How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader

by John G. Gabriel

Challenging times demand dynamic leadership. Schools rely on teachers to assume a variety of leadership roles, both formal and informal, including department chair, peer coach, faculty representative, and Web page curator. With little or no leadership training, however, many teachers are unprepared to take advantage of such opportunities. In How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader , John G. Gabriel explores the responsibilities and rewards of teacher leadership, offering practical, positive advice on
* identifying leadership qualities and building a team,

* enhancing communication and earning respect,

* overcoming obstacles and implementing change,

* energizing colleagues and strengthening morale, and

* improving student and teacher achievement.
From setting goals to mediating conflicts, from mentoring colleagues to motivating students, Gabriel provides clear strategies—grounded in experience and illustrated by examples—for becoming an effective teacher leader. A generous resource section, including sample letters, surveys, and checklists, enables readers to quickly put these techniques into practice. Whether you aspire to a leadership position or are in a position to inspire future leaders, this insightful and informative book will help you lead the way to success.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Professional Development, Leadership

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this is your first time as a teacher leader, with little or no mentoring, this is a good book to read to get acquainted with your role. For the rookie, it provides lots of ideas and advice that you can implement right away, as well as goals you can work towards over the long term.

It's an easy read, and you can skip over the parts that hold little relevance to you (e.g., I skipped all the sections on high-stakes testing and observing teachers at work, since these are not allowed in the school district I work in).

I liked how the book acknowledges the complexities of working in a department with colleagues who have vastly different personalities, teaching philosophies, and at different stages of their career. The author advocates working respectfully with colleagues, engaging in dialogue, and acknowledging that not everyone will always be happy with the outcome.

As someone who has not taken leadership courses, I found this book to be useful, and anticipating reading this again in the near future.

[Crista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very helpful tool examining teacher leadership roles from several different lenses. I am not from a district in which we were trained on how to be teacher leaders, and so this would have been a very helpful resource for me before stepping into my roles. Most of my learning was through mistake-making; I feel that I would be served well by keeping a personal physical copy for this resource handy!

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Machiavelli for teachers. A guide to cynicism in the profession.

[Evan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads crowd is extremely tough on books especially about education. I think the books telling you about college tend to be overrated. This book was really insightful to me I don't know why it received almost no 4 or 5 reviews.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author of this book breaks the chapters in to different types of leadership that build on each other. Each chapter is also broken down in to subcategories that fit under the overall chapter title. From there, he has practical ideas and strategies that he has used and encourages the reader to use for each of the topics he writes about. The book also includes great reproducible resources as appendices.

Overall, this book is easy to read and understand. I could easily picture the scenarios that the author writes about and could see some strategies easily fitting in, and working, at school. I would recommend this book to teachers who are beginning a new leadership role, but would probably only have them read chapters three through six to gain the most useful, practical knowledge. I also think this book would make a good, and easy, reference guide to have on hand to peruse when needed.

[Jessyca505 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second time to read this book, but this time with a different lens and at a different school. For a school starting it's journey in continuous improvement it has some very practical ideas. It is also good to refresh and remind myself that there are some very necessary things to consider when you are a leader. I don't want to give too much away since I will be doing a book study with all my K-12 teacher leaders this year, but I am happy to see some practical advise that aligns with our school's vision.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

In comparison to the other leadership books I have read this one was dull and not too insightful. I should have read the book instead of getting my masters degree because the book basically summed up what I paid thousands of dollars to learn. Be a good person and people will respect you more as a leader.

[Bethe · Rating 2 out of 5]

just read a few chapters of this book, some good suggestions on helping with school morale. Many fellow campus leaders agree with the suggestion that paying attention to staff in a positive way is more appreciated than little trinkets.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, which is helpful for a 4 week intensive summer class. It gave specific examples of things to do to take leadership, which I appreciated. Although it was kind of heavy on a Department Chair leader and not just teacher leaders.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay book about different qualities needed for teacher leaders have, how to develop them. good book study. can be stilted at times but with discussion, i think the book would be sufficient for new grade level chairs.

[Kristin Vogel-Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful resource and guide for current and future teacher leaders. Slightly out of date in references to NCLB and other early 2000s trends in education, but the message still rings true. Teacher leaders need to empower their colleagues to greatness.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, another book for my post grad school continuing ed.....

It would be an alright resource for a new or upcoming department chair, but nothing too dazzling. Most of it is common sense.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

The appendices are good. Every thing else is pretty obvious and elementary. Don't waste the time reading it. Just use the appendices.

[Rhonda]

This book was okay. It was informative and well written, but if you are not a leader (I am not), the information seemed admirable but irrelevant.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book, but it is about education...can never be more than a three:).