Boys Of Color

The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children by Gloria Ladson-Billings was a great resource in thinking about how I would work toward influencing my staff, and the school community as a whole, to engage in discussions about equity. Most notably, she advises us to “acknowledge the race and culture of your students and try to weave it into your teachings” and to “foster a sense of community”. I am lucky to work in a school that was founded and lead by a woman of color for the last 6 years, so equity conversations are not as awkward as they may be in some other schools. In light of recent travesties of justice that have occurred in the US over the past year, these conversations have the potential to become more high-stakes

I think and every successful teacher will agree with me that promoting the success of every student is the main value of any educational professional and it is very important for a leader to demonstrate these traits. What is leadership? Some people think that it is good to be a boss and it is easy to rule any organization. Leadership is more than just to rule any organization. It is the development of a practice around a mission or vision and an ability to inspire others to do the same. There are three sets of practices make up this basic core of successful leadership practices: setting directions, developing people and redesigning the organization. Foster (1989) says, “Leadership differs from conventional administration in much the same way that education differs from training (p.10).” This speaks to results- to the why of teaching. And the value of a leader can be determined by their results. If their aim is high-quality education (an admittedly vague term), academic success, and well-being of each student then this is the standard by which they should be judged. Burns admonishes that “power and leadership are measured by the degree of

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.

Where would we be without the teachers of the world? Young people across the world look to their teachers and instructors as role models, people to learn from and gain a broader knowledge of the world we live in. For many years, the teaching profession has been revered as a highly respected and widely sought after career, which provided instructors with a stable and supportive lifestyle. In recent years, the view of a teaching profession has changed in the eyes of prospective educators and this has left certain parts of the country scrambling to fill a wide array of teaching vacancies. These vacancies have had a severe impact on the qualifications and credentials which administrators are looking for to fill these positions, often times they’ve had to lower the standards required for full-time teaching positions just to find someone to work. This shortage of teachers is having a substantial impact on teaching districts around the country, as well as right here in North Carolina. While school administrators and education professionals understand the necessity of fixing the teacher deficit, the attempt to find a resolution to this dilemma has been futile for the most part. With this on going, decade long battle against nationwide teacher shortage, professionals in the field are still unsure how to resolve this issue. The teacher shortage in the United States has posed an issue for school districts across the nation, but as lawmakers continue to strip this once-respected

"An expanding base of knowledge from research and practice shows that educational leaders exert influence on student achievement by creating conditions conducive to each student's learning. They relentlessly develop and support teachers, effectively allocate resources, construct organizational policies and systems, and engage in other deep and meaningful work outside of the classroom that has a

The school has many veteran teachers that love their job. In respects to the elementary teachers, they stay late and give their students 100% of them and it shows. Children are smiling and eager to get to class. The walls are filled with student lead projects. I can identify the internal leaders who are outspoken and who resolve issues. There is 5th grade teacher who is team leader and she is amazing. If a problem arises instead of complaining she goes to her team and creates a solution. In 5th grade the team is so influential due to the fact they work together so well. They plan together and share ideas. When looking through data they delve deep to the root of the problem and remediate students when needed. “Educators must promote and build meaningful relationships for all students and stakeholders in the community” (Woody,

Throughout time, one career that has been a part of most societies is education. Education is a career that will always be needed. When choosing a career, many consider going into education. Education professor, Pam Grossman said, “Because all of us have spent thousands of hours in classroom observing teachers, we may underestimate the skill required to engage a group of children or adolescents and ensure that they are learning. Much of the teaching we do in everyday life, as parents or employers, involves telling or tutoring. As parents, we help children with math homework, test them on their vocabulary words, answer their questions. But teaching is much more than telling, and teachers have to know more than right answers,”

I started to volunteer at my church in the children’s building working with children for ages 5 to 7 and really enjoy it. I have been a Sunday school teacher for first and second grade for 6 years. As my daughter and family dynamics changed I made the decision to go back in the workforce. I quickly realized I did not want to be in the same kind of work I had previously been in. My true happiness is working with children. Through the years, I have been asked by parents and friends why I am not a teacher. For so many years I didn’t have the answer, but I have continuously been shown the path for me is education, from relationships I have gained with children, to other educators and parents. This past school year I started my journey in Education as an Aid for Special Needs for an Elementary School in Little Elm. I spend most of my days with working with First and Second graders. I have 7 students I work with throughout the day. I have learned so much from working with these students; it will only help me to be a better teacher. To know the 3 main keys to success are very crucial in teaching all grade levels. This particular profession is interchangeable with ideas, implementations, and procedures. It is very important to know the keys and how they

I deeply value having a servant, transformative, progressive leaders. The administrators of a school have a significant influence on the school’s success and effectiveness. Miriam Webster Dictionary defines leadership as “the power or ability to lead other people”. Educational leadership is tremendously more involved than basic types of leadership because it has a direct effect on the life-long learning of students. My personal definition of leadership is seeing where an organization currently is, where it needs to go, and developing a plan of action of how to get there. As a leader, I want to be present in the school, observing student learning, evaluating teachers, and giving performance-based feedback. I anticipate these changes to have a constructive and progressive effect on the schools I will work for in the future, but most importantly they would have an ever-lasting effect on the thousands of students that come through the

Providing teacher leaders with a collaborative approach along with the right fit team members to contribute to the journey will make the process to effectiveness even stronger. The importance of the principal’s involvement and actions are critical along the way for the staff. This allows for shared vision and purpose to be modeled while developing a climate of high expectations focused on improvement. This approach increases commitment of the staff to connect the relationship of what they are trying to accomplish to the mission of the

For years I passed up a billboard on a busy highway in my town that read “Want to teach?.... When can you start?” I never thought anything of it, and it didn’t really register that the billboard was speaking to me until one day it did. I had what I have come to know as a “come to the carpet” moment with myself. I realized that in my current job I could help a few, but in becoming an educator I could pour kindness into others that I would like to see more of in our current trying times. Of course there is a lot to be done, and it is my deepest desire that I join the forces of dedicated individuals who become masters of education such as the teacher I will write to you about today.

While there is no denying that principals play the primary role of setting the directions of a school and conveying this vision to staff, students and stakeholders (OLF 2.2.1), teacher-leaders also contribute to activities that serve to ensure that the school community is working towards a common goal and that the vision for the school becomes a reality. While the principal and school improvement plan may state the goals for the school, it is the teachers within that school that actively contribute to the fulfilment of the goals.

When considering a career in education, one must be prepared for the hard work and many challenging demands teachers face on a daily basis, overcrowded classrooms, budget cuts, administrative, district, city, and state demands as well as, parental demands, homework, inadequate working conditions and insufficient supplies, the requirements of “No Child Left Behind”, common core standards, and standardized testing. According to Renzulli, Reis, and Thompson (2009), “the dismal reality is that many imaginative, deeply committed teachers are themselves unhappy and frustrated by local and federal mandates to raise school wide achievement” (p.23). These high demands can impact teaching and teachers can become overwhelmed and overlook the true reason that brought them into this career path, helping student’s become successful lifelong learners and preparing them for academic and life success.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have had a fascination with teaching. The instructors in my life inspired me to be a better person and helped me grow in knowledge and wisdom. I have been surrounded by teachers for nearly my entire life; thus, at the close of my thirteen years in attendance of a school, I have come to the uncanny realization that I may have an interest in pursuing a career in teaching. Despite my extensive experience being around teachers, I realize that I honestly know little to nothing about what it is to be a teacher. I know that instructors must go through lengthy processes to be licensed to

It was the last week of my senior year in high school and my peers and I were on an emotional roller-coaster. Eager to receive well wishes and encouragement from the teachers I had spent the past four years with, I toted my yearbook from classroom to classroom requesting signatures from those in the building I had the highest of regards for. I approached my advanced placement physics instructor and handed him my yearbook, proudly reminding him that I was headed to Emory University, which was something relatively unheard of for students at my school. When he was done writing, I read the words “Young black girl at Emory. Please no babies” and had an immediate visceral reaction. Overflowing with emotions that I could not clearly articulate, I walked away, promising myself that I would do everything in my power to bury those words and prove to him, and others alike, that I would not grow to be the stereotype they viewed me as. I regard this moment as one of the most pivotal in my educational career because it was an important driving force in my decision to become an educator and continues to remind me of the immediate need for positive Black educators and role models for students of color. I am committed to being an educator in urban schools because I recognize a system that is failing students of color, worsened by the existing gaps in resources that continue to do them a disservice, within a system that should work to level the playing field for all. My goals as an educator