When I was a captain on the various hockey teams I have played for, I always tried to lead by example. I found that it was easiest for me to go out and play the game in such a way that spoke for my leadership. I wasn’t particularly comfortable getting up in front of the guys and talking for any amount of time. I preferred to let my effort and “game” speak for me.
As I’ve gotten older I have become much more comfortable leading in a more vocal manner. I think anybody that has been a teacher or gone through teacher preparation courses will attest to the fact that you quickly become very comfortable with talking to groups of people. However, my preferred leadership style is to lead by example. When you are playing a sport, it’s easy to lead by example. You just go out there and work harder than everybody else and never give up. However, what does it mean to lead by example when you are a teacher? What can I do in the classroom to be a leader for my students without actually saying anything to them?
1. Have excellent work habits: Being on time for class and treating instructional time as sacred are two actions that seem to speak the loudest. If I can show my students that I respect their time enough not to waste it with useless work, I can hold them to the same level of respect as well. Also, returning homework and papers promptly with helpful feedback is another way I can demonstrate what their work habits should be like.
2. Be prepared: By being well prepared for class I can show my students that I care enough about my responsibility as a teacher and them as students to put in the effort before I even get to class. For me, this means making sure that my classroom materials are ready ahead of time, look professional, and are not solely supplied by the textbook. If a student can come to class and tell that I have put in a significant amount of time splicing together several different clips into one coherent 3 minute video instead of fast-forwarding and changing tapes for each individual clip, I think they are left with a much more positive impression. If I have ensured that my Power Point presentation is well-formatted, easy to read, and logical I have shown that I respect my students enough to care about the ease of reading my material.
3. Follow-up when I say I will: This will show my students the importance of being reliable and trustworthy. If somebody asks a question in class and I don’t know it and promise to look it up for them later, I need to make sure I do that and come back with an answer. I can’t expect the student to remind me or ask about it again; it should only take one question and I should return with an answer. This also includes things such as remembering details about my students to the point where I can ask them specific questions about their life. Taking the time to follow-up on something they have told me shows the importance of respect.
4. Promote learning for the sake of learning: In my classrooms I hope to promote learning, of any subject or topic, at all times. I am a very curious individual and I love many subjects other than social studies. I will not shy away from discussing other topics in class (without wasting too much time, of course) if a student shows interest in it. If I’m actually a good social studies teacher, I should probably be able to find a way to relate it to my discipline anyway.
5. Exhibiting critical thinking skills in class: If there is one skill that I hope my students enhance by spending time in my classroom it is the ability to think critically. I can explain what this means and provide terminology until my face turns blue, but unless I actively live what I preach it will mean nothing. I think this will consist of me asking students to elaborate on their answers as much as possible, challenging correct and wrong answers alike, and asking critical questions about the trustworthiness of sources. Also, if I can model how to poke holes in faulty logic (especially if it is the accepted logic), I think that will provide a very good example for my students.
Leading by example means practicing what you preach. That is not always the easiest thing to do but I think some of the best leaders in the world make use of this strategy. Anybody can talk but it takes a dedicated individual to back up their talk with action.
