Abstract:

Ellen Berg raises the idea of including elements of leadership training into first-year teachers' induction. "Before we know it, they will begin to step out on their own to demonstrate those same habits, and why?" Berg asks, "Because it seems normal, just another part of what we do."

Berg, E. Getting our first-year teachers on the leadership trail. Teacher Leaders Network diaries. Retrieved from the Teacher Leaders Network 10 Apr 2008. Link: http://www.teacherleaders.org/old_site/diaries04_05/EB08_04_05.html

Full Text:

Getting Our First-Year Teachers on the Leadership Trail

One afternoon a few years back, my husband saw a little kitten we had seen a few times had fallen into our tiny pond. Mama cat was pacing back and forth anxiously, unable to do anything to help her tiny offspring. Greg and I raced out back and fished the small black and white kitten out of the pond. When we set her down, she promptly ran away with Mama right behind her.

We did not see the kitten again until she was a little older. We are the cat people in the neighborhood, soft-hearted enough to feed all of the strays, and the kitten discovered we were a regular source of food. Over time we developed a relationship with her, christening her Rosemary. We even once attempted to capture her for a friend interested in adopting her, but the bloody scratches that resulted convinced us she was determined to remain an outdoor kitty.

Over the past couple of years Rosemary has had four litters of kittens, and once she begins to wean them, they show up in our backyard, ready to eat the cat food we set out each day. We work hard to earn their trust and eventually take them into the Humane Society for adoption, usually with many tears on my part since I have bonded with them.

I was observing this latest litter of kittens, four tiny furballs racing around my yard, attacking anything that had the audacity to move even the slightest. Rosemary would occasionally meow at them, indicating her displeasure, a warning, or calling them back to her.

What struck me as I watched them was that she was not babying them, she was treating her kittens as the cats they would become. Rosemary was on a mission to make sure her babies would be able to be successful adult cats.

I think we can learn a lot from Rosemary, whether we are talking about children or our future teacher leaders. Perhaps we do not have as many teacher leaders as we would like because we are not preparing our new teachers from the time they enter our buildings to become leaders.

Leadership training for first-year teachers? Am I nuts?
One might say that we have enough on our plates just trying to help a teacher get through the first year, and I certainly would not argue. However, shouldn't mentorship include preparing new teachers to become leaders as well? I do not see this task as an add-on, but rather as an approach that should be integrated into the mentoring relationship.

How? A preservice teacher from the College of William and Mary posted the following remark on a TLN mentoring discussion group:

"I really enjoy listening in on the dialogue between the mentors. I know that does not seem like something that directly mentors us, but I find it helpful to hear how experienced teachers talk to one another and share ideas."

I think he is on to something. I do not think becoming a teacher leader is a matter of any formal program but rather the result of observing teachers leading.

I teach on a team with a young woman I mentored four years ago. I helped her with all the traditional stuff her first year—classroom management, school forms, policies and procedures, and general curriculum. However, I also modeled leadership skills unintentionally.

Since we are on a team together, she saw me thinking through problems, sharing information, and preparing for in-services. She heard me talk about the importance of reflecting and witnessed my efforts to become published. She saw me stand up for myself when it was important and handle difficult situations in a calm manner. We developed a trusting relationship where she brought new ideas to me at first, then to the team, and now to the staff.

She is now the social studies department chair, and I see her trying to make a difference beyond her classroom. She shares resources with colleagues, mentors preservice students who are in her room for observation, and spearheads whole-school projects. Next year she intends to pursue National Board Certification with me.

I am not suggesting we pile leadership opportunities on our mentees in their first years, but rather let them see how we go about the business of leading. Before we know it, they will begin to step out on their own to demonstrate those same habits, and why? Because it seems normal, just another part of what we do.

Imagine the possibilities: thousands of teacher leaders, all speaking up and working for what is best for kids. Think we can handle it?

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