Teacher Voice

"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!" -- Glenn Robbins, Lead Learner/Principal "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." -- Debbie Silver, Author and co-author "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." -- Lisa Gibson, K-12 Curriculum Coordinator "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." -- John Hattie, Laureate Professor and Director "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." -- Jim Knight, Author of Instructional Coaching: A Partnership Approach to Improving Instruction "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." -- Andreas Schleicher "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." -- Peter DeWitt, Corwin Author and Consultant "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." -- Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus "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." -- Maria Langworthy, PhD "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." -- Gavin Dykes, Co-Founder "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.' Ultimately, schooling reduces to a student with a textbook in hand, in a classroom with a teacher. Or maybe it is a keyboard and mouse instead of a textbook, but you get the point. The teacher and the student are the heart and soul of education, and whose voices should be more valued? 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, Associate Director, and Senior Learning Specialist "The overarching metaphor for the book is drawing parallel to the art, the science and the joy of fishing. It may well be a hobby or pastime for many but I can assure you that this book makes teacher voice a calling. Quaglia and Lande have 'landed' a big one indeed. Following on the success of Student Voice, this edition, with a focus on the teacher, baits our hook to such an extent that time, patience, knowledge, preparation, persistence, and satisfaction are indeed the ingredients one should devote to this exciting edition of the 'voice' literature. I could sit in a boat all day to catch the essence of this important work." -- Ainsley Rose, President "Teacher Voice: Amplifying Success ignites a transformation for teachers by moving them away from the objects of change in our schools, to becoming the agents of change! Quaglia and Lande use years of research to support actions that are focused on improving self-worth, engagement and purpose for all teachers." -- Ray McNulty, Dean, School of Education