Leadership: Lighten Your Load with Shared Duties
Stephen Covey states that leadership is communicating to people their worth so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves.
The concept of leadership in the classroom is one that I was initially reluctant to put in to practice. This was not because I was against student leaders or even the idea of giving up control of my classroom to my students. I believe this idea frightened me more because of the unknown variables that come into play with initiating something new and if I am honest there was also a fear of piling more work onto my already overflowing plate.
If someone would have told me that using certain principles of leadership would have actually lightened my load then maybe my first response might have looked a little different and I would have been quicker to jump right in with both feet but I was skeptical.
I will be the first to say that there are many practices introduced under the idea of promoting student leaders that I have witnessed that are not only impractical but also not beneficial to students or their teachers BUT there are also many that I can get behind.
Here is one leadership concept that originally wasn’t my favorite as it seemed outdated and overdone. However, in witnessing how this initiative has actually allowed student to be more invested in the class as their own, I would say it is an example of a Win-Win situation.
Classroom Leadership Roles: Now many teachers already use a version of these in their classroom but in beginning this practice there were many that I wouldn’t’ have thought of on my own that proved to be beneficial in the classroom for students and me as the teacher.
· Board Manager – Students are in charge of writing daily EQ’s and homework a daunting task that is required but not always remembered by most teachers.
· Receptionist – Students are in charge of answering the phone when it rings and teachers don’t have to stop in the middle of their teaching.
· Lunch Count – Students tally and total lunch choices and submit it to cafeteria. They also hunt down those students who didn’t make their choice in the morning.
· Classroom Engineer – Students in this role manage tidying up each afternoon by sweeping floor, organizing supplies, etc.
· Agenda Accountability – Students rotate around the room with a stamp and check student agendas to be sure they copied assignments down as required.
· Teacher Assistant – These students help with any tasks that the teacher may need throughout the day.
What are some Classroom Leadership Roles you have found helpful in your room?
Stephen Covey states that leadership is communicating to people their worth so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves.
The concept of leadership in the classroom is one that I was initially reluctant to put in to practice. This was not because I was against student leaders or even the idea of giving up control of my classroom to my students. I believe this idea frightened me more because of the unknown variables that come into play with initiating something new and if I am honest there was also a fear of piling more work onto my already overflowing plate.
If someone would have told me that using certain principles of leadership would have actually lightened my load then maybe my first response might have looked a little different and I would have been quicker to jump right in with both feet but I was skeptical.
I will be the first to say that there are many practices introduced under the idea of promoting student leaders that I have witnessed that are not only impractical but also not beneficial to students or their teachers BUT there are also many that I can get behind.
Here is one leadership concept that originally wasn’t my favorite as it seemed outdated and overdone. However, in witnessing how this initiative has actually allowed student to be more invested in the class as their own, I would say it is an example of a Win-Win situation.
Classroom Leadership Roles: Now many teachers already use a version of these in their classroom but in beginning this practice there were many that I wouldn’t’ have thought of on my own that proved to be beneficial in the classroom for students and me as the teacher.
· Board Manager – Students are in charge of writing daily EQ’s and homework a daunting task that is required but not always remembered by most teachers.
· Receptionist – Students are in charge of answering the phone when it rings and teachers don’t have to stop in the middle of their teaching.
· Lunch Count – Students tally and total lunch choices and submit it to cafeteria. They also hunt down those students who didn’t make their choice in the morning.
· Classroom Engineer – Students in this role manage tidying up each afternoon by sweeping floor, organizing supplies, etc.
· Agenda Accountability – Students rotate around the room with a stamp and check student agendas to be sure they copied assignments down as required.
· Teacher Assistant – These students help with any tasks that the teacher may need throughout the day.
What are some Classroom Leadership Roles you have found helpful in your room?
Angie Speer's Comment:
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing! I believed in student leadership because I had teachers in my elementary through high that allowed me to be one. I also was able to experiment with it during student teaching because my host teacher gave me the classroom early on. Also the “Leader in Me” training allowed me to understand the metacognition of leading and how it can transform students that are disinterested into little listening machines. My classroom jobs came from these jobs except I am the only one that answers the phone. That’s only because I have had students that could not understand what the other person was saying and it really was a waste of time. I also have students who take care of our pet fish, run errands, file papers, clean out Friday Folders and reorganize our class library.
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you sharing Covey's strategies of sharing classroom responsibilities with students in order to provide them with opportunities to build leadership. In thinking about ways to apply this to disciplinary literacy I thought about the possibility of teachers providing small group opportunities for students to decide leadership roles for their inquiry. For example in the animal unit idea that Jamie shared, students could decide on roles such as the text set curator, the materials manager for notes using Lynette's interactive notebook idea, a discussion director, and a multi-media manager who helped select and create visuals to share their learning with others. Thanks Sam!
This idea reminds me of Montessori classrooms, where the children are given responsibilities, but develops it further by showing how they help the classroom community, not just the teacher! They are not just jobs for the sake of giving students something to do. Even young children can be given some jobs like these, such as errand runner, lunch talliers, checking that everyone has signed in as well as the ubiquitous door holder, small group leader and helper of the day. This also helps to foster their independence at completing tasks and their collaboration by understanding that the class needs them to do these things.
ReplyDeleteI would love to try some of these ideas in my preschool classroom.