TEACHERS ARE
LEADERS
Leadership
Strategies for Achieving Educational Goals
Schools are in dire need of teachers who are leaders. There
is no doubt that good teachers are not always available. Even harder to come by
are teacher-leaders, people who combine qualities of an effective teacher and a
true leader.
There is deep hunger today for a
world where people truly care for one another, where people are treated as
human beings and helped in their personal growth and development, where leaders
can be trusted to serve the needs of the people rather than their own selfish
interests.
Young people in our schools are
expressing the same hunger for teachers with a leader’s heart. Teachers who
will not only impart them with appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes but
also inspire them to freely express themselves, help them develop their
God-given potentialities and empower them to meet needs and become leaders
themselves.
The leadership function of the
teacher demands that she is aware of the goals of education, which include “the
inculcation of the right type of attitudes and values for the survival of
individuals and society; the training of the mind in building valuable ideas;
the acquisition of appropriate skills, abilities and competences of both mental
and physical nature as an equipment for the individual to live in his society;
an acquisition of a relevant and balanced knowledge of facts about local and
world-wide phenomena.” (Adaralegbe, 1980).
A critical look at the traditional
functions of the teacher vis-à-vis his leadership roles in the social economic
environment of the school confirms that only teacher-leaders can inspire
students to learn, edify them to develop their abilities and influence them to
do the same with others. Only teachers who see themselves as leaders and carry
out their leadership responsibilities in the school system can effectively
achieve educational goals in modern times.
This training course examines the
concept of teacher-leadership and its relevance for achieving educational goals
in the 21st century. The teacher is declared as a leader, and anyone
who is called by the name of teacher must, in addition to showing
characteristics of an effective teacher, also function as a true leader in
order to achieve educational goals in the 21st century. The
development of the total man involves more than an ordinary teacher is willing
to give – inspiration, influence, motivation, empowerment, service, support,
care, guidance, courage, trustworthiness, responsibility and accountability –
traits that are connected to the teacher who is also a leader.
For good understanding of the
concept of teacher-leadership, we shall examine:
Ø
The School as a Business Organization
Ø
Differences between Leaders and Managers
Ø
Teacher-Leadership
Ø
Effective Teacher and True Leader - a Comparison
Ø
The heart of a Teacher-Leader
Ø
The Servant-Teacher
Ø
The Shepherd-Teacher
Ø
The Steward-Teacher
THE SCHOOL AS A BUSINESS
ORGANIZATION
Business organizations in the 21st century have
moved from being management-driven to become leadership-driven. Naisbit and
Aburdene described this shift when they said, “The dominant principle of
organization has shifted from management in order to control enterprise to
leadership in order to bring out the best in people and respond quickly to
change.” The school as a business organization must respond to the same change.
The school has always been seen as
a social environment only. This perspective is due largely to the fact that
provision of education has always been the prerogative of the government, who
are expected to make it free and universal. This has become narrow as private
concerns have taken over the provision of education and schools are not only
social environment but also business organization. It is therefore appropriate
to call the school a social-economic environment – like any other business
organization – where people, production and profit are of utmost important –
and in that order.
Schools management must therefore accept
teachers as frontline leaders and emphasize their leadership roles in rendering
quality service for achieving educational goals.
The school system has always
regarded teachers as classroom managers, and so we talk about lesson planning,
classroom management and control, managing problem children, providing order
and enforcing compliance. But teachers’ roles as leaders in the school
community have not been adequately emphasized. If there is going to be any
change in the school system, it can only be effected by teachers. Teachers
should, therefore, understand that they are both managers and leaders, and
carry out their leadership roles in the school.
THE TEACHER-LEADER
The concept teacher-leader may be new. But the fact that teachers
are leaders is not new. This is because, by their training, teachers are
actually leaders. A well-trained teacher is supposed to have imbibed leadership
qualities during her training.
Who is a teacher?
A teacher is a trained person who helps learners to gain
knowledge, skills and attitudes, and to develop their own potentials. The
teacher interacts effectively with learners and encourages them to learn by
making her subject matter interesting and exciting. The teacher guides the
learners to recognize, appreciate, express, actualize and experience their own
uniqueness. The teacher helps the child to develop his own natural abilities by
creating the necessary environment that will stimulate, challenge and involve
him in the art of learning and doing. The teacher facilitates learning by
creating the ideal situation for the child to discover things for himself.
Who is a leader?
Leaders are simply people who dare to fully express
themselves and help others to do the same. The leader is one who guides by
influence through inspiration. The leader brings out the best in others,
leading them to become leaders themselves. True leaders are not just heroes;
they are hero-makers. They inspire others to be themselves and fully express
themselves.
Everyone can be a
leader
Everyone has the capacity to lead. We are all capable of
leadership by design. There is a leader in everyone crying to be free. Myles
Munroe explains, “You exercise some measure of leadership skills when you run
errand for your parents, restore order to the kitchen after a family meal, make
a presentation before a class, clean up the toilets in a church, organize an
event, or reorganize your bedroom.”
Being a leader is that simple, but
becoming a leader is a little more demanding. Munroe explains, “You were born
to lead but you must become a leader; just as one is born a male but must
become a man.”
Likewise, everyone has the capacity
to teach. You may be born to teach but you must become a teacher by training to
develop functions of an effective teacher. Teachers are leaders but not
everybody has developed characters of a true leader. Teachers who worth their
value in gold are also leaders to their students and upcoming colleagues.
LEADERS AND MANAGERS
Studies in management and leadership have identified a
number of differences between a leader and a manager. Warren Bennis (1996)
gives a list of differences:
1.
Manager administers – Leader innovates
2.
Manager imitates – Leader originates
3.
Manager maintains – Leader develops
4.
Manager focuses on systems and structures –
Leader focuses on people
5.
Manager relies
on control – Leader inspires trust
6.
Manager has a short range view – Leader has a
long range perspective
7.
Manager asks how and when – Leader asks what and
why
8.
Manager has his eyes on the bottom line – Leader
has his eyes on the horizon
9.
Manager accepts status quo – Leader challenges
it
10.
Manager does things right – leader does the
right thing
Mark Sanborn (2006) added the following differences:
1.
Mangers have employees, leaders win followers
2.
Managers react to change, leaders create change
3.
Managers have good ideas, leaders implement them
4.
Managers communicate, leaders persuade
5.
Managers direct groups, leaders create teams
6.
Managers try to be heroes, leaders create heroes
7.
Managers take credit, leaders take
responsibility
8.
Managers exercise power over people, leaders
exercise power with people
Anthony D’Souza (2001), in his excellent book, Empowering Leadership, gives the
following differences between leaders and managers:
Leaders Managers
1.
Leaders gain power through their actions and Managers have positional power on which to
rely.
personal relations.
2.
Leaders are found throughout an organization Managers are found in the organization’s
highest posts.
3.
Leaders have followers who desire to be on Managers have subordinates who have been
assigned
the team. to
them.
4.
Leaders depend on people for success. Managers depend on the system
for success.
5.
Leaders provide vision in terms of “The real Managers use the “This is your job…” approach.
benefit to you…”
6.
Leaders have self-conceived goals to better Managers attempt to meet the goals
provided by the
organization. organization.
7.
Leaders strive to change the organization to Managers work to maintain the
organization’s status
best meet needs as they perceive them. quo.
8.
Leaders often view rules and procedures as Managers view rules and procedures as
necessary
bureaucratic red tape. controls
to provide order.
9.
Leaders work for results. Managers follow
directives
10.
Leaders work through people. Managers work
with charts and computer printouts.
Kindly note that both leadership and management skills are
needed to be a successful teacher. The best advice for teachers is to be both
managers and leaders in the classrooms. Teachers should look at situations from
both the leadership and management perspectives in order to achieve educational
goals.
TEACHER-LEADERSHIP
A simple general definition of leadership includes the
capacity to influence, inspire, rally, direct, encourage, motivate, induce,
move, mobilize and activate others to pursue a common goal or purpose, while
maintaining commitment, momentum, confidence and courage (Munroe, 1993).
The purpose of leadership is to inspire every follower to
become a leader. Miles Munroe says, “The purest form of leadership is influence
through inspiration…Inspiration is the opposite of intimidation and absence of
manipulation.”
Teacher-leadership is not a teaching method, but the heart
and attitude of the teacher. At the heart of teacher-leadership is the teacher
accepting the challenge and responsibility of leadership. The teacher-leader is
teacher first. He seeks to meet the greatest needs of his students while
helping them to be the best they can be. She is a trainer, a tutor, a mentor, a
leader – all a teacher can be! The teacher-leader does not seek leadership
position; he only wants to be himself and express himself fully as a teacher,
while positively impacting the lives of the people around him. The
teacher-leader is an effective teacher and a true leader.
Teacher-leadership is an attitude that develops learners’
abilities, create enabling environment for learners to fully discover and
express themselves, and grow to become a total man. This is learner-centered
education at best. It actively involves learners in the teaching-learning
process, classroom management and problem-solving strategies.
The True Leader
The true leader is the one who has positive influence on our
growth and development in life. He or she is interested in us for our own good,
and does everything to see us make progress in life. To have good understanding
of a true leader, we shall do the following exercise:
EXERCISE 1: The Leadership Challenge
1.
Why do people aspire to be leaders? List your
answers in a flash card.
2.
Think about a person who has been an influential
leader to you personally. Write on different flash card the things the person
did to you and qualities in his or her life that you find so challenging.
3.
Compare the contents of the two flash cards.
What do you discover?
From similar responses (D’Souza, 2001), it was discovered
that people who aspire to be leaders want:
Ø
To get Power
Ø
To take Control (to be in charge)
Ø
To be Served (to get recognition, respect,
prestige, wealth, etc.).
The above reasons are different from the characteristics of
leaders who influence our lives and are remembered for good. Such leaders are
those who REFRESH us. They:
1.
Relate
with us as friends.
2.
Empower
us to develop our potentials. They educate us to become all we were created to
be.
3.
Free
us to express our unique personality, to discover things for ourselves and make
our own decisions. They don’t enslave us.
4.
Raise
our thinking, telling us we can do it when we think we cannot.
5.
Edify
us to grow in skills and conduct.
6.
Serve
us to meet our genuine needs, so that we too learn to meet the needs of others.
7.
Help
us with all we need to make progress in life and become good influence like
them.
The Effective Teacher
Teaching effectiveness is measured in terms of the quality
of learning that has taken place which in turn could be determined from the
learners’ performance. This implies that the aim of the teacher is to produce
high-performance learners. All the effective teacher does is for the learners
and not for himself. When teaching is effective, the following experiences are
guaranteed:
1.
Learning becomes interesting and the learners
learn with ease
2.
Learners learn in a friendly and yet challenging
atmosphere
3.
A cordial relationship is built between the
teacher and learners
4.
Quality of education is enhanced
5.
The teacher is fulfilled
EFFECTIVE TEACHER AND
TRUE LEADER
There are many qualities shared by effective teachers and
true leaders. Putting these qualities side-by-side, we better understand why
teachers are leaders:
Effective
Teacher True
Leader
Vision They
have behavioural objectives – goals They
influence others to follow to influence the behavior of learners them to a achieve a common goal
Passion They are
interested in what they do. They They
love what they do. They are passionate
are
passionate about teaching. They love about
people. They are enthusiastic.
to
see others learn and grow.
Self-mastery They show good example to learners. They They essence of becoming a leader is
knowing
are
disciplined and self-controlled. And
becoming oneself. Leaders understand
personal
strengths and weaknesses.
Friendliness They are friendly, cheerful, humane, They are dependable,
trusted, loving,
accessible,
approachable and welcoming. approachable,
good listeners. They earn
confidence
of others.
Integrity They are morally upright, honest
and They have strong
moral principles. They are
sincere.
Learners are willing to emulate them. committed
to wholeness of character. They are
honest,
faithful and sincere. They show godly
lifestyle
worthy of emulation.
Curiousity They have subject competence. They
are They are highly informed of
what it takes to
capable
of searching for new development accomplish,
yet always wanting to learn more.
and
update knowledge. Good
leaders are good thinkers.
Power with They motivate; they tend to produce Leaders
have power with people, not over
People organized effective behavior.
They balance people. They motivate
people to get the job
personal
needs with learners’ needs. They done.
They get the best out of people by giving
teach
with a view to developing the life of their best.
learners.They
recognize individual
differences
and allow gifted and less gifted
to
learn at their own pace.
Courage They are always ready to make
some They
are willing to take risks. They step out in
sacrifice.
They persevere. They are faith. They challenge traditions.
They do not
patient
with slow learners. They worry about failure. They have a
mind of their
never
give up on learners. Own;
they are strong willed.
EXERCISE 2: Improve Your Leadership Skills
1.
Examine the qualities mentioned above.
2.
Write down ten specific skills you need to be a
teacher with a leader’s heart.
3.
Which of these skills you have not acquired or
have not fully developed and what can you do about them?
THE HEART OF A
TEACHER-LEADER
Teacher leadership is much more than mere leadership style
or behavior that we can learn to act out. It begins in the mind and heart –
with our attitude. At the heart of a teacher-leader are three powerful images –
servant, shepherd and steward. These images are painted of a leader by Anthony
D’Souza in his book Empowering
Leadership.
The teacher that will positively
impact students in the 21st century is one who combines qualities of
a servant, a shepherd and a steward. It will help teachers to note that
students of these days are different from students of those days. Educational
management experts (quoted in Okam, 2002) have empirical data to prove that
students are making demands for modification of existing secondary school
governance so as to allow for their input in management and control decisions.
Modern-day students are more sophisticated than their counterparts in the past
decades. Today’s students are radical in thinking; they grow fast and access
knowledge even faster than their teachers. Using advances in technology, modern
students flow with current global issues, communicate quickly and connect
easily (Tolu Taiwo, 2005).
This brings about a social
condition in which young people would not readily submit to adults who are not
in touch with their world. They always want to do things their own way. They
would rather be influenced by their own peers than be controlled by parents and
teachers who do not provide leadership by example.
Authoritarian teachers of those
days would fail woefully positively impact today’s students. Command and
control teaching model would deform rather than transform today’s students.
Only teachers who combine the qualities of a servant, shepherd and steward
would influence today’s students and achieve educational goals. The
teacher-leader is a servant-teacher, a shepherd-teacher and a steward-teacher.
Figure 1: The
Heart of the Teacher-Leader
It is not how big you are that
qualifies you for leadership; it is how big your heart is. Only heart qualities
– active positive attitudes – can make teacher-leaders. We shall endeavor to
describe the heart of teacher-leaders in order to help you become one. At the
heart of a teacher-leader are qualities you can develop:
1.
Love.
Love is at the root of service. The love of God in our heart is reflected in
our service to others. Love is the reason a teacher would serve learners. Teachers
who truly love their pupils will do their utmost to bring out the best in them,
and help to develop every child under their care. Do you truly love the pupils
under your care in such a way that you are eager to serve them with joy?
2.
Service.
The teacher-leader has the heart of a servant. She takes every assignment as if
they were her personal business and carries them out with heart. Whether she
were to take care of a few learners or
run an errand, she was up and doing, putting in her best to make sure the task
is done to the satisfaction of the person who gave the assignment. The teacher-leader
not only accepts responsibility, she also does her work dutifully. She takes
her learners as her responsibility. She is determined to be dutiful and do her
work as if her life depends on it. Instead of commanding and controlling
learners, teacher-leaders serve and support learners. They are committed to
serving genuine needs of the learners.
3.
Availability.
The teacher-leader is approachable to his pupils and is available when they
need him. His presence instills confidence in the learners. Every effective
teacher must learn to instill confidence in the learners, by making themselves
approachable.
4.
Compassionate.
Though the teacher-leader is required to act courageously, firmly and
decisively, the he is not meant to be harsh. The image of a teacher-leader
conveys tenderness, nurture and devotion. The teacher-leader visits his pupils
at home. His relationship with them brings healing and wholeness.
5.
Listening.
Teachers have traditionally been valued for their communication and oratorical
skills. These skills need to be reinforced by a deep commitment to listening to
others. The teacher-leader seeks to identify the mood, the need and the will of
learners and help to clarify them. He seeks to listen to what is being said (and
not said) so as to understand the situation. The teacher-leader listens with
openness and understanding.
6.
Commitment
to the growth of learners. Teacher-leaders believe that learners have
potentials beyond their contributions (or lack of contributions) in the
classroom. And so, they are deeply committed to the growth of individual
learner, doing everything within their power to nurture the abilities and
unique gift of each learner. In practice, this includes allowing learners to
express their views, making available learning aids, giving them challenging
assignments, and asking probing questions with a view to counseling the
learners.
7.
Humility.
It takes humility to do just about any task one is given. It takes humility to
bend low and attend to the needs of learners in the classroom and outside the
classroom.
8.
Enthusiasm.
Teacher-leaders are continually excited about what they do. They are always
interested in the performance of their learners. They look for to each new day
with great expectation.
9.
Self-sacrificing.
Self-sacrifice does not mean a person ceases to exist as an individual. The
spirit of self-sacrifice is rather an attitude – that of looking out for the
good of others, especially those entrusted to your care. It means putting the
needs of others before your own.
10.
Integrity.
The most important characteristic of any leader is integrity – that he is
honest and trustworthy. A teacher-leader as a person of integrity is
trustworthy because he or she is honest, caring, helpful and not hurtful. No
parents will entrust their children to you if they do not trust you as a person
of integrity. They might do so unknowingly. But as soon as they discover that
you cannot be trusted, they will withdraw their children from your school.
THE SERVANT-TEACHER
The heart and attitude of a servant are at the core of
effective teaching. An important characteristic f a servant-teacher is setting
the example. There is no doubt that setting the example is the most effective
way of eliciting the desired behavior. The servant-teacher clearly shows that
the most effective way to teach a behavior is to teach it by example. This
shows the contrasts between authoritarian teacher and servant-teacher.
An authoritarian teacher imposes the desired behavior in learners
whereas a servant-teacher models the
desired behavior. The authoritarian approach may achieve temporary compliance,
but it will also be accompanied by an attitude of resentment. Learners will
carry out orders because they have to
and be on the lookout for ways to circumvent the order imposed. In contrast,
the servant-teacher creates friendship, team-spirit and community in the
classroom. Learners will do the work because they want to. It therefore becomes much easier for them to take on the
teacher’s values and emulate his lifestyle. In this way, the servant-teacher
positively influences the learners.
An important
characteristic f a servant-teacher is setting the example. There is no doubt
that setting the example is the most effective way of eliciting the desired
behavior. The servant-teacher clearly shows that the most effective way to
teach a behavior is to teach it by example.
Teaching as Service
Teaching is service-delivery, and what service can be more
honorable! Leadership is service. The concept of leadership as service was
first made popular by Robert Greenleaf in his work Servant Leadership: a Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and
Greatness. He proposed that “the great leader is servant first.” The
servant-leader takes care to ensure that other people’s greatest needs are
being met and that those people, while being served by the leader, “become
healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely themselves to become
leaders.”
Becoming a Servant-Teacher
– SERVE
The servant-teacher sets example for the learners, support
them to learn effectively and empower them to be all they can be.
1.
Support.
Servant-teachers support learners to learn effectively. They champion the
values of service, attentiveness to the needs of learners and personal
humility.
2.
Example.
The most important characteristic of a servant-teacher is setting example. The
most effective way to teach a behavior is to teach it by example. The
servant-teacher models the behavior he expects from his pupils. And, please be
reminded that children are good at copying examples.
3.
Release. Don’t enslave them
4.
Value. Recognize and affirm them
5.
Empowerment.
Servant-teachers are committed to the all-round growth of their pupils –
intellectually, emotionally, physically, spiritually and in character. They
empower learners through example, guidance, caring, understanding, sensitivity,
trust, appreciation, encouragement, reinforcement and goals.
Practical Ways of
Becoming a Servant-Teacher
Carry out the following action exercises to develop yourself
and sharpen your leadership skills to become a servant-teacher:
1.
When you wake up every morning be grateful for
life and be lively. Scatter sunshine. Be happy. Be excited about life. Look at
yourself in the mirror and laugh. Don’t take life too seriously. Make some
jokes – especially about yourself – no matter how dry. Laugh at your jokes,
even if nobody laughs.
2.
Come into your class with that excitement. Don’t
go to class if you’re emotionally disturbed. It is contagious.
3.
Spread your excitement to your students. Look at
them in the face and laugh good. Identify the mood of the class and cheer it up
with yours, if it contrary.
4.
Introduce your lesson and allow the learners to
set the pace. Get them talking. Ask questions that make them talk to you; avoid
questions that want “yes or no” answers.
5.
Make learning aids available to them. Go out of
your way to bring them good learning materials. Tell them to feel free to come
to you anytime for solution to their problems – academic and others. Give your
students the best you’ve got.
6.
Let the learners know from the onset that you’re
their friend, not just a teacher. Know their names and call them by their
names. Let your relationship go beyond
the classroom. Know their homes, their like s and dislikes. Avoid using command
and control words such as “I said..”, and intonations such as “I”.
7.
Ask personal questions with a view to counseling
them. But avoid counseling the opposite sex.
EXERCISE 3
Test Yourself: Are
you an Authoritarian Teacher or a Servant-Teacher?
Think of situations you face with your students. For each of
the ten situations below, on a seven-point scale, circle the number that most
closely represents your normal response.
1.
I ___
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(A)
insist learners must do things my way (B) allow learners to do things
their own way
2.
When the class has a problem ___
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(A)
I solve it for them (B) I challenge
them to solve it
3.
Before making a decision that will affect the
learners ___
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(A)
I carefully consider it alone (B) I seek
their suggestions
4.
The learners work best when I ___
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(A)
make them work as individuals (B) Arrange them in
such a way that they are able to work together
5.
From the moment I enter the classroom to the
time I leave ___
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(A)
Learners are silent listening to me (B) learners talk back to me
6.
When I give an assignment, ___
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(A)
I insist learners do it individually (B) I allow them to
collaborate to do it
7.
When a learner is doing something and I think I
know a better way to do it, ___
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(A)
I tell him to do it my own way (B) I suggest to
him another way to do it
8.
When learners make mistakes, ___
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(A)
I come down hard on them (B) I help them learn what went
wrong
9.
When there is bad news or a problem, ___
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(A)
I have to discover it myself (B) The
learners inform me
10.
When the class has got work to do, ___
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
(A)
I give orders before it is done (B) the class does
it willingly
How have you scored?
Add up your scores on all 10 situations.
ü
Scores below 31 indicate you are more of an
authoritarian teacher
ü
Scores above 50 indicate you are more of a servant-teacher
ü
Scores between 31 and 50 indicate you are both
an authoritarian teacher and a servant teacher
THE SHEPHERD-TEACHER
The image of the shepherd evokes feelings of intimacy and
security. The relationship between the shepherd and his sheep is that of mutual
trust, close affection and common commitment. For the shepherd, the sheep is
his product and profit. The shepherd is the servant of the sheep.
Becoming a
Shepherd-Teacher – GUARD
The shepherd-teacher relates freely with the learners. His
friendly relationship with the learners can be summed up in five words: He
GUARDs the sheep. He
— Guides
— Understands
— Attends
— Refreshes
— Delivers
1.
He
guides. The shepherd-teacher is a guide. Besides protecting your pupils,
you must also be ready to exercise some control over them so that you may guide
and direct them. He must act firmly and decisively in the best interest of your
pupils. You should be able to wield authority wisely, decisively and
assertively. Your guiding and directing roles provide useful corrective
elements needed by wayward learners.
2.
He
understands the learners. For the shepherd-teacher, leadership is personal;
he knows his people and his people know him. He understands their fears and
frustrations. He is aware of their strengths and weaknesses. He knows when they
must be brought along still waters and when they must be prodded forward. To
them, he is not a distant boss, but a present concern. If you are truly
interested in your pupils, you will make sincere effort to add a personal touch
in their human relationship with their pupils.
3.
He
attends to them. He is available for them.
4.
He
refreshes them. The shepherd feeds the sheep with nourishments.
5. He delivers them from predators. The
shepherd protects his sheep and is even prepared to lay down his life for his
sheep. Shepherding was a demanding and, at times, hazardous occupation,
particularly in protecting the sheep from danger. During the long dry seasons
in the Middle East, flocks had to be moved over considerable distances in
search of good pastures. Suitable watering and resting places had to be found.
Often danger lurked in the valleys from wild beasts such as lions, bears and
wolves that attacked and killed the sheep, and birds of prey like vultures that
swooped down on unsuspecting lambs and carried them off as food for their
young. There were also bandits and robbers bent on snatching sheep from the
fold. To be a shepherd demanded great courage, daring and willingness to take
risks.
As a
shepherd-teacher, you may need courage similar to that of the shepherd to beat
off cruel and unjust attackers. You may be required to defend your pupils from
unfair and damaging accusations. You may be demanded to confront false accusers
and to support your victims when they are attacked.
You are the point
man. The shepherd-teacher leads from the front. Effective teachers must learn
to lead the way and blaze the trail for learners to follow.
The story is told of
an Arab guide. While showing a group of tourists around the Holy Land, he spoke
of the tradition of Palestinian shepherds of walking in front of the flock. As
he was speaking, one of the tourists spotted a man in the distance driving a
small flock of sheep with a rather menacing stick. Just as school-children love
to prove their teacher wrong, the tourist pointed out the figure to the guide.
The Arab immediately stopped the bus and rushed off across the field. A few
minutes later, he returned, his face beaming. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have
just spoken to the man,” he said. “He is not the shepherd. He is, in fact, the
butcher!”
If you are authentic
shepherd-teacher, you will look out for the good of the pupils you teach before
your own good. You will be willing to put aside your own desires and sacrifice
your own wants to do what is necessary to achieve the good of your pupils.
In these days, we see teachers who
play game with the teaching profession, merely passing through on their way to
somewhere else. Such teachers have little allegiance to the school system and the
learners. When placed in a situation that threatens their pocket and reputation,
they will flee for personal safety.
What our schools need are
shepherd-teachers who care for their students and are willing to protect the
school and learners from fierce predators and false accusers.
EXERCISE 4
Let this shepherd image guide and challenge your own
leadership by asking yourself the following questions:
The shepherd knows his own sheep and calls them by name:
Ø
How well do I know my pupils?
Ø
Am I aware of what worries them most or what
problems they have?
Ø
How intimate is my conversation with them? Or do
I honestly share my own feeling, concerns, joys and fears?
Ø
Do I know what changes they would like to see in
the classroom?
The sheep recognize his voice:
Ø
Am I open and available to my pupils, or do I
consider my life my own?
Ø
How much of myself am I willing to share?
Ø
Do I feel the need to protect myself or hide
myself from my pupils? Why is that so? Is it a matter of my personality or are
there areas of my life I would not want them to know?
Ø
Am I like Jesus who chose the twelve “to be with
Him?”
The shepherd leads the sheep out to feed them:
Ø
Do I want my pupils to be healthy and fully
developed or would I secretly prefer they remain undernourished and stunted so
they will continue to be dependent on me and I may remain superior?
Ø
How much trouble do I take to provide their
“pasture” – their personal care, opportunities for their personal growth and
development?
Ø
How have I defended my school and my students?
Ø
How can I become a better teacher for those in
my care? Do I know my purpose as a shepherd-teacher? Do I have a good sense of
direction and the foresight to perceive the next step?
THE STEWARD-TEACHER
Stewards are persons entrusted with taking care of the
welfare of the people in an event or occasion. They are also trusted with the
welfare of an household and household properties. Stewards are associated with
the qualities of faithfulness, loyalty, fairness, business acumen and ability
to provide for those under their care. Stewardship is the wise investment and
preservation of the assets of an organization – both the material and human
assets. Stewards acknowledge human potentials as the organization’s most
important asset. This kind of stewardship puts people first.
True stewards put the welfare of the
people entrusted to them ahead of themselves, their profit and their personal
interests. They feed the people under their care before feeding themselves.
Likewise, steward-teachers; they take responsibility for the welfare of their
pupils.
Becoming a Steward-Leader – DARE
Theirs is a position of dependability, accountability,
responsibility and excellence.
Stewards DARE to be the best: Be
— Dependable
— Accountable
— Responsible
·
Excellent
1. Be Dependable
Nobody is put in position of
stewardship that is not dependable. The steward has earned the trust and confidence
of his employer, and so she is entrusted with material and human assets of the employer.
Nobody will entrust their children to you if they have discovered that you are
not dependable. Until you prove faithful in little things, you will not be
given bigger things. The steward-teacher has manifested the quality of
faithfulness in little things, and then she is entrusted with bigger
responsibility. The steward-teacher is loyal to her employer.
2. Be Accountable
A steward-teacher knows that “from
everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who
has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Teaching is a ministry
of stewardship – stewardship of material resources, time, opportunities,
talents and energies – for vitalizing the lives of the learners and
accomplishing educational goals. As a steward-teacher, you are accountable for
the children under your care – their growth and development. You are
accountable for the use you put to their talents, gifts and energies.
Accountability should give you a
sense of self-worth and self-respect. You are being inspected because your work
matters – both parents and school authorities are concerned about the quality
of your teaching. This should make you proud of yourself and your work. It
should make you gladly give account of your stewardship. A faithful steward-teacher
is glad to be accountable because he wants to meet expectations and bring
satisfaction to both parents and his employers.
3. Be Responsible.
Stewardship is a position of responsibility
and a true steward takes his responsibility seriously. He accepts his
stewardship not as a past-time or a hobby, but as a serious duty.
A steward acts best when his
responsibility is clearly defined. Stewardship implies clear instructions on
what to do or what results are expected. The steward-teacher works according to
instruction and strive to deliver according to expectation.
It is your responsibility as a steward-teacher
to ‘feed’ your pupils with wholesome intellectual diet for their academic
growth. You must, therefore, take the time to think of ways and means to develop
and fully utilize the God-given potentialities of the learners entrusted to you
in order to help them grow and be all they can be. Take stock of all the
resources you have at your disposal and plan how to utilize them fully to the
benefit of your pupils.
4. Be Excellent
CONCLUSION
In concluding this training course, consider the following
excerpts:
1. “Highly effective leaders succeed in large
measures because they consistently think of themselves as servants. They wish
to serve other people because they love other people.” – Dr. Paul Meyer.
2. “Leadership is not so much the exercise of
power itself as the empowerment of others…These leaders lead by pulling rather
than by pushing, by inspiring rather than ordering; by creating achievable,
though challenging expectations and rewarding progress toward them rather than
by manipulation; enabling people to use their own initiative and experiences
rather than by denying or constraining their experiences and actions.” – Warren
Bennis and Burt Nanus.
3. “As a leader, you have been given
responsibility – stewardship – over certain resources and assets…Leaders cannot
become truly effective – and are never really committed – until they are able
to put the welfare of their team members ahead of themselves, their profit and
their personal interests.” – Dr. Paul Meyer.
Nothing less should be said of teachers.
EXERCISE 5
In the passages quoted above, replace the words “leader” with teacher, “leadership” with
teacher-leadership and “people,” “others” and/or “team members” with learners. What message do the passages convey to
you?
The new messages read:
1. “Highly effective __________ succeed in
large measures because they consistently think of themselves as servants. They
wish to serve ______________ because they love ______________.”
2. “____________________ is not so much the
exercise of power itself as the empowerment of ______________…These _________________
lead by pulling rather than by pushing, by inspiring rather than ordering; by
creating achievable, though challenging expectations and rewarding progress
toward them rather than by manipulation; enabling ________________ to use their
own initiative and experiences rather than by denying or constraining their
experiences and actions.”
3. “As a _____________, you have been given
responsibility – stewardship – over certain resources and assets…______________
cannot become truly effective – and are never really committed – until they are
able to put the welfare of their ______________ ahead of themselves, their
profit and their personal interests.”
REFERENCES FOR
FURTHER READING
Adaralegbe, A. (1986) “Educating Nigerians in the Eighties:
Technical and Technological Education in Nigeria” in Ukeje, B.O. et al “Issues
an Concerns in educational Administration, Lagos: Macmillan Nigeria Publishers
Ltd.
D’Souza, Anthony (2001) “Empowering Leadership: Lead with
Vision and Strategy. Singapore: Haggai Institute.
Greenleaf, Robert (1977). Servant Leadership: A Journey into
the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. New York: Paulist Press.
Meyer, Paul (1998) “Bridging the Leadership Gap. Arlington
Texas: The Summit Publishing Group.
Munroe, Myles (1993) “Becoming A Leader: Everyone Can Do
It.” Benin City: Pneuma Life Publishing.
Nanus, Burt and Warren Bennis (1985) “Leaders: The
Strategies for Taking Charge”. New York: Harper & Row.
Sanborn, Mark (2006) “You Don’t Need a Title to Become a
Leader.” Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press Inc.
Tolu Taiwo (2005): An
Appraisal of Computer Education in Selected Public Secondary Schools in Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja. Unpublished research thesis submitted to the
Department of Science and Environmental Education, Faculty of Education,
University of Abuja.
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