Building Leaders in the Classroom

I believe in empowering my students to take ownership of their choices, actions, and reactions. I also believe in creating an environment where students feel encouraged to share their ideas and respect the ideas of others! The very nature of this environment encourages the development of leadership in each student! Every child can be a leader. I want to support the development of strong individuals that make wise choices and care for others. I desire to build strong leaders for tomorrow. Now that's exciting!

We can all develop our students to be leaders! Here are a few tips!

1.) Verbally state your belief in your students, individually and as a group. Every child thrives when he/she feels that there is someone who believes in him/her! Be their cheerleader in the classroom and do it often!

2.) Create lesson/activities that allow your students to exercise their leadership "muscles" by being a team leader of a small group (team). Here are a few suggested scenarios to encourage this process: science experiments, group projects, math games, or center activities.

3.) Look for ways to encourage leadership by giving your student(s) responsibilities in the classroom. When we have ownership of an environment, there is pride to care for it and make it better.

4.) Develop team spirit and a caring classroom by using creative team building games and activities.

5.) Look for ways to praise your students individually and as a class (team). Verbally support your students and encourage their success.

6.) Students (Leaders) thrive in a positive atmosphere. Always state your expectations, be fair, and be consistent in the classroom. A positive working environment is foundational to developing the best team of students possible.

7.) Be the best teacher you can be and model leadership character traits that are consistent with excellent leaders. (i.e. dependability, trustworthiness, kindness, patience, respectfulness, and hardworking, just to name a few.)

8.) Reward wise decisions and give credit to the team when there is a success! Leaders need to be guided and encouraged regularly. Look for opportunities to point out when students are successful! Positive reinforcement is the way to go!

9.) Provide goals for your students to work towards! Leaders need clear expectations and goals to conquer! Inspire your students to strive for excellence and work towards classroom goals. To achieve and conquer a goal is to succeed!

10.) Finally, be a good listener and help your leaders to be good listeners too. When we take the time to listen to others, we establish a caring environment. Leaders need to care for others well.

These tips have worked for me in my classroom. I love watching my students grow and become leaders in the classroom! It is exciting to be a teacher! I hope that these tips will encourage a teacher or two. Here is to teaching our leaders for tomorrow!

Hugs,

HeiDee

#leadership #empoweringkids #classroomleaders