Born to follow or lead? Relevance of Leadership Training in Schools

“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.
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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.

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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.

Decline of Nair dominance in education institutions in Kerala

The agitation by students in an academic institution teaching law in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala is entering its fourth week. Student organisations have pointed out several anamolies in the functioning of this premier private law college in Kerala. The institution run by Nairs- Lekshmi Nair, cookery show celebrity,  the principal and its founder is her father Narayanan Nair who headed the institution for a long time. His brother Koliakode Krishnan Nair is a CPM leader.

However, Kerala Law Academy Law Collge, an autonomous institution has nothing to do with the Nair Service Society (NSS) founded by the freedom fighter and visionary Mannathu Padmanabhan. They have a large number of educational institutions from primary school to engineering, medical, arts and science colleges and hospitals in the State.

The NSS was started in 1914 with the objective of uplifting the Nair community that was facing a crisis due to outmoded customs, beliefs  and loss of their supremacy in land ownership due to lack of hard work and education. Nairs were the warrior tribe in erstwhile Travancore and they occupied high positions in administration. Some Nair families by virtue of their land holdings also kept slaves. . Their extravagant life style, ceremonies and lack of education contributed to their decline.

The classic work, The Decline of Nair Dominance: Society and Politics in Travancore 1847-1908 by Robin Jeffrey gives a description of the changes that occurred to the Nair community during this period.

Meanwhile, the Kerala politics witnessed the dominance of caste in elections since late 1940’s before the formation of Kerala State along linguistic lines. The early dominance of Nair community gradually gave equal way to Ezhavas, Christians and later Muslims who continue to have pockets of influence. NSS sometimes maintained a principle of equi-distance from the CPM-led Left Democratic Front and Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).

Apart from government institutions, private aided, unaided schools and colleges set up by NSS, Ezhava community, Christians and Muslims have played a stellar role in creating more educational opportunities in the state.

However, in terms of quality of education and training imparted, the Christian institutions seems to have scored over others although in terms of infrastructure NSS. Ezhava and Muslim institutions were equally good.

Having studied for two years in an NSS institution and later in government institutions, I realised the vast difference in standards between the two. Also the better scoring students tended to seek admission to institutions run by Christian organisations.  Examination results also reflected the quality of education provided by NSS institutions. The teachers were recruited more on their financial ability rather than merit.

The Law Academy Crisis

The Law Academy was started in the late 1960’s as a society with the blessings of the CPM led government at that time. However, in due course, it became a private institution with no control of the government except an affiliation with the Kerala University.

The irregularities in the functioning of the Law Academy was known to people in the capital city and I remember in my college days, meritorious candidates usually sought admission to Government Law College while average or lesser performers got into Law Academy.

It was N Narendran covering the education beat for The Indian Express who first chronicled the irregularities in the Academy but no political party or the University took any steps to correct the anamolies in its functioning. The notable alumni list of the institute includes politicians, journalists, magistrates, government pleaders, advocates and therefore nobody took up the issue. No other media organisations seem to have followed up Narendran’s story either.

The Academy also didn’t take any step to improve their functioning and expressed their ire over Narendran’s reports. They didn’t keep ownership and management of the Academy separate. This led Lakshmi Nair, daughter of the founder taking over the reins of Principal of the institution. Serious allegations have been raised against her including calling a Dalit by his caste name apart from showing favouritism in internal assessment for some students.

Although run by Nairs, the Law Academy has nothing to do with NSS but at the height of the crisis, they were reported to have approached NSS leadership to seek their support.

The NSS institutions seem to be requiring a good dose of professionalism just as Mannathu Padmanabhan exhorted the Nair community in early 1900’s to come out of their shells and work hard to be in the forefront.

India's professional education: Are we Engineering a disaster?

My son now in 10th Std went for a foundation course for IIT-JEE while he was in 8th Std but gave it up after a year.

Many of his friends must be continuing it possibly on parental pressure. India has the largest workforce of engineers thanks to the proliferation of engineering colleges.

I met Arun, a Professor of Engineering while on my way to Chennai last week. He said Tamilnadu has about 500 or more engineering colleges of which only 100 may be of good quality.

When companies do recruitment of fresh engineering grads, they find only one-fifth of them are employable- the rest may not make it to their dream job and end up as clerks or in lowly paid jobs. The system of ranking of colleges by universities themselves has resulted in students and managements focussed on academic merits and not on practical knowledge or innovation, he said.

The IT boom, Y2K, offshore software development all led to a huge requirement of technical talent but now there seems to be an oversupply. This is the effect of Cobweb Theorem at work. Now upto 80,000 seats go vacant in Tamilnadu every year as neighbouring Kerala has also started self-financing colleges.

According to Cobweb theorem in economics, some industries such as education, plantation will attract more investors or participants based on current demand. But as more people start entering the industry, in course of time there will be oversupply or the industry prospects itself may diminish due to various factors. A new potential industry may have evolved by that time, but the pass-outs are not equipped for such a scenario.

Hence there is no reason why people should still run after engineering seats. It was heartening to meet Mr Vijayan Menon today morning on our return trip from Chennai, who has let his daughter to take a break after plus 2, do English orientation programmes and then decide future course of action next year. The other day we met Sucheta Pal, a leading Zumba fitness trainer in Chennai who quit a well-paid job at TCS to pursue her heart's passion- dance and fitness. The fact that her electrical and electronics engineering degree has gone waste or that her initial work in the engineering industry has gone waste did not deter her from plunging into a totally new career.

One of may old friends at college, who has now become an entrepreneur after doing his engineering degree asked me "why you also want your son to join the  engineering bandwagon?"  Surely, the engineers themselves are feeling engineering as a discipline is losing charm.

Earlier we had the screw driver technology- India colloborated with leading Japan, Korean, US firms to get technology and bring semi-knocked down (SKD) or completely knocked down (CKD) kits, assemble them and sell in their own brand.But now manufactures are getting the entire fabrication done in China which is the manufacturing hub of the world.

So why have such a huge engineering work force unless we are investing heavily in R&D that can be patented and sold abroad?. Arun said the sad part is that entrepreneurship is not promoted in the country. The techies who have bright ideas end up plodding all their lives in companies run by lesser educated people who can't understand the importance of technology.

He said there are lot of opportunities in the media industry which now lacks talent but awareness on this is lacking. Or in e-commerce and services sectors that requires a little of entrepreneurship and risk taking abilities.

That's why the title to this blog: Are we engineering a disaster? I remember people like Abdul Kalam and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who have campaigned for more funds for basic scientific research and more courses in basic science which is the need of the hour for India.

Tailpiece: In India, it is not uncommon for children to be forced into certain courses much to their dislike. My wife who had a passion for dance and home science ended up doing pharmacy but has now found her passion in Zumba and has become a qualified  instructor. Shouldn't we leave our children alone to pursue their passions or should we force something that appears to have good job potential?

Little things that can make or mar a marriage relationship!

I have always curiously observed couples quarrel for reasons most often trivial to  mild and end up not speaking to each other days. This defies logic but after all marriage itself is most of the time devoid of it.

This is the third in the series on my outlook on marriage and how difficult it is make it a success. As someone who never believed in marriage as an institution, my continuing observations about family life from different angles : one, as a family man, second, as an observer and thirdly as how others see it , will be shared with readers.

I think in one of Tolstoys's books it is mentioned that in quarrelling truth is always lost. However, quarrels are part of every day life- the trick lies in managing them.

Here are few of the little things that work against a good relationship developing between couples:

Tit-for-Tat: It is a human tendency to pay in the same coin. This happens with couples too-- if the husband fails to give due respect and properly take care of a wife's in-laws or relatives, wife retaliates the same way. Or if the husband was expected at a house for a particular function of  his spouse's relative but didn't turn up, the wife may retaliate by refusing to attend a function of a husband's relative or friend. This revengeful attitude doesn't often improve relationships but only worsens it.

Politicking: When it involves two families of husband and wife, politicking is inevitable. Whatever, husband's family does or a particular person does may be dubbed by the wife as unacceptable and vice-versa. Sometimes, when husband-wife are not in good terms, a good suggestion or idea that comes from either of them don't get accepted mutually and hence progress in the relationship gets increasingly difficult. I have seen good friends whose families knew each other well, getting married but ultimately ending up playing petty politics refusing to do anything to help their 'inlaws'  or understand them. Even their earlier 'aunty' - uncle relationship itself gets strained.

When In-laws become Outlaws: When you marry each spouse ends up with a set of in-laws- father-in-law, mother-in-law their brothers, sisters, and friends. Most often how each spouse treats their respective inlaws can make or mar a relationship. I have seen wives who refuse to go and stay in their in-laws house and vice-versa but it is possible that in-laws could themselves be a reason for that. Their undue interference in the marriage, stoking fire to a strained relationship rather than healing them. When a marriage runs into trouble, it is natural for wife's parents to justify her behaviour while husband's parents stand by him. This can just kill any opportunity to build bridges between the two families.

Many working couples are forced to seek the help of their parents to look after children due to difficulty in getting good maid servants. But this can create lot of strife as there could be clash on parent's traditional way of bringing up children and the more forward looking approach of their children. Interference in day-to-day life by the inlaws can create such a hell, that I've seen some of them being 'out-lawed' and sent back home.

Opening Old wounds: In a relationship, it is possible that a husband might have behaved or done something bad to his wife, their relatives and vice versa. Sometimes they settle it and continue as if nothing has happened. But when trouble erupts, they replay'historic' events once again much to the dismay of each of the partners. "Didn't you do this to me 5 years ago, you have always been like this, hurting me, belittling me in front of others." Now the trouble is apart from the new cause that created the new tension, one of the partners poked the other recalling the forgotten incident. It is like pouring oil over burning fire.

Blame Game: When a relationship runs into trouble, wife creates arguments justifying her stand, how she has been a victim all these years in the hands of this cruel husband and his family! While the husband accusses her of cleverly stating facts to win sympathy and line up popular discontent against him. Even when they sit before a counsellor, wife would be happy if the counsellor speaks in support of her. The moment the counsellor puts a set of suggestions for her to change, she gets upset. The same can happen in the case of husband also. In the end both come out of the consulting room unanimously blaming the psychologist as useless and good for nothing. Even as they unite in blaming the counsellor their mutual blame game against each other continues.

KidShare: The traditional mindset of the society was that a lion's share of brining up children should rest with the wife-- who looks after the physical, emotional, academic needs of children. Husband's role was limited to earning for the family, taking them out occassionaly, playing with children and scold or whack them when required. For the children should have a fear of parental authority. However, 'new age' parenting requires husband also to a play an active role in bringing up children so that they see in him as a role model. I think not many men are yet to accept this new role being caught in the traditional mindset. This again can cause tensions if the wife has seen a father in their circle taking an active role in bringing up children.

Independence: Spouses often quarrel about loss of independence in marriage. This is quite inevitable but what they are hinting at is the desire for each of them to pursue their interests and maintain former friendships. For eg. if the husband is a former cricket player and has lot of friends in those circle, he may want to take time off from the family to pursue his old interests but that can cause strife if wife feels that is coming in the way of their closeness in family. I have seen many people say marriage hasn't destroyed my independence: I still go to movies, meet friends, have an occassional drink with old friends. But most often marriage is a destroyer of independence.

Transparent: How much transparency should be kept in a relationship? What all things a partner should hide regarding his college or school life or just about anything. A husband who tells everything about a former lover at college could feel himself transparent and appear as honest before his wife. But it is possible that if he continues to be in touch with the former lover, wife could start suspecting. Lack of transparency can hurt, if either partner finds out something that was kept a secret.

PH-PW Syndrome: Possessive Husband- Possessive Wife. Possessiveness in partners- I would say it's real hell for both of them. Undue Possessiveness could be attributed to some insecure feelings that have been recorded in their childhood days and played again and again in life (Transactional Analysis : Eric Berne, Dr Thomas Hardy). They not only fear loss of partners but also friends and children. Extreme possessiveness can be seen in a mother who dislikes others interacting more with their children. If husband is average looking,with low self esteem, and wife very pretty, husband could be extremely possessive. I have heard of such husbands locking up their wives while going out from home or refusing to take them out fearing other people would be attracted to her.

Quarrel: I have seen couples quarrelling in the open and they seem to delighting in it. There is a golden rule: In quarreling, the truth is often lost.  and sometimes, the hangover of a bad quarrel can last for weeks and months.

Tailpiece: Victims: In any strained marriage, the unfortunate victims are children. I will deal with it in my subsequent columns on this issue. Meanwhile, wishing all couples happiness and joy!!!

Is the Indian System of academics a Boon or a Bane?

By Darshan Sreekumar

   The Indian system of academics, like CBSE and ICSE, focus on teaching every single subject available. This starts from Primary School. The students are forced to learn all the subjects on the pre-defined curriculum, whether they like it or not.  They don’t care if a student is incapable of grasping a particular subject (say, subject ‘X’). They just expect him/her to somehow study and pass the exam, and the student if he/she fails in the Subject’ X’ exam, is detained. The question we need to ask ourselves is- Is this the right way??

Definitely not.  Each one of us has strength and a weakness. Nobody is perfect. What Indian system measures is the perfection put into each subject. This is what the student is assessed on. That is not what should be done. The students’ strengths and weaknesses should be identified, and they should be judged according to the perfection of their strengths.  My dad, once told me about his classmate in high school, who was kicked out of school because he failed in languages. However, he had scored 100% in mathematics. This is what my dad said: “this guy was amazing... he could solve math problems from 10^th grade when he was in 6^th grade. Think of it!!! However, with the way our system judged him, he was considered as ‘utter failure’. This unnamed person, is currently doing some business of his own, and couldn't come up in life the way he would have if he were a mathematician. We lost a great mathematician because of our poor judgement.

Well, if this is how it goes, I wouldn't be surprised if India’s development goes at a slow pace. We need to encourage students to pursue what they are capable of and what they love doing. This is the only way we can boost our development. In India, most parents force students to take up Medicine or Engineering as their subject in college. Why?? Just because they think it is the most paid job available. Seriously people... Think!!!  Those times are long gone!  This is the time of entrepreneurs and innovators. In today’s fast world only innovations can survive.  I'm not saying that students who are wholeheartedly interested in engineering/medicine should be pulled back.

This is the beginning of a new world. A world, where life is fast and systematic. In order to keep up, we have to change our academic system and our stereotypic minds. This is not only for individual development, but for the development of the entire nation.  We HAVE to opt for a change.  It’s up to the people to decide what they want, and I’m saying that this modern and ideal academic system is what we should try to implement.



This article was written by my son, Darshan, who is a 15-year old high school student... an avid music enthusiast, learning drums, guitar, and vocals. He  also has a passion for photography and technology.