Creating a Community of Leaders
Along with many roles, teachers should be leaders seeking collaboration with fellow educators, students, families, and communities. Teachers are responsible for the learning and growth of students and therefore must assume leadership roles. This role as a leader begins in the classroom, but moves beyond to incorporate the assistance of the many individuals involved in education.
Collaboration between teachers, administrators, families, students, and other members of the community can help to build a common culture. This culture can strengthen ties between members and cultivate an environment inside and outside the classroom to promote learner growth and education. Having worked in different schools, I have observed first-hand the importance of culture. Successful schools have palpable sense of meaning that resonates from administrators and teachers to students. This sense of meaning originates with the idea of teamwork and common cause. Additionally, a key aspect of this culture is having a clear set of expectations for the conduct of students, teachers, and administrators.
An essential aspect of these successful cultures is the role of leaders in promoting a culture. Teachers must actively seek leadership roles by accepting responsibility for upholding a culture of student growth and learning. Additionally, teachers must realize that this responsibility is shared throughout a larger community and seek useful ways of working with these members. In my experiences, successful leaders accept control of their responsibilities, while remaining humble in accepting advice and help from those around them. Being a leader as a teacher also means opening communication with students, families, and other teachers. One way of communicating is through Synergy and sending out email to parents and students. At the beginning of the Titan 21 projects during student teaching, I sent out a message outlying expectations, time frame, and goals of these projects to keep families involved in class progress.
A culture of learner growth goes beyond the boundaries of the classroom and the school as student inevitably will move beyond. Therefore, teachers should seek leadership opportunities outside to the school to amplify the effects and serve as a model for students and the community. I think that the best way to create and contribute to this community is through participation and leadership in extracurricular activities. Research has proven that involvement in activities outside of the classroom give students greater connection to their school. At Hidden Valley High School, they hold an annual night to exhibit a variety of student projects and work, known at Titan 21. My classes completed intensive projects, including videos, that were proudly displayed for parents, teachers, administrators, and members of the community.
For more detailed information on my ideas regarding leadership and collaboration, please see my essay on Virginia Professional Practice Standard (PPS) #6: Professionalism.