While all teachers should be encouraged to meet their potential as educators, I do not think that all teachers should be expected to become “teacherpreneurs” (Lindsay, 2013, para. 7). The term teacherpreneur is derived from entrepreneur, the definition of which consistently references one who has the role of organizing and managing and who takes risks (dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster). Excellence can manifest in many different ways; being an excellent leader does not necessarily equate to being an excellent teacher (and vice versa).

The discussion of the term teacherpreneur brought to my mind Nardi and O’Day’s information ecology metaphor (2000). O’Day defines an information ecology as, “a system of people, technologies, practices, and values in a local setting” (2000, p. 36). Diversity and keystone species are two concepts within this metaphor which can give depth to the concept of the teacherpreneur. In a biological ecology, diversity is desirable because different species fill different niches (O’Day, 2000, p. 37). To say that all teachers should strive to be leaders would perhaps be like saying that all animals should strive to reach the top of the food chain.

One would expect that certain roles in a school would be filled by those motivated to become teacherpreneurs: teacher librarians and technology leaders, for example. This equates to the keystone species within an information ecology, “these are the people who fill gaps, make tools work just right for the local setting, and create bridges between people and technologies…We need to look for the keystone species in our information ecologies and make sure they are thriving” (O’Day, 2000, p. 38). The metaphor of the keystone species in an information ecology is powerful, and to my mind this definition allows room for different types of change agents. Keystone species are central to the healthy functioning of an information ecology, but just like in a biological ecology they are not necessarily the top of the food chain.

References

Lindsay. J. (2013, April 9). Leadership for a global future. In The global educator. Retrieved from http://www.julielindsay.net/2013/04/leadership-for-global-future.html.

O’day, V. L. (2000). Information ecologies. Serials Librarian, 38(1–2), 31–40. https://doi.org/10.1300/J123v38n01_05