ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that we need to make high quality teaching the norm and invest in the continuous improvement and professional learning of educators throughout their careers. It is a call to action to create a better future for teachers and the entire profession by linking practitioners to current research, opening closed school systems to sources of new information and models of teaching, and creating communities of scholarship for both experienced educators and those new to the field. This chapter makes the case that many education reforms focus on external levers for change, which miss the mark because they neither inspire teachers nor engage them as a force for advancing the educational achievement of children. The current dearth of candidates to enter the teaching workforce, along with the alarming turnover rate of elementary school educators, means that school systems need to offer comprehensive professional learning experiences which engage teachers in continuous improvement with colleagues so that they become even more effective with their students. Developing schools in which every student is engaged, every child learns, and every individual gains a sense of person power should be the aim of every school community. Great teachers are the ones who can create those schools.
