Chapter 13: Teacher Leadership: A Journey from Classroom Teacher to Scholarly Practitioner

Question: What was a veteran teacher supposed to do once she had determined after much introspection that it was time to seek other opportunities outside of the classroom, still within the field of education, yet without entering the main office as an administrator? As an elementary teacher with twenty years of experience in public education in grades 3, 4, 5, and a short stint in the resource room, many before me in similar situations had earned a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. Of course, this would have offered more opportunities for me. However, I felt, it would put me into an office-based position, and, for whatever reason, I viewed this as a problem-solving position rather than one that would enable me to continue to have as much an impact on students as I had been in the classroom. What became clear to me is the fact that I wanted to work with teachers, too. I thought this over and decided that I needed to search for a graduate program with the anticipated result of working with pre-service teachers. This seemed quite satisfying and, while I would be teaching at the university level, I would also keep my foot in the field once I began supervising student teachers. That was my plan.