Winter 2007

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Put Them in the Driver’s Seat!

Six steps to creating an experiential opportunity in your school

David MacLeod

The day after I turned 16, I took the test and received my Learner’s Driving License from an insurance business in town. I can clearly remember driving my Dad’s pickup truck home on the highway that day with my Dad sitting beside me for support. I had spent all kinds of time studying for my test and I had imagined what driving on a road was like, but actually sitting behind that wheel was an entirely new experience. I was both excited and scared to death by the idea that I was responsible for keeping us alive until we arrived home! I’m sure my Dad was probably just plain scared to death, but he hid it well.

Learning that type of responsibility and respect for safety is not something I could have got out of a book or a conversation—it’s something I needed to experience. In the same way, student values, virtues, ethics and morals need to be drawn out in an experiential way, and giving students the tools and opportunity of facilitating activities is a great way to do it!

In our ever-changing educational environment, where new language-based concepts are invented daily to address the growing world of learning and behaviour challenges, experiential education is a powerful, and in my view, a much needed tool for inspiring kids. Would you like to see your students take on more responsibility? How about seeing them act more respectfully? Would you like to see them behave as positive role models for younger students while cultivating virtues, behaving effectively and drawing out inherent values? Yes? Then put your students behind the wheel and hold on!

Here is a process for creating a leadership opportunity where intermediate students in your school can learn valuable skills while facilitating inclusive activities with younger students.

Materials:
• 1 class of intermediate students
• 3 – 6 great, inclusive activities
• 2 – 4 groups of younger students who like to have fun

Step 1: Select Your Drivers

Simply put, when creating a leadership opportunity, include everyone. Use an entire class. In my view, too often students are hand selected or self-appointed for school leadership opportunities. While mentoring activities are a great way to challenge students who display leadership qualities, offering activities only to them is a bit like teaching ducks to float. In fact, during games workshops I have facilitated, I have found that students referred to as “troubled, ADHD, withdrawn, introverted, overly aggressive,” etc., have had the most successful and positive experience teaching younger students. Attention seeking kids tend to succeed in finding positive attention when it is required, and quiet students are typically thrilled to be put in a situation where they can express themselves and be rewarded for it.

Step 2: Choose Your Vehicle

Choose 3 – 6 inclusive activities that you can first practise playing and teaching with your own classroom group. They can be group-building games, larger field games, art activities or academic learning games, just make sure the activities you select are simple, short, energetic, age-appropriate and can include all kinds of younger students. There are plenty out there to choose from and if you need suggestions you can find free sample games on my website that will work well.

When you have chosen your activities, divide your students into small groups and teach each group a different game. Then have them take turns teaching the games to each other. If you have a large class, split it in half and run the activities in two small groups. After you play all the activities, have each student write down and then share the most challenging parts of teaching their peers.

Step 3: Provide a Toolkit

After all the students know how to play all the games, give them a few suggestions that will be tools to help them succeed in the face of challenge.

First, let them know that regardless of who they are, whether they are outgoing, quiet, great in math or great with animals, they will be great leaders. Why? Because in the groups they teach, they will find other kids similar to them! It is important that all kinds of leaders work with younger students so that all the young students have someone to relate to.

Second, let them know that they will have difficulties. Definitely. And in fact, without the difficulties, the opportunity of teaching younger students wouldn’t teach them much. Tell them that finding different ways to facilitate kids and learning how to get their attention and participation is both difficult and the point of the opportunity.

Lastly, give them a few crowd control suggestions. Whether it be teaching them to get the younger students to all sit down or respond to a specific clap or command, let them know a technique that you have personally used to successfully get students’ attention. Also, let them know that the best way to get the younger kids involved is to be involved themselves. They can teach the activities and set a good example by participating as well.

Step 4: Let Them Go!

Organize an hour in an afternoon when your students facilitate activities for several other groups of younger students. Have two to five leaders work with ten to fifteen younger students. This can be done by working with three or four younger classrooms and dividing the classrooms in half. Tip: Have your most challenging students work with the most challenging younger students. The result can be surprising.

Step 5: Keep Your Hands Off The Wheel!

After you give your students the activities and some tools to help them succeed, set them up and let them go. It is all too tempting to micro-manage the group as soon as you see challenges arise, by jumping in to assist with discipline, etc. Don’t! Unless it is completely necessary for safety reasons, stand back with the other teachers and watch your group deal with the challenges. Be on the lookout for positive behaviours and remember that the challenges are the real gold that will engrain leadership lessons.

Step 6: Review The Race and Plan The Next Event

After the activities are done, debrief your group back in the classroom. Be sure to have a personal collection of highlights to mention, and commend them for their effort. It is great to create a writing activity around the day and perhaps create another leadership opportunity down the road and then compare the results.

By organizing leadership activities such as this for your students, you will be creating opportunities for students to experience first-hand the benefits of positive leadership, responsibility, respect and school involvement. The root of education is the Latin word “educari” which translates loosely into “to draw forth.” By putting your students in the driver’s seat, you will be drawing forth all kinds of qualities they probably don’t even know they have!

David MacLeod has been teaching leadership and self-development programs to young people in the classroom and in outdoor settings for the past 12 years. He is the co-founder of Wave Makers Student Leadership and he has recently published a collection of 40 Group-Building Games. His book and info on his programs is available at www.wavemakers.ca