"It's always been a promising time for teacher leadership. It's just never been a successful time," writes noted educator Roland Barth. Why? Barth points to five obstacles: administrator resistance, the taboo in teaching against elevating oneself higher than one's peers, the fact that teachers' plates are full, the adversarial relationship that often exists between principals and teachers, and the new push to bring business model thinking into schools. But the author also sees light at the end of the tunnel. Three factors bode well for teacher leadership. First, principals can no longer do it alone; they need teachers' help. Second, the Common Core standards require schools to create curriculums that address those standards. Teacher leadership is crucial here. Finally, the proliferation of alternative schools, which often accord teachers a major decision-making role, is driving the proliferation of teacher leadership models. Taking ownership of some part of the school is an empowering experience that makes people come alive as learners. "Our business ought to be to promote profound levels of learning in school," notes Barth, "and teacher leadership is one of our most powerful assets for doing so." See, also, what David Berliner, Charlotte Danielson, Rick Hess, Barnett Berry, and Susan Moore Johnson have to say as they weigh in on the issue.