“We
can’t all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go
by”-Will Rogers, US Humorist and showman.
The conventional thinking is that some
people are born to lead while majority are born to follow. It may be true that
in entertainment industry and sports, all can’t be heroes. The industry can
thrive only if there are a few heroes and more admirers.
In business, politics, government, teaching,
industry, medicine and several other professions, some people are chosen to
lead while most people refuse to take any initiative or are unable to get
opportunities to show their leadership qualities.
The first lessons
The first lessons in leadership should
naturally start from schools. However, teachers tend to favor or hand pick
certain students with communication skills and good physical attributes to take
the lead in many activities in school. This leaves the majority of the other
kids to remain in the periphery and get typecast as ‘average’ lacking
initiative and unable to take the lead in activities.
Even as the school systems in India tend to
create more followers than leaders, they do have certain programs or activities
that inculcate leadership and responsibility towards others.
#National Cadet Corps (NCC):
The National Cadet Corps (NCC), an India government initiative is aimed at
building a spirit of adventure, comradeship and leadership qualities in school
and college going children. The NCC was formed in 1948 as per The National
Cadet Corps Act in 1948 in view of the requirement to build a strong armed
forces to protect our borders after the Kashmir war of 1948. NCC cadets are
inculcated the values of discipline, service and responsibility. They engage in
social service, adventure activities such as trekking in forests,
mountaineering learn new skills such as flying an aircraft. The minimum age for enrolment into junior
division is 13 years and senior division is for those who have completed plus
two. There is no compulsion to join the military service but NCC cadets get
preference for selection to armed forces.
The intention of NCC is laudable and they
do create a core team of healthy, skillful and resourceful students with
leadership and communication skills. However, not all students are capable of
enrolling in NCC considering the rigorous training schedules and health
requirements for the program. Not all schools and colleges have NCC units and
therefore, the scope of the national program does not reach the entire student
community.
#Debating
Clubs, Arts Club, Drama Clubs, Environment Clubs
Many schools and colleges have clubs to
promote talent – it could be debating clubs, drama clubs, arts club, nature
clubs and so on. The intention is to create group activity and promote skills
of students. Most often they are formed to groom students for inter-school or
college competitions and the ratio of students active in such clubs may be
small compared to the total number of students.
#
Camping and trekking
In School Annual Reports, principals
highlight the annual leadership programmes organized for students which may
involve camping, trekking activities in a hill station or forest under the
guidance of teachers and resource people drawn from the armed forces or the
Forest Department. It is no doubt a great experience and learning opportunity
for children but again only about 20-25 students become part of the event due
to infrastructural and logistic issues.
#
Leadership lectures
Many schools said they organize leadership
lectures by eminent personalities drawn from business, policy making and
industry to motivate students. They tell their story and also motivate the
students to be pro-active and be innovative in doing things. Mostly it could be
about what they should be doing once they complete the studies and think of
choosing a career.
#The
Leader in Me program
Schools are heavily oriented towards
academics with team activities and life skills seen as extra-curricular
activity. When teachers and parents emphasize the academics above other skills,
their worry is about finishing the lessons on time and students getting
adequately prepared for examinations.
The
Leader in Me program now implemented in about 3000
private and public schools in 50 nations is refreshingly different. It is based
on Stephen R Covey’s best seller ‘The 7
Habits of Highly Effective People’.
It considers each child as a leader and helps them to be proactive, take
initiative, responsibility for whatever they do. In short, leadership element
is built into all activities done at school-whether it is an academic project, cleaning
the classroom, planting trees or organizing a sports or cultural event.
The idea germinated in the mind of Muriel
Summers, Principal at AB Combs Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Faced with falling number of student enrolments and possible degrading from a
‘magnet’ school to a traditional school, Muriel Summers approached Stephen
Covey after a presentation of his 7
Principles at an event in Washington DC in late 1999 with the idea of
implementing them in schools. Till then it was believed that his 7 habits were effective only for teenagers,
employees, managers and professionals. Muriel was talking about implementing his
concepts to children as young at 4 years. (In USA magnet schools were set up to have
offerings that would attract student beyond the district in which they were
situated).
Muriel’s success story was later chronicled
by Stephen R Covey himself in another of his best-seller, The Leader in Me: How School and Parents Around the World are Inspiring
Greatness, One Child at a Time published by Simon & Schuster, London.
Every Child a leader
In Leader
in Me program, every child is considered a leader. They are encouraged by
the parents and teachers about being pro-active, importance of time management,
getting along well with others, taking responsibility for their action and
behavior and setting goals. A visitor to A B Combs School notes that what is
remarkable about the school is that teachers are hardworking and empowered.
Students are given leadership roles and many decisions are made by students and
not teachers.
Andrew Cherng, co-founder of Panda Express,
a large Chinese restaurant chain serving Chinese food in USA, reported about an
interaction with students of AB Comb Elementary School. He talked to students
about the things that impressed him at the school- it was a lengthy list. But
at the end of it, a student stood up and politely asked, “Mr Cherng,you have
told us about the good things you are doing at our school, but what about the
‘deltas’? You know… the things we need to do better.” This kid, a third-grader
was serious about making further improvements and showing remarkable leadership
skills, notes Andrew Cherng.
_________________________________________________________________________________
7 Habits in the Classroom
1.Proactive
Take the initiative and not wait to be told to do things. Accept responsibility
for your behavior and actions in the classroom.
2,Begin with the End in mind
Set your goals and targets in the beginning and start your work. It should be
in conformity with school’ vision and values
3.Put first Things First
Prioritize important tasks and do them first. You must say ‘no’ to things you
shouldn’t do.
4,Think Win-Win
Respect for others wants and needs and create a win-win situation when
conflicts arise
5,First Seek to understand, then understood
Listen and understand the feelings of others before you voice your ideas. Look
into the eyes of others when you talk.
6.Synergize
Learn the strengths of others, involve them in group activities and collaborate
to find solutions and solve problems
7.Sharpen the Saw
Pay attention to your health, eat right
and do physical exercise. Interact with and learn beyond
school. Try out
meaningful ways to help others.
______________________________________________________________________________
Benefits
of Leadership programs
By convention schools were expected to
focus on academics with social and life skills to be learnt either at home or
elsewhere. In an ever-changing
globalized world, where uncertainty rules with respect to business, jobs and
political environment, intelligence quotient or academic scores may not help
our students to survive. As Muriel Summers notes-“ If we are putting all our
efforts on the almighty test score alone, I am quite afraid that we are going
to create a generation of children who know how to do nothing but take a test
well.”
All the leadership programs that are implemented in Indian schools such as NCC,
trekking, adventure programs, club activities have a value in itself but do not
involve all students and therefore limited in scope. Even sports and annual day
functions are organized by teachers and leave out majority of the students from
participation. Most children may have to go to finishing schools or attend
special courses to improve communication skills, leadership skills and training
to improve their motivational skills.
The Leader
in Me program implemented right from Kindergarten level integrates
leadership component in all activities done by children. It is implemented
through posters, games, stories, toys, poetry, drama, assignments. When
important events are held the students themselves line up and greet the
visitors. They look up adult in the eyes while they greet them, writes a
visitor at A B Combs School.
According to Dr Chantel Ishola, who did
a study of Leader in Me for his
research work, the program helps develop lot of skills associated with the 7
habits-Politeness, Independence, helpfulness, responsibility, helpfulness,
ambitiousness, self-control and respect.
The best part of Leader in Me is that
it does away with comparison and competition but lays emphasis on improving
personal records by having a data notebook that keeps track of all their
activities from the beginning of the year.
To get best results, both parents and
teachers should be involved in leadership activities as they should practice
the principles learnt at school in all activities at home also. When there are
too many activities to choose from, let the child decide what to but narrow
down the options for them. They can be involved in small jobs, take part in
decision making, finances and looking after siblings. The success of Leader in Me is that leadership is not
seen as a position but as a way of living and leading one’s own life.
My first experience of a natural calamity was in 1978 when
most of Trivandrum city’s low-lying areas were drowned in neck deep water.
Water rushed into our home too but only at ankle length. Outside our house,
lots of mud pots, utensils from houses were seen floating while some people
skilfully swam in the muddy waters. Thatched huts and mud walls fall easily as
water rushes in. Schools and colleges are closed. Snakes, frogs all sort of
reptiles enter the houses. The elderly and the children easily catch infectious
diseases and end up in hospital.
