MTW: How did you become a teacher leader?
BJ: You can either be selected or self-appointed. I’m one of the self-appointed teacher leaders. We came up with this organization called Revamp Girls High School, and it ended up being a voluntary [teacher-led] school improvement group. We would kind of map out the vision of what a Girls High School girl is and should be, and also think about different functions within the school. There were points where people could come to share ideas about what they wanted and expected from the school. The environment we constructed through Revamp Girls High School made me feel like a teacher leader.
Brendon goes on to describe some of his success in this unofficial teacher leader role:
BJ: I had a great administrator. She let us publicize and get [Revamp] together. And slowly but surely I feel like people [at Girls High] were more open and candid in conversations. I think Revamp made it so that there was a better sense of relational trust between the administration and the faculty, and the students as well.
I also started giving periodical professional development sessions, and that’s not something that faculty members generally step up to do. Teacher leaders operate within the school building. You have to think of yourself as a member of the faculty, not just a teacher in a classroom.
I try to bring some of the professional development stuff I've done in Philadelphia back to my department. [For example], we don’t get professional development on issues of gender. I was able to share the studies I did at Penn on that topic. I don’t know how to measure whether or not it’s doing anything. That can be something that’s difficult about teacher leadership. But I think it definitely contributed to the school environment.
MTW: What are some of the challenges you've encountered as a teacher leader?
BJ: The union fought [Revamp] really hard. I feel like a lot of people, more of the senior faculty, were suspicious of the group. There was a lot of push back and apathy.
There’s always going to be that resistance to change, unless that change is mandated from above. I don’t think superintendents and school reform commissions really run what we do. I feel like as an educator, as a professional, I have a say of how I conduct my classroom environment and school environment.
MTW: Are there any interpersonal strategies you developed to overcome these challenges?
BJ: In general when you’re respectful and thoughtful and engaging with faculty or children, they respond to that. I was told by a friend of mine on the staff that sometimes I seem unapproachable. I think I’m unapproachable to the right people. If you’re going to come over here and complain, I’m not the one to talk to. But if you want to develop yourself, or talk about awesome things that are happening with our girls, or in your class, then I love talking about that.
MTW: What advice do you have for current education students who may want to be a teacher leader one day?
Wherever you are, wherever you end up, get out of your classroom and use your summers to develop yourself and to greet people outside of your school building and district. There are teachers all over the country that do amazing things. Every summer I come back energized because I interact with people who are energizing and have amazing ideas. Make sure you don’t stay in your box. Try your best to not operate from a "place of protection." Your new and young, so experiment and have fun.
Brendon Jobs' official website: https://sites.google.com/site/brendonjobs/
Thank you for this, Marcus. As you show, Brendon is an example of informal teacher-leaders. They lead not because they have been assigned a role or position; rather, they earn their leadership through their work with their students, their colleagues, the school, and community. These informal teacher-leaders are teachers first. They emerge from among their teaching colleagues as they see an opportunity for improvement or notice a need. Informal teacher-leaders hold a vision, share it with others, and focus their energy and the energy of others toward the achievement of that vision. Because they are doing something they believe in – when what they are doing sits well with their set of values and is relevant to their lives – they do it better; they do it with passion, and may even change the culture of the school and community in the process.
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