Thanksgiving may look different for most of us in 2020. How can you give your students the vision to see past the restrictions and find ways to be leaders in their community?
Try asking them to apply their Lead4Change lessons to a need during the holidays. Where do they see needs among their peers, neighbors or even their own family? How can they design a project and implement solutions?
The lessons will take them through the steps. A “team’ can be 3 or more students. Students can participate on multiple teams throughout the year.
One way to give thanks is to give back to your school or community. This lesson teaches students that serving can be a way of focusing outward on the good, rather than inward on that which we cannot change.
One of the best features of the Lead4Change lessons is closure. After a project, every team is going to look back at their successes and barriers. They will discuss what worked and what didn’t. David Novak talks about leadership as including the right to fail, sometimes repeatedly, as we strive for the best ideas and solutions.
Lead4Change also ends with the lesson of recognition. We teach a simple process for recognizing each team member and contributor to your project. This allows students to appreciate each other and feel valued for their contribution, while also teaching them to recognize how much help they receive along the way.
Serving others … overcoming barriers … reflection and recognition … all are important steps to leadership.