PYP Column

What Makes a Great Leader?

by Ibu Yuliany

As I was preparing this topic, my students' voices, "Me, me, me!" rang in my ears. These students always want to lead and be in charge of many tasks at school, such as leading the line, passing out papers, talking and presenting, and doing many other tasks However, some also choose to sit and join the flow, not that they don’t want to lead but are most of the time waiting for their chance to be a good leader. So, what does it mean to be a good leader? How does the PYP support every student to be a great leader? How can parents support leadership from home?

Biblical Perspective on Being a Leader

The word "lead" has a strong conviction of someone strong, powerful, respectful, honorable, and with integrity and many other positive attributes However, let's pause a moment and think about the question I put at the beginning of this article, "What makes a great leader?" Once, Jesus called His disciples and talked to them about being a leader. He said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28).

SPH believes that being a transformative leader is important, but more so being a servant leader, and this is one of the SPH Expected Student Outcomes. SPH prepares and equips students for a life of action and transformational leadership in pursuing justice, mercy, and peace They learn to think and act redemptively, treating everyone as God's image-bearers who deserve dignity, courtesy, compassion, and cooperation.

PYP on Student Leadership

IB quoted from Frost and Roberts (2011) about student leadership that “if leadership activities include influencing and inspiring others, taking the initiative, offering support/service, holding others to account, modeling learning behaviour and valuing/encouraging helpful behaviour, then it is reasonable to expect that all members of an educational community, including students, make a contribution." (IBO, 2022)

In SPH, we promote students' agency by ensuring their voice, choice, and ownership in their learning and an environment that sustains it.

Here are some examples of how it looks like in the classroom:

1. Students' Voice:

• students' questions, emotions, and behaviours guide learning and teaching

• students identify issues and opportunities and suggest ideas for action

• students are included in decision-making processes students’ perspectives are given weight in decisions that impact them.

2. Students' choice:

• students co-construct with peers and teachers a range of different learning activities and assessment options

• students’ ideas and suggestions are recognized and built into the school culture

• student perspectives for action are honoured

• students have opportunities to make decisions about learning independently or in groups

3. Students' ownership:

• students define their learning goals with support from teachers

• students reflect on their learning

• students’ ideas are supported through action. (Wheatley, M. 2006)

Student Council

Every year in Junior School SPH, we offer our grade 5 and 6 students an opportunity to join the Junior School Student Council. They are a team of students who represent the student body and make plans for some yearly or new events at school. The process starts with the students submitting their interest in being a member of the Student Council, the president, or the vice president of the Student Council. Then, all the candidates must make a campaign and a speech to all the Junior School students. After that, every student from grades two to six votes for the Student Council's next president and vice president Next, the president, vice president, and the Student Council members will work together to make proposals, plan and organize events. Through the process, students learn about leadership and working together to execute the events Student Council also represents Junior School students in Open Houses or other events.

Student Ambassador

This year SPH offers another opportunity to our grade 4 to grade 11 students to join a one-year Student Ambassador program. Just like its name, Student Ambassadors represent students. One of their duties is sharing our school programs and values with prospective families In this program, the students are trained to be passionate, committed, and confident leaders

Support from home

Despite many opportunities the school creates to develop student leadership, nothing beats the support they have from home. Home is a crucial environment for nurturing leadership.

Review these tips, and if you agree with the idea, why not put them into action at home?

1. Teach respect

leaders are those who can move people to work and accomplish the tasks given effectively They need to learn what it means to show respect and what is disrespect. This will teach them to show empathy to others and become a good leader.

2. Give them autonomy

allowing children to work independently and solve challenges on their own rather than having someone swoop in immediately with a solution. Teach them to become problem solvers.

3. Involve them in making decisions and house chores

leaders cannot work alone. By involving them in making decisions or working together on house chores, they can perform better as a good leader in the future

4. Teach through positive reinforcement

it is easy for us to be carried away with high expectation and forgets to see the small success made by our children. Praise and recognition of their good decision, behaviour, and achievements will boost their self-esteem and confidence

5. Teach them creativity

good leaders have a great imagination. Activities such as reading good stories, doing experiments, and making crafts will spark their imagination and open possibilities to new wonders.

6. Teach them to be humble

remind them that humility is the key to servant leadership We are God's children, and Jesus is our model for being servant leaders

I pray that we - school and home - can work together to nurture future servant leaders who will lead with God's heart, impact others, and bring life to those around them.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Prossack, A (2021, March 29) Leadership Starts At Home—How Parents Can Set Kids Up For Success Forbes https://www forbes com/sites/ashiraprossack1/2021/03/29/leadership-starts-at-home--4-ways-parents-can-set-kids-up-for-success/

Sage, A. (2017, March 16). 5 Ways to Nurture Leadership in Kids - Canadian Women’s Foundation. Canadian Women’s Foundation. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://canadianwomen.org/blog/5-ways-to-nurture-leadership-in-kids/

Making the PYP Happen Pedagogical Leadership in a PYP School. International Baccalaureate, 2007, https://resources.ibo.org/pyp/resource/11162-occ-file-p 0 pypxx mph 0912 1 e?lang=en.