“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” ~ John F. Kennedy
All children have the potential to develop leadership skills. Leadership development can be a lifelong process. It is essential to teach young minds about leadership qualities, as it allows them to have control over their destiny. It allows them to think of themselves, and develop a strong character that could be fruitful for them throughout their lives. Through education they become more knowledgeable, however, they must also be healthy, engaged, responsible, and caring people. Teaching and inculcating leadership qualities in students can be done through modeling and interactive activities where they are provided with direct support. For this very reason, we have included Leader In Me by Franklin Covey in our curriculum. Leader in Me (LIM) is an evidence-based, comprehensive school-improvement model developed in partnership with educators and Franklin Covey that empowers students with the leadership and life skills they need to thrive in a global community.
Leader in Me is about empowering our students to reach their true potential while ultimately finding their voice. Our school, this year, is on Core 2, following the five core commitments to our students. We call these our Core Paradigms. In these paradigms, you will find the belief and way we view all students, and they are:
- Everyone is a leader
- Everyone has genius
- Change starts with me
- We empower students to lead their own learning
- Educators and families partner to develop the whole person
Not only do these paradigms apply to our students, they apply to all of us!
Leader In Me provides us with the guidance to covers all aspects of a students’ learning and personality development. Each student is provided with the opportunity to discover and nurture the unique talent, and are provided with opportunity to develop and lead.
On the way of becoming leaders, they become self-aware of their own learning, resulting in more confident, responsible, and motivated individuals. In due course, they understand the importance of the gifts and talents that they have, they learn to listen to new ideas, work together to achieve results, and motivate one another to be the best.
We have introduced our students with 7 Habits Tree which teaches them “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People are habits of leadership.”
The first three habits help us learn to lead ourselves:
- Habit 1: Be Proactive
- Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
- Habit 3: Put First Things First
The next three habits help us lead others:
- Habit 4: Think Win-Win
- Habit 5: Seek First to Understand Then to Be Understood
- Habit 6: Synergize
Whereas, Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw reminds us to take care of ourselves so we are able to do everything better.
This is how we teach, and our students learn, why the 7 Habits is an inside-out approach, meaning we start by learning how to lead ourselves first.
We proudly wanted to share with you how we, not only model, but also include it in our environment through displays and awarding leadership roles to our students. We also have monthly visits by the Coach assigned to our campus to guide us on our daily practices and routines as we firmly believe the change and growth can only be achieved through regular practices.
We seek equal participation from our esteemed parents’ body in inculcating leadership qualities in developing leadership qualities in our students.
Often times, it’s easy to assume that teachers are the only ones who are responsible for a student’s academic and social success in school. As a parent of a Leader in Me student, we believe that you are a valuable member of our Learning Team. Parents have an important role in the educational journey of our student. Research shows that when parents are engaged in their student’s education, the student’s success, academically and behaviorally, increases significantly. If we know this partnership is critical, what can we do to create a partnership?
We would love to get your insights and feedback on what we can do to nurture this partnership as well as your ideas on what you would like to do as a partner in our student’s education. We will share our feedback forms for this very reason.
To begin, let us tell you about a few things we are doing in our daily practices:
- We created displays of 7 Habits Tree
- EBA ~ Emotional bank account – where students write for those who support them emotionally
- Leadership Roles Display
- Students’ Achievements and Acknowledgement Displays
- Certification on efforts
- Vocabulary Displays and Usage
Together, we will see each child grow throughout the year!
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci
