Middle level educators can't always define it succinctly, but they know courageous, collaborative leadership when they see it. Examples of courageous leadership can range from a cancer-stricken teacher who inspires a whole school, to an educator who makes little strides by modeling the art of "hanging out" for students for whom social interaction is an anxiety-laden mystery. Courage is evident in teachers and administrators who fight in big struggles to keep schools adhering to the important tenets of middle school philosophy and to the goals of education they believe in. This article presents many examples of courage as a quality inherent in the very essence of being an educator, especially in a profession that is not always supported by the public. Teacher and administrator Donald Clark lists four things that comprise courageous leadership in a school: (1) Maintaining a commitment to the middle level concept in spite of pressure of accountability and high stakes testing; (2) Monitoring the instruction in the classroom and taking action when it is inferior, making sure effective professional development is in place and ineffective teachers are removed; (3) Sharing leadership with teachers and parents; and (4) Reflecting on teaching and the curriculum. Clark states that "in a typical school culture of teacher isolation it takes courage to be in a team that regularly observes each member teach and offers critiques on instructional improvement."