President's Message - December 2013

Happy New Year

In my first column, I remarked that it was hard to believe summer was over and we were back to school. Now here we are in December. 2013 is almost over and 2014 is around the corner. Let's stop and take a look back at the first four months of school. Have you participated in any new learning? Have you used any OAME resources in your work? Have you attended a Chapter Conference? Did you attend the Leadership Conference? What changes have you made to your practice based on your new learning? We are all very fortunate to belong to an organization that seeks out ways to support its members. For many of us, our passion for teaching math is enhanced by the opportunities to learn with and from each other.

As part of my job responsibilities, I am very fortunate to learn with and from beginning teachers through the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP). The program focuses on improved teacher confidence, efficacy, practice, and continuous learning, all focusing on the student. As a way to achieve the goals of the program, each NTIP teacher works with a mentor.

The role of the mentor teacher for each NTIP teacher has proven to be a very important one. The relationship between the beginning teacher and his or her mentor is one that can take on different roles, depending on the needs of each person. The mentor can act as a consultant, coach, or collaborator. As a consultant, the mentor is simply providing information, answering questions, or attending to logistics. As a coach, the mentor is questioning the beginning teacher, supporting him or her in developing in the practice of teaching. As a collaborator, the mentor and beginning teacher are learning and working together to enhance each other's teaching practice. In each case, the mentor is acting as a teacher leader. As collaborators, both participants are teacher leaders.

Teacher leadership is a topic that I have been reading about recently, and it is so clear to me that an organization like OAME is made up of teacher leaders. Helterbran (2010) suggests that, even though teacher leadership theory exists in academia, teachers need to move away from the idea that they are "just a teacher" and recognize their potential for leadership. He continues to suggest that "(t)eacher leadership rises from within the teaching ranks and expresses itself in a myriad of ways for the betterment of students, specifically, and school in general" (p. 364). Is this not who we are in OAME? I believe that we are the teacher leaders who look for opportunities to further our own understanding of what it means to be a teacher of mathematics.

Our organization is full of teacher leaders - those members who are looking for ways to positively influence teaching and learning of mathematics. As members of OAME, we look to our mission statement to remind us that we promote excellence in mathematics education throughout the Province of Ontario. We work for excellence for students by striving for a curriculum that will prepare them to meet the mathematical challenges in their lives, by fostering familiarity with the methods of mathematics and an admiration for its principles, and by giving recognition and respect to their own mathematical achievements. We work for excellence for educators by promoting their role as facilitators and resource persons, by supporting a variety of teaching methods to meet the varied learning styles and needs of students, by encouraging their students to gain facility in learning both co-operation and independence, and by celebrating the mathematical excellence of both individuals and groups. Let us continue to develop ourselves as teacher leaders, recognizing that leadership does not come with a title and power. But rather, Helterbran (2010) reminds us that teacher leadership is emergent, self-generated, and holds the promise of continuous learning and innovation for the improvement of self, student, and school (p. 365).

I hope that each one of you sees yourself as a teacher leader. I encourage you to reach out to those educators who need your support and insight. We know that OAME is driven by the hard work of its Board of Directors, Chapter Representatives, Executive, and you, the members. I thank you for your work and hope that as we move into 2014, there is a renewed motivation for making a difference in mathematics education for our students, our colleagues, and our organization.

May the New Year bring peace, prosperity and a world filled with laughter and love.

Sonia Ellison

Citations:
Helterbran, V.R. (2010). Teacher Leadership: Overcoming 'I Am Just a Teacher' Syndrome. Education, 131(2), 363-371.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2010). The New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP). Retrieved from www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teacher/induction.html

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