Keys to Leadership - Inward and Outward Qualities

Check out the following PowerPoint / PDF file that discusses the Keys to Leadership - Inward and Outward Qualities.

Keys to Leadership - Inward and Outward Qualities

Be Passionate!

Below are 5 characteristics of PASSIONATE teachers according the Robert L. Friend author of the book "The Passionate Teacher".

1. Passionate teachers love to work with young people, but they also care deeply about knowledge and ideas, so they try never to let their compassion for a student serve as a reason for excusing that student's ignorance or lack of skill. 
2. Passionate teachers are alive to events both in the classroom and in the world outside school, and they bring those perspectives together in their work with students.
3. Passionate teachers have the capacity for spontaneity and humor and for great seriousness, often at almost the same time.
4. Passionate teachers are always taking risks, and they make at least as many mistakes as anybody else.  What's different is how they react to their mistakes...
5. Passionate teachers take their mission seriously and communicate their beliefs.  They truly are passionate teachers, not just intense people who hide their passions behind a workday mask and allow only the rare student to connect with them.

Be passionate!

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Must be earned...

We can no longer simply assume, as many of our own teachers did, that students will come to school ready to respect us and the knowledge we offer them.  We must earn the respect of young people. (pg. 43 The Passionate Teacher) 

Many times students struggle in the classroom not because the subject matter is too difficult, but because of the lack of mutual respect between themselves and their teacher. 

Real learning cannot take place in an environment where respect does not exist!  Just consider your own life...how well do you learn from someone who doesn't respect you or whom you don't respect?  The answer:  NOT MUCH!

In order for real learning to take place each classroom must have a certain level of mutual respect:

• Classrooms need to be a place where students can feel safe from put-downs, unwarranted criticism, and judgment from peers and teachers alike.
• Teachers and students MUST take the extra moment to consider the other person's point of view.
• Teachers MUST be the adult in these situations and realize that every moment is a "teachable moment".

What are you thoughts?  Do you learn better in classrooms where mutual respect exists or does it even matter to you?  How can teachers or students be more respectful in the classroom?  Your feedback or comments are encouraged!

Relationships that Reveal God vs. sin, heartbreak, or chaos!

Using this diagram for my True Love Waits breakout session!  This diagram is based on Matthew 5:41 and 2 Corinthians 6:14-16.  Enjoy!