For the last couple of years I have been invited by a local primary school to work with their senior students. The school expects all senior students to play a leadership role. One of the challenges is to identify what it means to be a leader and the expectations that the school has for their senior students. Rather than dumbing the sessions down I do as I would with any leadership group and I have to say that the kids respond as well as any adult leadership group. They know what leaders do.
Capturing and keeping young students attention is a challenge so the morning is broken up into some individually focused activity and some team activities. Starting with a game of Leadership Bingo, through to team based activities with rope and duct tape to tower building these kids applied themselves really well.
One activity involved having a student lie on a large piece of paper so that others could draw around them - I was too busy working with then to get photos - and then the group drew or wrote over the shape all the characteristics of a leader. They then had to present their poster to the remaining groups
I'm not sure what happens as people get older but if the energy and commitment of these kids is anything to go by New Zealand is going to be well served with leaders in the future.
Thanks West End School students and staff.
No comments:
Post a Comment