Opinion
Teaching Profession CTQ Collaboratory

The Future of Teacher Leadership Is the Union

By Kathleen Melville — October 25, 2017 4 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Ben wants to integrate more projects into his biology curriculum, but the administrators at his school insist that he prepare students for standardized tests.

Megan notices that math classes at her school are segregated—white students in higher-level classes and black students in lower-level classes—and sees the need for intervention. No one in her school’s leadership is interested in taking action.

Anna knows that the oppressive heat in her school’s aging building makes it difficult for students to learn. She starts a letter-writing campaign to alert local politicians, but her principal tells her she is in violation of the school district’s code of conduct for teachers.

These are stories of teacher-leaders that I know and admire. They are teachers who have taken on responsibility—whether in an official capacity or simply in their own practice—for improving their classrooms, their schools, and our education system as a whole. They are bringing their vast experience and hard-earned wisdom to bear on some of education’s thorniest problems. And for the most part, they are being shut down.

The challenges these teachers face are not technical. They know their craft, and they know how schools operate. As experienced teachers, they know what’s best for their students.

Their challenges are political. They have the expertise, but they lack the power to make the changes they want to see in their schools. And that’s why the future of teacher leadership is the union.

For a long time, I tried to solve education’s problems by myself. As an overconfident young teacher, I thought that if I worked hard enough, taught well enough, and shared my ideas, I could make real changes in my school and my city. I spoke with my principal; I spoke with politicians; I even started an advocacy group. What I learned is that I couldn’t affect much change by myself. We have to do it together.

Although many people see teachers’ unions as slow-moving bureaucracies, I have come to see them as our best and only way to make real changes in our education system. As teacher-leaders, we can reclaim our unions as powerful forces for positive change. Instead of relegating unions to the limited role of defending teacher salaries and benefits, we can use our collective power to build the schools our students deserve.

In Philadelphia, a group of teacher-leaders is doing just that. The Caucus of Working Educators (WE) is a group within our union that is inviting teachers to push for the changes we know will benefit our school communities. Recently, for example, teachers noticed that immigrant students were stressed and missing school due to fear that they would be apprehended and deported. In the face of this enormous political problem, an individual teacher might feel powerless to help her students. But together, members of WE formed an immigrant justice committee, built alliances with community groups like Juntos and the Education Law Center, and recommended that the school district offer training in immigrant rights to all school personnel. The committee hosted study groups, circulated a petition, participated in rallies and protests, and testified at school board meetings. Because WE organized and applied political pressure, the school district implemented a mandatory training on immigrant rights at the beginning of the school year. Using our collective power, WE made our immigrant students’ safety a districtwide priority.

If we work together, our power to make changes in our schools is immense. But right now, we are only harnessing a small fraction of that power. Many teachers see “the union” as an entity that is largely removed from the day-to-day realities of the classroom, as an institution that matters only when it’s time to negotiate a new contract. Our union could be so much more, but only if many more of us become actively involved.

What does it mean to be actively involved in our union? It means talking to our students and our co-workers so we can identify the problems that we share. It means working together to generate possible solutions and strategize about how to make them a reality. It means building relationships with all the people who care about our students—their family members, community groups, and all supporters of public education—and asking them for their support in making the changes we seek. And if your teachers’ union is not already engaging in this important work, it could mean starting your own caucus in order to bring about change within the union. As teacher-leaders, we are often our students’ most important advocates. By engaging in our union, we amplify our voices and demand a say in the policy decisions that affect our classrooms every day.

Our unions, which have long ensured basic protections for both teachers and students, are in dire straits. Teachers’ unions are shrinking, which means our political power is shrinking along with them. With an upcoming Supreme Court case on compulsory union fees that could decimate all public sector unions, we will need to work harder than ever to engage our members and advocate for our students and our profession. The only way forward is a new vision for our union—one that invites us all into the fight for the schools our students deserve.

Related Tags:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
The Future of the Science of Reading
Join us for a discussion on the future of the Science of Reading and how to support every student’s path to literacy.
Content provided by HMH
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
From Classrooms to Careers: How Schools and Districts Can Prepare Students for a Changing Workforce
Real careers start in school. Learn how Alton High built student-centered, job-aligned pathways.
Content provided by TNTP
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession Opinion What Teachers Need to Know About Navigating Political Turmoil
Educators share guidance on how to deal with the present moment.
1 min read
Photo of U.S. Capitol building.
Education Week + Getty
Teaching Profession Want to Teach in Oklahoma? You May Have to Prove You're Not 'Woke'
The state is partnering with PragerU to develop an assessment for incoming educators.
3 min read
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters holds his hand over his heart during the National Anthem at inauguration ceremonies on Jan. 9, 2023, in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters holds his hand over his heart during the National Anthem at inauguration ceremonies on Jan. 9, 2023, in Oklahoma City. Walters announced plans for a new test to screen teachers from states considered “woke.”
Sue Ogrocki/AP
Teaching Profession ‘You Can Lead Now’: Inside the NEA’s Plan to Engage New Teachers
In an aging workforce, the nation's largest teachers' union seeks ways to engage younger educators.
3 min read
Em DePriest of Kansas speaks on behalf of a proposal to create an early career teacher working group. Members of the National Education Association's Aspiring Educators Program move to bring an initiative to a vote during the NEA Representative Assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2025.
Em DePriest, a teacher in Kansas, speaks in favor of a proposal to create an early-career teacher working group. Members of the National Education Association's Aspiring Educators program moved to bring the initiative to a vote during the NEA representative assembly in Portland, Ore., on July 3, 2025.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Teaching Profession Can the National Education Association Win Over Republican Members?
Union leaders seek common ground with conservative teachers while managing an active, mostly liberal membership.
5 min read
The National Education Association's Republic Educators Caucus tabled at the NEA Representative Assembly on July 4, 2025, in Portland, Ore
The National Education Association's Republican Educators Caucus had a table at the NEA representative assembly on July 4, 2025, in Portland, Ore. The national teachers' union has been working to engage conservative teachers and communities.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week