University of Puerto Rico in Humcao Department of English Practice Teaching
Leadership Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal (Kruse, 2013). I loved this definition because it has nothing to do with being authoritarian. Kruse’s definition gives a very well view of how being a leader is to maximize the effort of others towards the achievement of a goal, and that goal in my class was to speak English. My students have a lot of potential and most of them a feisty personality. Instilling a leadership’s trait was not about ordering around. It was about bringing out in them their natural potential of a leader. For some students, this was easier than for others. The reason is because some students had a more dominant, take over the world attitude. I would use these personalities for the group’s advantage. For example, if there was an open questions I made, I would call on those kinds of personalities first because I knew they would answer. That would motivate the others because they would follow that leader, and answer too. Now, bringing out the leader in the shy students was more difficult. I had a student in class who was very shy and had low self-esteem when it came to speaking English. It was so hard to get this student to do even the simplest work, because she already had set in mind that she did not know how to speak English nor read it. Out of all the students, this one was the hardest to work with because she had a wall put up and so were her defenses. It is like Krashen’s affective filter hypothesis was working to block and impede the necessary input her language acquisition. Her motivation was low, her self-confidence was low, and her anxiety was high. This meant that from me, this student needed a lot of attention. I always went up to her and told her she could do it, and when she said she didn’t know how to I would explain to her as many times Core Disposition Reflection, Shirlenne Peralta
University of Puerto Rico in Humcao Department of English Practice Teaching
she needed. Something that worked a lot with her, was bringing out other leaders. I sometimes chose one of her friends so they could explain the task to her, and many times that would lower her defenses more and she would be able to work.
So as many challenges I faced, my students also faced their own, which was to communicate and be spoken in a language they barely know. They overcame this very well and I saw the changes at the end when they would sing all in English, or say a few English words here and there. That to me was them achieving leadership, taking their fears and turning them around. The core disposition of leadership to me unites present and future. The present because as a teacher, I work with my students and I encourage them to assume leadership so in a future they can face and overcome any challenge they might get and also so they can be the change this world needs.
Core Disposition Reflection, Shirlenne Peralta
University of Puerto Rico in Humcao Department of English Practice Teaching
Core Disposition Reflection, Shirlenne Peralta