Effective learning requires a heavy dose of teacher enthusiasm! When
hiring teachers, schools look for enthusiasm as an important – maybe imperative
– characteristic in the applicants. Without an enthusiastic leader in the
classroom, learning will be poor to average at best.
Successful grade level or content teams do not happen by accident. These
teams become successful because of their contagious high levels of enthusiasm.
When given a choice, an educator who truly cares about their performance and
wants to perform at a high level of professionalism will choose to be an
engaged participant of an enthusiastic team. The educator makes this choice
because they know that when a high level of enthusiasm is combined with optimum
performance the result is improvement in their trade.
When a teacher performs better (this is evidenced by learning occurring
in the classroom at a high rate), that teacher experiences less stress, better health,
and better attendance. On a school-wide level, all of these factors contribute
to high staff retention and maintaining focus on specific school goals.
When a school experiences the aforementioned high level of morale, the
school becomes easier to manage for the instructional leader and more
productive overall. That school becomes a place where students, parents, and
teachers want to be and a place all are proud to claim as their own.
_____Phil Baca
