Finding,Leaders,the,Darndest,P education Finding Leaders in the Darndest Places

Some forms of parent involvement with the school such as communications with school, volunteering, attending school events and parent--parent connections appeared to have little effect on student achievement, especially in high school. Helpi Translation jobs are undertaken by professional translators who are well versed with at least two languages.Translation can work at two levels: inter-state or regional language translation and inter-national or foreign language translation.

Someof our greatest leaders were swindlers and thieves. Why aren't today's youthgiven the same chance? “Ifyour actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more,you are a leader.”~John Quincy Adams As Isit to write this article I find myself being reminded of a young lady (thoughshe would never call herself that) whom I know. She’s a classic anti-leader. Infact, her leadership qualities are so strong that she could easily be the nextPierre Elliot Trudeau if she so desired. It’swonderful when you have a group of students come forward and volunteer for leadership roles in your school.It’s great to see them express their ‘type A’ personalities in such a positiveway. However, they always tend to be from one or two social groups and don’trepresent a good cross section of the school population.  Thereare leaders among every group ofstudents . Think of it this way, someone has to make the decisionof what to do Saturday night when everyone else is sitting on the fence saying“I dunno, I’ll do whatever man.” For various reasons, these students will nottake on formalized leadership roles in their schools, perhaps they don’t feelthey are good enough, they don’t know anyone else in ‘that circle’, or theyjust don’t see themselves as a leader. Theseare the students who need to be cultivated because they have the unique abilityto influence their peers. They see the school with its social and politicalhierarchy in a different way; and, if you’re lucky, they will tell you theirviews. These are the students who, when taught to communicate effectively anddevelop their leadership skills, can bring about massive change - if you letthem. These are the anti-leaders. I use this term because their ideas usuallyare outside of the mainstream. They are ‘painted with a different brush’ andnot typically considered leaders. But it is their ideas that have the seeds toradical change and they are the ones who will truly make a difference - notonly in your school but in our world. Let’shave some fun by comparing the qualities of a drug dealer and those of a gangleader with those of a student leader. Drug dealers and gang leaders may beextreme examples, but they are the most powerful leaders in your school. Drug dealersand gang leaders are using and honing their leadership skills all day, everyday. Job requirements for a gang leader: •Inspiring and motivating speaker •Strong personality •Good people management skills •Goal oriented •Understands the needs of others •Good decision making skills •Good team builder •Risk taker •Effective communicator •Confident  Job requirements for a drug dealer: •Good at math •Good organizational skills •Knows the law •Good at sales and up selling •Responsible (meeting clients at set times) •Excellent negotiation skills •Understands the needs of others •Good decision making skills (not on choice of career though) •Good team builder •Risk taker •Effective communicator •Confident  Qualities of a leader: •Strong personality •Motivating •Good people management skills •Goal oriented •Listens to the needs of others •Good decision making skills •Good team builder •Risk taker •Effective communicator •Confident  Inthe case of the young lady I spoke of earlier, she is neither a drug dealer nora gang leader (though she does have quite the ‘following’ of friends). She ispassionate, opinionated, well read and sees the world from a perspectiveoutside of the mainstream. What truly sets her apart is that she is not afraidto speak her mind or to put herself on the line for her beliefs –characteristics which constantly get her into trouble. Herproblem, like all other anti-leaders, is that her energy is misdirected. Shehas never had anyone to help her cultivate and focus her talents and energy ina positive direction. Instead she gets dismissed as ‘another troublemaker’. Sothis leads to the question, ‘Why cultivate the qualities of theseanti-leaders’?Toput it bluntly if the earth is to survive another hundred years we need a radicalshift in thinking and people with the guts to champion the cause. People aregetting tired of politicians who just tow the party line to ensure theirre-election. Though there are politicians out there who genuinely want to seechange, they are not loud enough to be heard over the big machine. Theworld needs civil leaders tochampion causes that are forward thinking, much like the great civil rightsleaders in the 1960’s. Roles like this can only be filled by a-typical leaders;ones who see the world from a different perspective and are not afraid to speaktheir minds or put themselves on the line to advance their cause and initiatechange.Somy question to you is, ‘are you willing to put yourself on the line tocultivate these students and mentor them to use their qualities in a positiveway’? If so, what do you think you can do to encourage them into positive leadership programs?              As I sit to write this article I findmyself being reminded of a young lady (though she would never call herselfthat) whom I know. She’s a classic anti-leader. As a teacher it’s wonderful when you have a group of students come forward andvolunteer for leadership roles in your school. It’s great to see them expresstheir ‘type A’ personalities in such a positive way. However, they always tendto be from one or two social groups and don’t represent a good cross section ofthe school population. There are leaders among every group of kids. Think of it this way, someone hasto make the decision of what to do Saturday night when everyone else is sittingon the fence saying “I dunno, I’ll do whatever man.” For various reasons, thesekids will not take on formalized leadership roles in their schools, perhapsthey don’t feel they are good enough, they don’t know anyone else in ‘thatcircle’, or they just don’t see themselves as a leader.These are the kids who need to be cultivated because they have the uniqueability to influence their peers. They see school with its social and politicalhierarchy in a different way, and if you’re lucky they will tell you theirviews. These are the kids who, when taught to communicate effectively anddevelop their leadership skills, can bring about massive change - if you letthem. These are the anti-leaders. I use this term because their ideas usuallyare outside of the mainstream. They are ‘painted with a different brush’ andnot typically considered leaders. But it is their ideas that have the seeds ofradical change and they are the ones who will truly make a difference - notonly in their schools but in our world.Let’s have some fun by comparing the qualities of a drug dealer and those of agang leader with those of a student leader. Drug dealers and gang leaders maybe an extreme example, but they are the most powerful leaders in your school.They are using and honing their leadership skills every single day, all day. Job requirements for a gang leader:• Inspiring and motivating speaker• Strong personality• Good people management skills• Goal oriented• Understands the needs of others• Good decision making skills• Good team builder• Risk taker• Effective communicator• ConfidentJob requirements for a drug dealer:• Good at math• Good organizational skills• Knows the law• Good at sales and upselling• Responsible (meeting clients at set times)• Excellent negotiation skills• Understands the needs of others• Good decision making skills (not on choice of career though)• Good team builder• Risk taker• Effective communicator• ConfidentQualities of a leader:• Strong personality• Motivating• Good people management skills• Goal oriented• Listens to the needs of others• Good decision making skills• Good team builder• Risk taker• Effective communicator• ConfidentIn the case of the young lady I spoke of earlier, she is neither a drug dealernor a gang leader (though she does have quite the ‘following’ of friends). Sheis passionate, opinionated, well read and sees the world from a perspectiveoutside of the mainstream. What truly sets her apart is that she is not afraidto speak her mind or to put herself on the line for her beliefs –characteristics which constantly get her into trouble. Her problem, like all other anti-leaders, is her energy is misdirected becauseshe has never had anyone to help her cultivate her talents and energy in afocused, positive direction. Instead she gets dismissed as ‘anothertroublemaker’. So this leads to the question, ‘Why cultivate the qualities of theseanti-leaders’? To put it bluntly if the earth is to survive another hundred years we need aradical shift in thinking and people with the guts to champion the cause.People are getting tired of politicians who just tow the party line so as notto rock the boat to be sure they are re-elected. Though there are politiciansout there who genuinely want to see change, they are not loud enough to beheard over the big machine.The world needs civil leaders to champion causes that are forward thinking,much like the great civil rights leaders in the 1960’s. Roles like this canonly be filled by a-typical leaders; ones who see the world from a differentperspective and are not afraid to speak their minds or put themselves on theline to advance their cause and initiate change.So my question to you is, are you willing to put yourself on the line to shapethese kids to become the leaders they should be?