JONATHAN ECKERT
  • Home
  • Baylor CSL
  • About
  • Books
  • Consulting
  • Podcast & Resources
  • Contact

Just teaching: Feedback, engagement, and well-being for each student

Available for pre-order now. Launches January 2023.

Picture
Picture
Based on research in schools, ​Leading Together describes the gritty optimism of schools and leaders who are doing the hard work of improving outcomes for their students. Collective leadership for improved student outcomes is our best hope for the schools we need.

Joe Murphy, educational leadership expert, says this books is "the best guidance we have to date about how to collaboratively dismantle the wall that has stood between teachers and school administrators for over a century. A marvelously accessible book in which collective leadership is discovered through  the eyes and voices of teachers and principals."
Joseph F. Murphy, Frank W. Mayborn Chair and associate dean
Peabody College of Education
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN

This refreshing book is upbeat in tone, practical in nature, and noble in approach. Principals and teacher leaders will be able to follow Eckert’s advice with confidence and assuredly reap the benefits.
James W. Guthrie, Professor Emeritus
Peabody College of Education
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
 
 
In his latest book, Leading Together, teacher educator Jon Eckert does us a great dual service. On the one hand, he helps impale the myth of the superhero educator (principal or teacher) who single-handedly defends students and defeats all problems facing modern schools. At the same time, he thoughtfully examines a spectrum of collaborative leadership styles. The highlight for many readers will be the realization that effective leadership does not have to be (and increasingly, cannot be) uniform or solitary.
Renee Moore, English teacher
Mississippi Delta Community College
Cleveland, MS

Leading Together re-introduces us to the solution that was there all the time: every teacher and administrator needs to engage fully with leadership and they need to do it together. The brilliance of this book is that it models the same strategies it promotes; it is underpinned by rigorous research and draws on deep professional experience developed in collaboration with others. We can finally put to rest the expectation that every school principal lead like Winston Churchill and encourage administrators and teachers to share the opportunities of leadership.
Beth Green, Program Director Education
Regional Editor Canada
International Journal of Christianity and Education
Hamilton, ON Canada
 
In Leading Together, Jon Eckert embeds his study in the practical – poignant questions for self-reflection, examples of real leaders doing this difficult work in real schools – and grounds all of it in his own rich leadership experiences. Above all, this book aims to do what all such literature should: support the adults across our education system in best serving all of our students.
Jocelyn Pickford, Designer of the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship at the U.S. Department of Education
 
As a discipline, leadership is one of the most researched, but least understood, concepts in education.  From my vantage point as a superintendent, teacher leadership is critically important in improving the quality of the student experience in our schools.  This book brought clarity to the role teachers and administrators can play working in partnership to improve schools.  Through this work, Dr. Eckert empowers teacher leaders to recognize opportunities to improve their craft and bring about meaningful and sustained school improvement.
Jeff Schuler, Superintendent of Schools
Community Unit School District 200
Wheaton, IL
 
Leading Together is the best book I have read about how teachers and administrators can work together to create the classrooms our students deserve. It provides pragmatic and inspiring best practices for how to take excellence to scale. Grounded in the stories of teachers, students, and administrators in settings that range from urban to rural to suburban, this book makes a simple but compelling argument: Transforming education in American requires collective leadership.
Justin Minkel, Second-Grade Teacher and 2007 Arkansas Teacher of the Year, Jones Elementary, Springdale, AR
 
Leading Together includes rich research-based stories, reflective activities to spark action, and optimistic evidence about what this needed shift in school hierarchies means for improving student outcomes. Don’t just read this; adopt it as your guidebook to become an even more influential leader.
P. Ann Byrd, COO & Partner
Center for Teaching Quality
Carrboro, NC
 
In this powerful resource Eckert argues that school transformation depends on the systematic development of collective leadership.  Through vivid, well-constructed stories, Eckert provides a guide that readers can use to cultivate effective school leadership in their own setting.
Mark A. Smylie, Professor Emeritus
Department of Educational Policy Studies
College of Education
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL

 
This book has been a transformational dive into what it means to have genuine and powerful leadership in our education system. If you're looking for ways to take leadership in your classroom, school, district, this book will take you on a path to deepen your understanding of what it means to be an real leader.  Leading Together will help open up dialogue around issues and topics that are paramount to system success.  Although these topics are messy and complex, Dr. Eckert tackles them head on and with grace, understanding, and an authentic perspective that will have you wanting to take on the tough job of transforming our schools to better serve our ultimate client, students.  As an instructor of preservice educators, this will go on my syllabus as a must read. 
Tammie J. Schrader, Computer Science and Science Coordinator
Northeast Washington Education Service District 101
Spokane, WA
 
Once again, Jon Eckert offers his straightforward, no nonsense thinking to busy practitioners. In Leading Together, he implores readers to think beyond the typical roles and boundaries of leadership in order to improve results for students. His authentic knowledge of everyday life in schools coupled with a thoughtful framework informs every chapter in this book. There are elements of his model that can be used right away...big shifts or little tweaks! His stories and humor make it readable (and meaningful!) for those of us seeking creative and collaborative ways to lead schools and districts.
Joan Dabrowski, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
Wellesley Public Schools
Wellesley, MA
 
True to his classroom teacher roots, Jon Eckert puts the reflective (and always time-pressed!) educator at the center of “Leading Together,” providing a balanced mix of anecdote, learned truths, and prompts that can be used to ‘get the work done.’  The book is accessible, relatable, and resonant—a terrific resource and set of frameworks to help educators lead together. 
James Liou, NBCT
Program Officer- Education
William Penn Foundation
 
This is the first book that I have read that provides an adaptable solution to building leadership capacity in schools.  Readers will be empowered to capture back the profession through shared leadership.  Dr. Eckert provides a perfect blend of research, resources, reflective questions, and real-school examples that grabs the readers’ interest.  If you want to invest in human capital and improve leadership in your school or district this is the perfect book!  
Chris Silagi, Principal
Whittier School
Wheaton, IL
 
There are few books that promote uplifting the teaching profession like this one. If we desire to improve outcomes for all students and society as a whole, all educators must work together as they develop their leadership side by side and promote the work within the system.
Nancy Veatch, Teacher and Principal
Bend Elementary School
Cottonwood, CA
 

What is the novice advantage?

Remember what it was like to be new to something in education? Exhilarating, fresh, expansive, and a little terrifying ... Wherever we are in our careers, we need to remember what it was to be a novice. The only way to do that is to continue to take risks and grow. 

The Novice Advantage: Fearless Practice for Every Teacher is full of evidence and experiences compiled from student teachers to some of the greatest teachers in the United States over the past 20 years. This book is for teachers, administrators, and anyone who wants to get better at improving. Ideally, you will go through this with colleagues as the book is full of discussion questions, rating scales, and opportunities that will help us grow together. 
Picture
Picture
Free poster from Corwin - just click on the image.

What are teachers saying?

Jon Eckert has given the profession a gift we desperately need. Real help and real inspiration for real novice teachers (and those of us with a few more years under the bridge). It comes at a critical juncture, when the median years of service among teachers in the U.S. is one year. Unlike too many books for new teachers, this is not filled with quick tips or rote formulas, but rather with thoughtful, useful advice anchored in the reality of teaching in America today. Most of all, it is genuine encouragement, reminding us that teaching is a calling that requires systematic preparation, demands significant sacrifice, but yields eternal rewards.
— Renee Moore, 2001 Mississippi Teacher of the Year

Jon Eckert shifts the conversation-and hopefully our mindsets-regarding growth and learning as educators, no matter where we are in our career. In his book "Teach Like a Novice," Eckert highlights the importance of thinking of ourselves as novices who are constantly growing instead of experts complacent with our practice. This book pushes our thinking on expertise as educators and is great fodder for book groups, Professional Learning Communities, or any collaborative professional conversation. A must read!
— Megan Allen, 2010 Florida Teacher of the Year


If you see teaching as a step on a career ladder, don’t read this book. But if you see teaching as a lifelong craft, worthy of a lifetime’s dedication, this book is written for you. Our education system has plenty of resources to help first-year teachers become competent. The Novice Advantage is written for those of us who want to move beyond competence to excellence. Jon Eckert writes “We need teachers who innovate, risk, create, reflect, and grow.” This book is written for that kind of teacher.
— Justin Minkel, 2007 Arkansas Teacher of the Year

This book is an authentic, honest, and humorous, depiction of teaching. Dr. Eckert captures the heart of veteran teachers as well as novice teachers and tells the story of a profession that is unlike any other. This book ignites the passion of teaching and encourages all of us to try new things and "live on the edge"!
— Tammie Schrader, Regional Science Coordinator, NEWESD 101, Washington

More Thoughts ...

Picture
An insightful and refreshing reminder for aspiring teacher leaders and those continually developing their expertise.  Dr. Eckert highlights us of the value of seeking those “first days” throughout our careers – that the joy and nervousness experienced in these transformational moments are critical to have again and again if we are to grow personally and professionally.  Dr. Eckert highlights valuable resources and processes that all educators need for this journey.
— Patrick Ledesma, Director of Research and Knowledge Management, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

With humor and grace, Jon Eckert challenges every teacher to let go of practices that restrain them in favor of practices that allow them to grow. The journey of personal growth means recapturing the hopefulness of novice teachers. As he writes, Eckert bares his deep belief that all individuals have the capacity for continued growth, that even long experienced veterans can get out of their ruts and tap into their deep wells of knowledge and abilities in the pursuit of improving school for all children.
— Joan Richardson, editor-in-chief, Phi Delta Kappan

Stories are a powerful way to learn. Eckert reminds us of this critical lesson more effectively than anyone in recent times. In his casting of continued development through the fresh eyes of the Novice, he provides us with a special gift. You will leave 
Novice as a better teacher — and a wiser on as well.
— Joseph Murphy, Professor and Associate Dean, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University

Dr. Eckert’s new book is a must read for every novice – and the teacher educators who prepare them for the realities of the early years of teaching. While filled with practical advice for the new recruit, his book also serves as an antidote for the scripted recipes foisted upon too many classroom novices today. Teach like a Novice does not offer 63 steps to teaching effectiveness heaven but a blueprint for developing capacity to teach effectively over time and learning to lead the profession that students and our public schools deserve.
— Barnett Berry, CEO, Center for Teaching Quality

Jonathan Eckert explores and expounds a crucial tenet of effective teaching and instructional improvement:  When we take risks, when we fail, when we reflect, and when we revise, we are constantly learning.  And when we are constantly learning we are increasing the odds that we will be continuously successful.  Eckert invites us into the often terrifying, disorienting, but exhilarating world novice teachers to drive this point home.  In a counter-intuitive but clear and convincing argument, Eckert tells us that we would all be better teachers if we to be more like novices in this regard, always learning through risk, reflection, and revision, as if we too had little choice in the matter.   This is an engaging, insightful, and instructive read.  I strongly recommend it to prospective, novice, and experienced teachers and to those who help prepare and support them. 
— Mark Smylie, Professor Emeritus, College of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago

Picture
If you’re ready to laugh, cry, wince, sigh, and nod about classroom adventures (others and your own), this book is for you. The stories will resonate with any teacher who has had a “cringeworthy” classroom moment or two. As an experienced educator, I began reading Jon’s insightful analysis expecting to come away with a renewed reminder of the “novice” world; instead, I was schooled by a great teacher. We are ALL novices and should strive to stay in that space. It’s where lifelong learners hang out. Because we all begin something new each day, this book is not only for novice teachers—it’s for all teachers who want to get better. 
​— Ann Byrd, COO, Center for Teaching Quality

I found myself laughing and taking notes throughout the book. Jon's ability to weave humor with proven, field-tested techniques will empower both new educators and veterans alike.
— Mawi Asgedom, Founder and President, Mawi Learning

The Novice Advantage empowers the hopefulness of education. It provides practical ways for beginning and veteran teachers to maintain their enthusiasm and wonder of teaching. This book covers, in a very clear, useful, and readable fashion, all the relevant and effective strategies of a successful teacher. This could very well be the only book an aspiring or veteran teacher would need to fill their instructional toolbox. The “Key Takeaways and Fearless Practices” section at the end of each chapter provide an quick resource of reminders to strategies that will bolster continued reflection and improvements.  It is a must read for all educators. A powerful concept that is seldom considered is what Dr. Eckert refers to as, “getting better at getting better through honest reflection and transparent practice”. It’s the notion focusing on improvement rather than what was wrong and looking in the windshield instead of the rear view mirror.
— Robert Rammer, Assistant Superintendent, Community Unit School District 200, Illinois

The epitome of an "expert novice" himself, Eckert offers teachers at all stages of the profession clear, precise, and inspiring strategies for reaching students. And by recognizing the contributions educators make both inside and outside the classroom to shape great teaching, he elevates the teacher voice to its rightful position at the forefront of any discussion about the daily work of our schools.
— Jocelyn Pickford, Founder, Teaching Ambassador Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education

The Novice Advantage is an inspiring call to educators to make continuous learning and improvement central to their own teaching, as well as highlighting how important it is for teachers to participate in broader efforts to transform school and district structures to support continuous growth for all teachers and students.
— Kristan Van Hook, Senior Vice President for Policy, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching

Eckert's book belongs in the hands of aspiring teachers and master teachers alike.  He brings a writer's touch and a teacher's insight into what it means for educators to be lifelong learners in the context of their career.
— Brad Jupp, Senior Program Advisor, U.S. Department of Education

So often we aspire to expertise with the false notion that experts are infallible.  In The Novice Advantage, Jon Eckert paints a more realistic picture - that it's actually failures and rigorous reflective practice that breeds expertise.  With deep case studies, practical strategies based in research, and amusing anecdotes, this book is a particularly useful addition to the tool belt of any professional, at any stage of their career.  My recent shift from the classroom to teacher leader, then to non-profit leadership have forced me to rely on my Novice Advantage - I only wish the book was published while I was still in the classroom.
—​ Nick Greer, Managing Director of Programs, Thread


AboUT

Publications
​Presentations
CV

CONSULTING

Professional Development
Consulting
Contact

BookS

The Novice Advantage
Leading Together
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Baylor CSL
  • About
  • Books
  • Consulting
  • Podcast & Resources
  • Contact