STANDARD ONE: 

ENGAGING & SUPPORTING ALL STUDENTS IN LEARNING

First Article: Scharf (2021) of the Southern Poverty Law Center provides a guide on critical
practices for anti-bias education. Some of the Teacher Leadership critical practices that the SPLC
focuses on are Self-Awareness and Cultural Competency, Speaking Up and Responding to
Prejudice/Bias/Stereotypes, Building Alliances, Leading Beyond the Classroom, and Ongoing
Reflection and Learning. The guide provides a brief description of each critical practice, its
connection to anti-bias education, and strategies that can be applied inside and outside of the
classroom. The authors suggests many ways on how to implement culturally responsive
pedagogy in order to promote anti-bias values. For example, the topic that stood out the most
was “Self-Awareness and Cultural Competency”, where the SPLC state that, no matter one’s
background, teachers must possess cultural competency. Teachers must understand that their
students come from many different backgrounds and cultures, which influence one’s life and
experiences. Teachers must bring this understanding and self-awareness of themselves to the
classroom. As educators, some strategies that we can incorporate into our practice are self-
assessing ourselves or attend professional developments that allow us to work with specific
groups of students, like LGBT youth or students with disabilities.

STANDARD SIX: DEVELOPING AS A PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR

Second Article: Moore Johnson and Donaldson (2007) conducted a study about overcoming
obstacles on their path to teacher leadership that have been created by the norms of school
culture. As many veteran teachers were on their path to retiring, it’s up to “second-stage”
teachers, those with 4-10 years of teaching experience, to take on leadership roles in their
schools. The article states that there are many teachers that are eager to take on these roles,
because they are ready to take the next step in their careers. On the other hand, there are also
teachers who are hesitant on pursuing these roles, as it may seem as if they are undermining the
current school culture. The authors suggest that, in order to combat these current issues, teacher
leaders can either simply wait to be “drafted” into a role that someone is retiring in. For example,
if a union representative is retiring, a “second-stage” teacher can step in to that role to become a
teacher leader for their staff.

Compare/Contrast Articles: These two articles suggest that teacher leaders need to be self-
aware of their own biases to effectively teach students, as well as overcome obstacles on one’s
path to leadership. Scharf recommends that a teacher leader needs to focus on engaging and
supporting all students in learning and recognize one’s own biases to become an effective teacher
leader. However, Moore Johnson & Donaldson recommend that teacher leaders should develop
as a professional educator and take on leadership roles in their own schools.

Both of these articles inform my teaching practice by exemplifying that a teacher leader does not
only rely on leading students in one’s classroom, but staff in one’s school as well. It is important
to fulfill one’s teacher leadership duties both inside and outside of the classroom.

Citation:
Scharf, Amy. “Critical Practices Guide for Anti-Bias Education: Teacher Leadership by Teaching
Tolerance.” Learning for Justice, Southern Poverty Law Center, Nov. 2021,
https://www.learningforjustice.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/LFJ-2111-Critical-Practices-for-
Anti-bias-Ed-November-2021-11172021.pdf.

Moore Johnson, Susan, and Donaldson, Morgaen. “Overcoming the Obstacles to

Leadership.” Educational Leadership, Sept. 2007, pp. 8–13,
https://csufullerton.instructure.com/courses/3382038/files/230854195/download?wrap=1.