Leaders of AYTEF Today, Future Leaders of Tomorrow

Everyday we are surrounded by leaders, not just the ones we watch on television or read about in the news, but even the ones we work with here at AYTEF. Our coaches, our students, our friends, too. To launch our exploration on what leadership means, the students reflected upon themselves and the extent to which they exhibit qualities of great leaders. Doing this warm-up activity allowed them to understand what it takes to be a leader to their community and learn about what they could continue to strengthen. We held discussions ranking these qualities to come to an agreement on which we believe are the most important for leaders to possess. These discussions opened up the table to discussing why these traits are so important to be a great leader and how we can exemplify these traits.

We briefly researched about leaders of the world, and the students were given the opportunity to create a list of all the leaders they came up with. In discussing this list, we discovered that every one they mentioned were adults, and none of their age. This posed a great question: Can kids be leaders? To delve deeper into this question, our young students read a book about a kid president while the others watched a Kid President video.

After this activity, the students re-created this list, but instead actively researched leaders that were young, just like them. To further understand their impact to society, the students participated in an activity where they contemplated on how they would change their community in a position of leadership. Check out the slideshow of the most thoughtful answers produced!

As a great way to apply our learning, the students collaborated in groups, naming a leader who led the group in creating the highest tower that will hold a tennis ball. They had a blast participating in this activity while still learning about how to lead and collaborate within a team.