In Leaders UNITE this week at the International Preschool of Raleigh, the students did a discussion and an activity. Students began with a discussion about leadership called Leadership at Schools, where they got to review important characteristics of a leader. I was so impressed to see students mention very substantial, less obvious characteristics, such as helping their friends, give support to others, listen, and share. Then, we moved our discussion onto leadership in the classroom, specifically, how each of the students used leadership at school. Students mentioned a plethora of things: helping other students with their folders, sharing toys with their friends, checking on their friends who are lonely or crying, and more.

Then, using the ideas from this discussion, students conducted the What Would a Leader Do? activity, which is all about leadership scenarios and acting. I would give the students a situation, and students would have to act our what a leader would do to fix/better the situation. We did many scenarios that could actually happen in the students’ lives, such as, “Someone at school is playing by themselves. What would a leader do?”, “One student is nervous and scared for their Thanksgiving performance. What would a leader do?”, “One person is hogging the tv remote and won’t share with her friends. What would a leader do?”, “You are trying to make sure that everyone has a ride for the upcoming basketball game. What would a leader do?” and more. The students did a great job of thinking of what a leader would do to better these situations, such as communicating, making sure their friends are okay, asking questions to see how their friends feel, and making sure to hear everyone’s ideas.

I was very impressed with the students’ solutions to these scenarios and also with their acting skills! I was also impressed at how they were able to apply the concept of leadership to all of these different scenarios, showing they truly had an understanding of the idea that leadership can be used and manifested in many different scenarios. The students continue to get even better every week, and I am so proud of them!

Here is a full list of the scenarios students used for their What Would a Leader Do? activity:

1. School: One person at school is being mean to other students at the playground. What would a leader do?
2. Basketball team: The basketball team has a big game in Florida this weekend, but they need to figure out how they will get there. What would a leader do?
3. Watching tv: You are watching tv with some friends, but one person keeps hogging the remote and won’t share. What would a leader do?
4. On the phone: One person is on the phone, and another student is intentionally being very loud, so that person cannot hear on the phone. What would a leader do?
5. Stuffed animal: Your friend lost his/her stuffed animal. What would a leader do?
6. Lonely student: You notice one student sitting by himself/herself at school. What would you do?
7. Nervous student: One student is nervous and scared for her/his upcoming school performance. What would a leader do?