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Education Today: Student Leadership

*Content provided by our sponsor the Michigan Education Savings Plan.

By Sharlonda Buckman

Charles Brown is a sophomore student athlete at Pershing High School. While in class one day, several of his peers were feeling overly social and chatting so loud that they were disrupting instruction. Their teacher began to have trouble teaching over their voices and it began tough to identify who was instigating all the noise.

As this problem persisted, Charles suggested that Principal Brown, the admired leader of their school, come and speak with classes around the importance of student conduct, so that individuals would feel challenged to lead by example rather than want to challenge the authority. Ultimately, this high school student sought out a way to resolve an issue using the influence of his highly regarded principal.

After taking such initiative, I asked Charles Brown a few questions about leadership and here is what he had to say:

Why is being a leader in your community important to you?

I believe I should be a leader because I don't want my friends to fail. I really don't want to see anyone fail, but for some people it goes in one ear and out the other. So I influence students that will listen and do try to do the right thing.

How do you stay positive in your circle of friends?

I find people that I believe are headed in the right direction and surround myself with them. It's very important to surround yourself with the right people.

What makes a strong leader and why?

One thing I believe makes a strong leader is staying positive. It's important because there are negative leaders out here and a lot of followers spreading negativity; there's not enough people stepping up to do the right thing. You negative leaders contributing to other students' actions. So when more students follow negative leaders they make poor decisions, which harmfully reflect our community and our school.

What will you do once you graduate high school?

I plan to attend a great college where I'll play basketball and I plan to work hard enough to receive a full ride scholarship.

 

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