Teaching As Leadership - by Teach for America & Steven Farr (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A road map for teachers who strive to be highly effective leaders in our nation's classrooms

Teach For America has fought the daunting battle of educational equity for the last twenty years. Based on evidence from classrooms across the country, they've discovered much about effective teaching practice, and distilled these findings into the six principles presented in this book. The Teaching As Leadership framework inspires teachers to: Set Big Goals; Invest Students and Their Families; Plan Purposefully; Execute Effectively; Continuously Increase Effectiveness; Work Relentlessly. The results are better educational outcomes for our nation's children, particularly those who live in low-income communities.

• Inspires educators to be leaders in their classrooms and schools
• Demystifies what it means to be an effective teacher, describes key elements of practice and provides a clear vision of success
• Addresses the challenges every teacher, in every classroom, faces on a daily basis

An accompanying website includes a wealth of tools, videos, sample lessons, discussion boards, and case studies.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Teaching as Leadership

"Eliminating our nation's unjust achievement gap and providing schools where all children can learn is part of the unfinished business of the Civil Rights Movement and of our nation. Teach For America is dedicated to this goal--and this new book is a terrific resource that shares the valuable lessons learned from studying highly effective teachers and successful classrooms across the country."
--Marian Wright Edelman, president, Children's Defense Fund

"Every teacher, principal, and superintendent should read this book. Over the last two years, we have seen our students' reading, writing, and math skills improve significantly. The principles outlined in Teaching As Leadership have played a critical role in our progress."
--Andrés Alonso, chief executive officer, Baltimore City Schools

"By assessing the actions of highly effective teachers in some of America's most challenging teaching environments, Teach For America outlines key strategies to close the achievement gap--investing in students and their families, planning purposefully, and working relentlessly. This inspiring book will inform the work of everyone engaged in the training and support of teachers in high-poverty schools."
--Kathleen McCartney, dean of Harvard Graduate School of Education and Gerald S. Lesser Professor in Early Childhood Development

"For new teachers, there is no substitute for getting into a classroom and suffering the pain and frustration of finding what works best for them. This book, however, offers new teachers a resource sure to make those first months a little less difficult. Teaching As Leadership assembles wisdom from dozens of successful Teach For America teachers, addressing every problem one could imagine. This is a smart gift for the new teacher in your family."
--Jay Mathews, Washington Post education columnist and author, Work Hard. Be Nice: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America

"From its very beginnings, Teach For America has invested more energy in understanding effective teaching than any teacher preparation program I know. And year after year, they have fed that information back into their own selection processes and teacher supports with a single goal: producing more teachers who can change the life chances of poor children. With this book, they have distilled what they are learning--along with relevant research--into a guide that is at once both fabulously readable and highly practical. If I had three thumbs, they would all be pointed up."
--Kati Haycock, president, Education Trust

"Teaching As Leadership works. This is the approach taken by teachers who lead diverse students to great academic achievements."
--Beverly Hall, superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools and 2009 National Superintendent of the Year

Review Quotes

"Teaching as Leadership demonstrates a commitment to and professional endorsement of the power of teachers. Farr's book speaks to the moral, ethical, and economic imperative to effect improved achievement for all students, not just some. This is a must-read for anyone at any level of our education system, including those who are preparing to revise and reauthorize NCLB." (Huffington Post, March 1, 2010)

About the Author

Steven Farr leads Teach For America's efforts to discern what distinguishes teachers whose students in low-income communities achieve dramatic academic growth. Those findings inform the organization's teacher selection, training, and support. Farr also works to build the organization's knowledge by learning from and sharing with other organizations working toward educational equity.