What is leadership?
Ultimately it's the person who sets the tone, the standard, the agenda and - most importantly - defines how we are to behave and look at each other.
Barrack Obama has already had a profound effect on me. I have been watching his speeches and debates throughout the campaign, have read his book The Audacity of Hope, but it is his acceptance speech which has floored me. His graciousness, humility, strength and honesty are all (to me) awe inspiring.
It made me think about how I interact with my students for:
As a teacher we know that in order for people to learn a skill we must model it for them (do it or show it), point out how that thing works (an essay, poem, football pass, or music piece) then have them practice it until they can do it independently. Children naturally watch adults and those around them to learn how to behave as well - and in the exact same way. I would argue that adults look to those with power the way children look at adults. How are we to behave? What are we to do to get what we want? What is acceptable to do to get what we want?
So I changed the way I've been dealing with my students. I've notice they're fighting a lot and pulling me into their conflicts...but then again I'm being quite angry and blunt with them quite often to try and get them to correct their behaviour...are they modelling me? So I've removed myself a bit from the direct conflicts and started talking about respect and how to deal with situations where we don't agree. In fact, I'm consciously Barrack Obama. I even showed them some of his speech when he got elected! Whoo hoo!
With that in mind; here he is!
Barack Obama Acceptance Speech Part 1 of 2
Barack Obama Acceptance Speech Part 2 of 2
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