Learning to Lead: Effective Leadership Skills for Teachers of Young Children

"Learning to Lead" is an incredible book that that breaks down the process of leadership and aids teachers in understanding how to be effective leaders. The book provides an easy to follow format that discusses leadership in early childhood education to becoming an effective leader. The author touches upon all aspects of leadership in the classroom and encourages teachers to build relationships with their students and the outside community. The book's tone is very uplifting and encouraging which really makes it easy to follow along and understand the material presented. Sullivan takes the teacher from start to finish with describing what leadership is and how it can be attained. She provides answers to everyone's questions and includes real life stories at the end of each chapter to help the reader put the information into perspective. By being able to read someone's experiences and understand the measures they took to resolve the situation, the reader is more likely to confront the situations they are dealing with personally in the classroom. Whether it be from lack of confidence or striving for respect, every issue and obstacle is covered in this book.While reading the text, I found it extremely helpful to go over the questions that are given after every major section. By answering the questions and going over my own personal responses, I was able to really gain a better understanding of the material and relate it to real life experiences. It is much easier to tackle a situation knowing that someone else has struggled in the same area.I strongly suggest this book for all teachers of young children because it provides a foundation on which to follow to be an effective leader. It covers every possible situation or circumstance that a teacher could encounter and includes examples of how to deal with each situation. Being a good teacher means being a good leader. Read this book and take the lessons you learn into your classroom!