what teacher leaders look like, and how to become one. I have studied leadership
boards, read thought-provoking research, and interviewed teacher leaders. All of this has led me
to the summation that the key to success in this role is knowing yourself, knowing your
environment, and being willing to continuously learn and push yourself to get better.
The title or position of a teacher leader is new to my vocabulary but the role is not. I have
taken on many leadership roles in my school but until this class I did not see the bigger picture of
what I was doing. Teacher leadership is setting a positive example for the administrators,
teachers, students, and parents around you. It is constantly improving and pushing oneself and
those you impact to do bigger and better things. A teacher leader has a clear vision of what they
want to accomplish and they steer the ship to get everyone to the end goal. Roland Barth says
teachers sign up for their profession because they care about the lives of students; teachers have
brains and hearts (Barth, 2001, p.xxv). Teacher leaders use their brains and hearts every day,
giving their all to each and every part of their school to ensure that the people around them are
being successful and reaching their goals. If one part of the system is failing the leader does not
leave them behind as the weak link but works to pull them up with help and guidance that is
given in a respectful way. When problems like this arise a teacher leader does not use the my
way or the highway ideology. They work with those around them whether it be other teachers,
administrators, students, or parents to come up with a plausible solution that works for the good
of the whole. They are not a one man island. Instead, they value the opinions and wishes of those

that follow them in order to foster a healthy, working relationship in which all are striving for the
same goals.
Throughout this course I have done a lot of reflecting on each of the activities and
readings that I have completed. When I reflect on the writings themselves three themes are
evident. To be a teacher leader three things are necessary, knowing yourself, knowing your
environment, and being willing to continuously learn and push yourself to get better. The first
theme I mentioned many times throughout my reflections individually and it has been
continuously talked about in class discussions. The importance of being confident and cognizant
about ones strengths and weaknesses is immense. Also, teachers should be successful in their
individual roles before they can lead others. Marilyn Katzenmeyer and Gayle Moller speak to
this point in their book, Awakening the Sleeping Giant in chapter 4. Self-awareness is critical to
success they say on page 65 and I could not agree more. A teacher cannot lead other teachers if
they are not sure of who they themselves are as a person, educator, and leader. Katzenmeyer and
Moller also discuss behaviors of a good, self-aware teacher leader; assesses own strengths and
developmental needs as a teacher and a leader, recognizes own behaviors, values, and
philosophy, self-monitors own behavior for congruence with values and philosophy, seeks and
uses feedback, and reflects on practice and areas for improvement (Katzenmeyer & Moller,
2001, p. 67). A teacher that does all of these is ready to lead others because they know what they
are capable of, what they believe, what they lack, and how they could improve. I wrote numerous
times in my reading logs that I needed to work on this aspect of my professional life so that I can
improve in my current leadership roles and prepare for the ones that I hope to take on.
Another theme that I found in my reflections and through my other course work in ECI
508 is that to be a quality teacher leader one needs to know the environment in which they work

which includes the administration, other teachers, students, and parents. In all three books we
were given to read for this class there are multiple chapters about the environment, the people
within it, and how these things can affect ones ability to lead. Teacher leaders cannot influence
others and put plans into action if the school context is not supportive of those initiatives.
(Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2001, p. 84) Understanding your surroundings is going to help you be
the best leader because you will know what tactics and/or ideas will work and those that will not.
The administration is seen as having the full power of running the school but, depending on how
they set up their school they could either empower or stifle the leadership of their teachers.
During our class discussion about our leadership board observations we saw this play out. Some
of my classmates reported that they saw a sharing of power and leadership at the meeting while
others discussed power being held by only one or two of the members present. A teacher must
know and understand the way a principal intends to run their school so that he or she can decide
in what ways their own leadership will be received and valued. Relationships are also important
to foster so that all teachers, administrators, and parents are able to work together in order to
achieve the best student outcomes (Katzenmeyer and Moller, 2001, p.90). Students also need to
be recognized as important members of the school environment. Steven Zemelman and Harry
Ross talk about the importance of building this relationship in their book, 13 Steps to Teacher
Empowerment. On page 27 they open chapter 2 by stating, ...to develop leadership and teacher
power, teachers need to acquire a larger perspective-an understanding of the school, including
how the students see it which speaks to the idea of knowing the environment in which you
plan to lead from another perspective. Students are why we teach, so it is important to understand
how they see their school and what they think about it. Having this knowledge will help us to
successfully lead them. Zemelman and Ross say a good way to get that knowledge is to observe

students. When collegiate students are learning to become teachers they do many observations to
help them see what it is like to be a teacher. That same principle can applied to teachers learning
what it is like to be a student. The authors discuss the benefits of going through the whole day
with a student which includes sitting at their desks and even lunch time so that you can see and
hear the school from their viewpoint. After observations are made by different teachers, those
teachers should get together and discuss their findings to discover commonalities and themes.
Again, this goes back to the point that if a teacher knows whom they are leading and the
environment in which they are leading, they can and will lead more successfully.
The last theme that I found in my work this semester is to be a successful teacher leader
one must be willing to continuously learn and push themselves to become better. The world in
which we teach is not a stagnant one and the people that we work with are not stagnant either.
This fact means that as leaders we need to be prepared for constant change within our content,
the people we work with, and those that we teach. A teacher leader should constantly improve
themselves by staying informed about their content, expanding their knowledge and skills,
documenting their practices, staying healthy and so much more (Zemelman & Ross, 2009, p. 1416). Teacher leaders have to be willing to push themselves to do bigger and better things so that
when they push their followers it will be better received. We have discussed many times in class
about how crucial this is for success by all involved. Through the teacher leadership videos many
of my classmates talked about how the educators in the videos were able to adapt to their
circumstances and learn from what they observed or mistakes they made to improve. This is a
great quality in a teacher leader. Dr. Carol Popes article discussed the process of reflecting and
refracting which I think ties into this theme by asking that teachers reflect on what they have
seen and/or done in order to then change where they see fit. Teachers that are unwilling to look

through a critical lens at themselves cannot be successful leaders. They have to be willing to
learn and grow since that is what we are asking of those that we lead.
As I come to the end of my graduate program and more specifically the Teachers as
Leaders class I have been asked to create a plan of action in which I will use to help me achieve
my professional goals. Currently I am the 7th grade social studies professional learning
community leader, a Rigorous Curriculum Design writer for the Johnston County Schools, boys
track coach, and social studies lead teacher for Clayton Middle School. I love all of these roles
and really want to continue to work in these areas. My future leadership goals are to use my role
as PLC lead to help the 7th grade social studies group become more of a community in which
ideas are shared instead of me passing out my lesson plans at each meeting. I would also like to
become the 7th grade house chair so that I can attend Quality Council meetings. Quality Council
is our leadership team for the school and I would really like the opportunity to work closely with
other teacher leaders in the school as well as our administration on big issues for CMS. Lastly, I
would like to begin working on my National Board Certification after I complete my third year
of teaching this June. I am aware that these are lofty goals especially considering that my
husband and I will be welcoming our first child into the world in August but, I am not one to
back down from a challenge.
Through ECI 508 I have learned more about how to be the leader that I want to be. In the
roles that I am currently in and the ones I hope to be in I need to lead by example. I am not an in
your face kind of person and I do not want my leadership style to be that way either. I find that
if I am doing what I am asking others to do then people are more receptive to my direction. I
have led in my classroom this way since my first year and my kids seem to really respect it. I
also want to ensure that the people I am leading know that I am open to comments, changes,

and/or questions. I do not think that I have all of the answers by no means and I want all those
around me to know that. I believe that two heads are better than one and therefore want to work
with those that I lead instead of dictate orders and expect them followed. Isolating myself on top
is the opposite of how I plan to lead.
In order to become this kind of leader I need to be three things; assertive, firm, and open.
I need to assert myself as a versatile and capable educator that is willing and able to take on
larger leadership roles than I have currently. I want my administration and fellow teachers to
know that I am ready for the challenge of new roles and to do that I need to step forward to tell
and show them that I am. As a third year teacher I am trying to become stronger in my voice and
stand firm in what I know. I need to work on gaining more confidence in my experience and stop
relenting in the fact that there are those more experienced than I. Finally, I want to be open. I
have heard that when people do not know me or when they first meet me they say that I am
intimidating which always strikes me as odd because I am 51 and my nickname in elementary
school was Smiley. But, in knowing this I want to make a conscious effort to avoid this. I
know that if I do not seem receptive to other opinions and ideas I will not be able to successfully
lead. If I come across with a better than you attitude my followers are likely to rebuke that
which I would not fault. I have to make sure that my first impression is a good a lasting one that
will make people want to hear what I have to say and work with me to accomplish our goals.
Leadership is not easy but it is something that I have always wanted to be a part of. I do
not see myself leaving the classroom because I love what I do every day. However, I would like
to let my voice be heard outside of room 208 because I think I have some great things to offer
Clayton Middle, Johnston County Schools, and North Carolina public education. In order to
accomplish what I have in mind I have to take my roles seriously and remember the strategies I

have learned in my Teachers as Leaders course. Knowing myself, understanding my environment

as well as those in it, and being willing to consistently learn and grow will all help me
accomplish the goals that I have set for myself and those around me.

References
Barth, R. (2001). Learning by heart. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.

Katzenmeyer, M., & Moller, G. (2001). Awakening the sleeping giant: Helping teachers develop
as leaders (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

Pope, C. (1999). Reflection and Refraction: A Reflexive Look at an Evolving Model for Methods
Instruction. English Education, 31(3), 117-200.

Zemelman, S., & Ross, H. (2009). Thirteen steps to teacher empowerment: Taking a more active
role in your school community. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.