Teacher Voice
Amplifying Success
- Russell J. Quaglia
- Lisa L. Lande - International Center for Teacher Voice and Aspirations Inc., Executive Director
Help teachers listen, learn, and lead for powerful school reform!
Teacher insight and experience is a powerful yet underutilized resource in education, especially in these days of the new ESSA. Help teachers find their voice and positively influence their school’s learning environment with this inspiring guide. Student aspirations pioneer, Russell Quaglia, helps you expertly facilitate the process. Using the author’s three-part School Voice Model, you’ll discover in-depth action steps to help you incorporate teacher voice that has to be heard to sustain change.
With Quaglia and Lande’s clear, step-by-step guidance, teacher interviews, reflections, and expert research, you’ll help teachers:
- Work collaboratively for school change
- Inspire and positively affect education stakeholders
- Effectively express themselves
- Build self-worth and realize their potential
- Increase engagement and define a sense of purpose
- Amplify their voice via technology
Bolster teacher leadership and improve retention, innovation, professional development, and student achievement with this breakthrough guide!
"In this innovative book, Russell Quaglia and Lisa Lande sets out how we can change that and how the voice of teachers can serve to systematically advance the knowledge-base of the profession and establish opportunities for exchange, collaboration and support. In today’s world, even the best Minister of Education can no longer solve the challenges of millions of teachers. But if we can capitalise on the expertise of millions of teachers, we can create the world’s best school system.”
Andreas Schleicher
OECD
"Quaglia and Lande have produced a treasure trove of new and high leverage ideas. Teachers Voice contains two powerful messages. One is that teacher voice contains the seeds of widespread transformation of learning. The other main message, alas, is that teacher voice is vastly under utilized---and teachers know it! This book is a call and guide to action to leverage a resource that is under our noses. Read it and act."
Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus
University of Toronto
"Teaching and fishing? Only a couple very imaginative educators would pair these two topics in a book. But that is just what Russell Quaglia and Lisa Lande have done, and that is just what they are—imaginative, optimistic, and deep-thinking educators. Their triadic epigram—Listen, Learn, Lead—would have saved many a frustrated school administrator who thought they should start with 'lead.' This book is chock-full of sound advice, practical ideas, and voices of teachers, all describing how teachers work together and communicate with each other, with students, and with parents. Who, other than teachers, deserves a more prominent, yes central, role in any discussion of how schools improve. This is a delightful read that makes a less-imaginative educator want to get up in the morning and go to work. Or go fishing."
Dr. Sam Redding, Executive Director
Academic Development Institute
"This is a must read for every educator, stakeholder, and politician. With so much focus on school reform, teachers are usually not even in the same room when decisions are made. This book reminds everyone that if you want to reform education, you need the teacher’s voice to do it correctly!"
"The missing link for most quality education models has been the absence of an essential keystone – the voice of those closest to the frontline. Teacher Voice: Amplifying Success by Russell Qualia and Lisa Lande supports the work of teachers and gives them specific steps for increasing their power and their influence towards improving education. It provides a blueprint for restoring collaboration, trust, and positive action among teachers. Bolstered by current research and rich with ideas for implementation, this book covers all aspects of developing and maintaining a powerful, purposeful teacher community. This enjoyable, inspiring call-to-action is a must read for anyone interested in proactively building active teacher connections in order to give every student a reasonable chance a success."
"Teacher Voice speaks to every teacher that has ever felt undervalued, silenced or unmotivated because they felt their voices were not heard or did not matter. Quaglia and Lande do an exceptional job of scaffolding educational research, personal anecdotes and practical frameworks into this solution focused, captivating text. Teacher Voice is about establishing value, building capacity and strengthening schools through the creation of a community of leaders. A delightful read and a must read, Teacher Voice encourages schools to reassess their priorities and invest in those that have the greatest effect on student outcomes; the teachers."
"It is not how much you talk, is how you talk. Quaglia does it again and shows the 'how,' the importance of actively listening to teacher talk, how to value your voice, and how to converse, create and contribute."
"Russ Quaglia, more than anyone, has taught us about the importance of student voice. Now, in this extremely important book, he turns his attention to teacher voice. To create the schools our children need, we need to hear from everyone in our schools, not just a few. Quaglia and Lande tell us why teacher voice is important, explain how teachers can find their voice, and describe what leaders can do to hear what teachers have to say."
“There is no successful profession that doesn’t own its professional practice and that doesn’t carefully listen to its practitioners. And yet, in teaching that still seems rather the exception than the norm. Sure, teachers can share their opinions in the hallways, in staff meetings or through social media, but school systems don’t have the eyes and ears to listen to this voice. In this innovative book, Russell Quaglia and Lisa Lande set out how we can change that and how the voice of teachers can serve to systematically advance the knowledge-base of the profession and establish opportunities for exchange, collaboration and support. In today’s world, even the best Minister of Education can no longer solve the challenges of millions of teachers. But if we can capitalise on the expertise of millions of teachers, we can create the world’s best school system.”
"Research tells us that teachers with a low level of self-efficacy do not think they have an impact on the students in their room. Can you imagine that? Entering into classrooms each day believing that their teaching doesn’t matter? The good news is that this is not fixed, and those teachers can be inspired to think differently, which is why Teacher Voice: Amplifying Success is so vitally important. Through their practical suggestions, and somewhat humorous style, Quaglia and Lande help us all understand how to foster positive teacher voice in our schools so that all students are inspired to learn."
"Quaglia and Lande have produced a treasure trove of new and high leverage ideas. Teacher Voice contains two powerful messages. One is that teacher voice contains the seeds of widespread transformation of learning. The other main message, alas, is that teacher voice is vastly under-utilized—and teachers know it! This book is a call and guide to action to leverage a resource that is under our noses. Read it and act."
"Amid the growing focus on student agency and personalized learning, this work uncovers an essential ingredient for the success of new education models. All teachers must become deep collaborators in school decision-making, meaningfully engaging in the leadership conversation, to enable the breakthroughs in student learning we know are possible. Quaglia and Lande provide an accessible, research-based guide on what it takes to develop a culture of teacher leadership. The book offers an inspiring yet balanced vision of authentic teacher engagement in the core conversations of our schools."
"In Teacher Voice: Amplifying Success, Quaglia and Lande capture the essence of teacher voice in engagement, motivation and leadership. They have shown how it is a 'yes—and' complement to student voice in a healthy balanced school, district or national education system. Teacher Voice: Amplifying Success provides excellent examples, thoughtful questions and supporting research on which each of us can build our own approach to teacher voice, as well as our underpinning rationale. If you’re angling to learn more about developing your or your colleagues' voices, and you want to be sure of an excellent catch then Teacher Voice: Amplifying Success is a great place to start."
