Are teacher’s leaders?

There are many articles that question whether teachers are in fact leaders and mentors, the answer to this can be put down to which definition of a leader you chose to accept, here are just a few to consider;

1. Oxford Dictionary: “The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country.”

2. Peter Drucker: "The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers."

3. Warren Bennis: "Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”

4. Bill Gates: "As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.”

Most people spend 25 hours a week for at least 12 years in school and therefore surrounded by teachers - it is fair to say that the teachers are going to have an influence on the children - but does that make them a leader and a mentor? Teacher’s jobs require them to lead by example, discipline children when required, and most importantly help children to learn the given subject. It is known that the skill of a teacher is directly related to how much a child will learn; a teacher must adapt to each child and their unique learning methods to the best of their ability and make a personal connection with the students.

Many people will actually make decisions about their next stage of qualifications, subjects or profession as a result of how they found a particular class at school, for example if your English class wasn’t taught very well and you did not enjoy their classes, you probably would not continue to study English later in life. Teachers have the power to influence hundreds of children and young adults; the example teachers set make a massive impact on a child’s education and behavior.

So, let us re-visit the 4 definitions of a leader previously mentioned and you can see that teachers can be fit into each of these definitions;

1. Teachers lead groups of students

2. Teachers have followers in students, parent and colleagues

3. Teachers must translate their given subject in a way that students can understand

4. Teachers must empower their students to learn and enjoy the subject.

If you are not convinced then think back to your childhood; whose behavior influenced you the most? List the top 5-10 people you think had an impact on your career and the development of your behavior, for the majority of people a teacher will feature on this list.

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