Ensuring Teachers Matter : Where to Focus First So Students Matter Most (the Research-Based Concept of Mattering and How Teachers Benefit When They Feel Meaning)

Teachers are critical to student success, but the profession of teaching is in crisis. When teachers feel a sense of purpose or meaningful significance, it leads to better student achievement, less burnout, and higher job satisfaction. Drawing from original research, this practical resource introduces eight essential elements of mattering that schools need to have for teachers to feel they matter.

This book will help K–12 teachers:

• Learn how to integrate less pleasant aspects of the job with one’s values to achieve a goal
• Use the foundational elements of mattering survey and other tools to effect substantive school change
• Make smaller-scale changes to the work environment to meet individual needs
• Understand the purpose and importance of each element of mattering
• Learn about leaders’ obligations when it comes to mattering and what teachers should expect from them
• Explore the implications of all eight elements of mattering for teachers and leaders

Contents:
Introduction: A Blinding Flash of the Obvious—The What and Why of Mattering
Chapter 1: Celebrating the Team, Not Just the Score—Community
Chapter 2: Embracing What You See, and That’s a Whole Lot of Me—Authenticity
Chapter 3: Getting Lost in the Moment, With a Good Crowd Around—Flow
Chapter 4: Staying the Course, En Route to My Why—Purpose
Chapter 5: Seeing the Downside as a Necessary Upside—Assimilation
Chapter 6: Getting Real With How We Stack Up—Compensation
Chapter 7: Taking Care to Take Care—Stability
Chapter 8: Letting Things Be Loose–Tight—Job Crafting
Chapter 9: Putting It All Together—Smarter Stuff That Matters
Epilogue: A Fair Adieu
References and Resources
Index