5.2. "NINE REASONS WHY GREAT TEACHERS MAKE GREAT LEADERS": THE 4CS

In this article, the author presents nine reasons why great teachers make great leaders:

1. Great teachers know how to create a strong company culture
2. Great teachers know how to set high expectations

3. Great teachers prioritize what really matters

4. Great teachers plan purposefully

5. Great teachers execute

6. Great teachers know how to learn constantly

7. Great teachers persevere

8. Great teachers are resourceful

9. Great teachers empathize

We will use the 4Cs strategy to reflect about the reading:

CONNECTIONS	CHALLENGES
This reading made me reflect about everything we have studied in this subject of School Leadership. I have realised that there are lots of features that make you a great and effective leaders, and that we can make lots of different lists of aspects and reasons why good teachers may be good leaders But at the end of the day, even if the aspects listed are different, they have the main ideas in common. In this case, I have learnt about the importance of building a strong company culture, which in schools is linked to the concept of “school community” we have been using in all the subjects of this Masters programme. The importance of planning and setting high expectations are related to assessment and to the IB philosophy. Being leader in the IB means applying in your classroom many aspects that we have already studied.	Maybe the article could have given more practical examples about how to implement some of these things as they are reasons why we could be great leaders. Nevertheless, there are a lot of materials and resources about school leadership available and by making connections among all of them we can find theory, examples and practical cases that help us develop our leadership skills. Each teacher is unique and what matters in education is that we are all aware that leadership is a part of it, a really important one that helps us be better teachers, better guides for our students and build a school community.
CONCEPTS	CHANGES
The author presents nine reasons why great teachers normally make great leaders. There are some concepts worth retaining. These teachers know how to build a strong company culture, which results in a school culture needed to consider it as a community. They set high expectations, which is one of the main requirements to stimulate and motivate others. Prioritizing is also important, as well as planning purposefully for learning. After all this, they have to be able to execute without fear or hesitations. Great teacher leaders are learning constantly, they persevere, which implicates that they never give up if they believe in something. They are also resourceful. Finally, they must have empathy in order to understand the needs of students and other members of the school community. These features help leaders make a real impact in the lives of their students.	I already had in mind all these aspects but I had not put them together as reasons great teachers make great leaders. The two aspects that I want to reconsider about myself after reading this article are perseverance and setting high expectations. I like to persevere but it is true that with students it is even more important, because sometimes you want to give up on something you think does not have a solution, but alternatives always exist, and we have to be creative and recycle ourselves. Moreover, I have always been told that when you set high expectations for yourself you often get frustrated, but I have always continued being like that as I love seeing how I can improve, evolve and change by working hard.