Rising for equity and solidarity
By Richard Wilson
In classrooms and communities across New Jersey, we find ourselves in a period marked by social division and political attacks on educators and public education at levels rarely seen. For teacher leaders, this creates unprecedented challenges in supporting their colleagues.
Teacher leadership is about the courage to support and advocate for colleagues and students through a non-administrative lens. In today’s climate, colleagues who are members of color, immigrants, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and other marginalized groups, have been caught in the crosshairs of political attacks at the national, state and local levels. Teacher leaders have a responsibility to ensure that educators, and marginalized colleagues, in particular, are equipped to thrive in our profession.
Leadership in this context, especially when partnering with unionism, means working on two levels. At the systemic level, it means leveraging whatever power we have speaking truth to power when policies harm vulnerable colleagues and students. At the ground level, it means honing our craft and increasing our understanding of the struggles of others. This makes us more effective in holding space and supporting colleagues who are members of groups under attack.
The partnership between our union and teacher leaders is paramount. Our unions provide the collective power needed to turn teacher leadership into an agent of systemic change. This partnership can blend the teacher leader’s focus on professional practice with the union’s ability to build solidarity, provide collective action and advocate for the needs of its members.
Our union can advocate for professional learning, led by teacher leaders, that focuses on the needs of all students and staff, particularly those being targeted. Our union can advocate for instructional coaches who can partner with staff members who might be struggling. Our union can advocate for curriculum development led by teacher leaders that aligns with New Jersey’s inclusive curriculum mandates, despite outside forces. Through PEP (njea.org/pep) and FAST (njea.org/fast) grants, our union can provide resources for teacher leaders to support struggling families and community members. Together, teacher leaders and unions demand we look beyond ourselves, build community and use our collective strength for the common good.
Working at the ground level, this moment calls for some essential traits in teacher leaders. First, teacher leaders need the courage to confront injustice and resist efforts to silence conversations about equity and identity. Teacher leaders need to develop the empathy required for deep listening to their colleagues and their lived experience. Teacher leaders need the skill to create collaborative communities to build coalitions for support and change. They need the persistence and resilience to show up each day to sustain their important work.
In J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, the hobbit, Frodo, is reflecting on his fate, battling the forces of evil who seek to enslave the inhabitants of Middle Earth. “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” he shares with the wizard, Gandalf. “So do I,” Gandalf replies. “So do all who live in such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
Teacher leaders must decide what to do with the time that is given to us and stand on the side of justice. This is the leadership the moment demands. And it is the leadership we, teacher leaders and unions together, can provide.
Richard Wilson is an associate director in the NJEA Professional Development and Instructional Issues Division. He is the coordinator of the NJEA Teacher Leader Academy. He can be reached at TeacherLeader@njea.org.