Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Teacher Tuesday: A Lesson in Leadership



Thank you to Miss Pollard for writing today’s blog.
  
In our Communications classes, we’ve been talking about leadership - what it looks like, the qualities a leader should possess and the characteristics of a bad leader.  In both classes, an overwhelming number of students ranked honesty and trustworthiness at the top of the list of “Good Leader Qualities”.  This was perfect because I planned an activity that made students realize how important it is to be an honest leader and to use discernment when they are in a group. 

Students were placed in groups of 2-3, and we took a short field trip to the Shepherds Table to play games.  

Before the groups started playing, I pulled a student from each team and asked them to be the group leader.  I also asked them to cheat while they were playing!  

These students took extra game pieces, moved more spaces than they were supposed to, and gave the other players different directions about how to play the game.  



When other students in the groups complained about their leader, I told them that it was important to do what the leader said.  After a bit more grumbling, I let the students in on the activity - they were quite surprised!  



This led to an excellent discussion in both of my classes about why it is so important to be honest as a leader and how very important it is to use discernment.  If someone who is a leader (in an internship or job situation) asks you to do something that you KNOW is not right, it is very important to use discernment---which is also a Shepherds College character trait---in the situation.  The classes responded that a good leader will gain the trust of the people, build their character, do the right things and ultimately bring honor to God.
 


Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

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