Giving Back Chapter 16 August 5, 2013 Presenters: Ramiro Daniel & Leticia Cardenas Chavez VOICES from the Field What is a Master Teacher?

GIVING BACK “Leave your story better than you found it.” -J.H. Hord  Core Belief #13: “The master teacher gives back to the profession in many ways, including by nurturing the desire in others that they too can and should aspire to be master teachers.”

Survey Respondents  Master teachers put a high priority on setting goals for themselves to become better teachers.  Whenever “the best” raise the bar for themselves, the bar is automatically raised for everybody else.  Master teachers share with their colleagues or mentees that the action of continually setting goals is critical to their success.

Domain IV  Teachers “collaborate with other teachers and administrators to improve their and others’ practices.  Master teachers urge their colleagues to aspire excellence by engaging in activities.

Domain V  Teachers “contribute to the teaching profession by sharing their expertise.”  “Exemplary teachers put their classroom experiences before all else. Other involvements are to supplement and enrich their abilities to meet the needs of their students. Teachers involved in the most committee work and the most workshops, rubbing the most shoulders, are not always the exemplary teachers.”

Importance of the Mentoring Role  “The exemplary teacher is willing to talk about teaching and learning outside of just the classroom and school community – dinner parties, letters to the editor, professionals at other school sites – to further the community’s understanding of the kids, their needs, and the struggles we face.”

Importance of the Mentoring Role  “Exemplary teachers need to be actively involved in improving the school culture, especially in their roles in professional learning communities. They need to constantly and consciously participate in conversations with colleagues and administrators about learning and the need to have a commitment to learning as much as their students are learning.”

Importance of the Mentoring Role  “Exemplary teachers collaborate with colleagues and mentor new teachers – joyfully and humbly.”  “Exemplary teachers have a strong desire to be a leader of leaders in the teaching profession.”  “For me, teaching is a privilege…sometimes very challenging, but extremely rewarding.”

The Master Teacher’s Involvement is Multidimensional  Does not function in isolation  Serve as grade, team, or department leaders.  Serve on professional development training teams.  Mentor new teachers.  Host student teachers.  Serve on school and district committees.  Become involved in professional organizations, including presenting at meetings.

The Master Teacher functions out of Commitment rather than Obligation  Educators need to be reminded often of their obligations and commitments and know the difference between both.  Commitment – an emotional pledge that people make because they want to, not because they have to.  Obligation – often imposed by circumstance, commitment is a free decision to invest.

The Master Teacher functions out of Commitment rather than Obligation  It’s almost impossible to achieve on a higher and higher plane throughout one’s career functioning primarily out of obligation.  Example: Teacher who lived her childhood with the understanding that she, like her parents, would become a teacher. In her third year at the university, it began to occur to her that there might be something else she might like to choose for a career.

Obligation vs. Commitment  Throughout this survey, teachers, principals, and superintendents talk about mission, calling, a way of life. This is commitment.

Authors  Robert L. DeBruyn and Tracey H. DeBruyn