Encouraging the Champion Within

This blog is loosely based on a Power Point presentation which I gave at a recent Staff Development Seminar at Rondebosch Boys’ High School.

It was coincidental that on the day before I gave this talk, Jonathan Jansen wrote an article in The Times entitled ‘The Enemy of Great is Good’. He argues that the reason we do not achieve greatness in our schools is because we think we are quite good – and that is when we become complacent. He challenges schools to examine all aspects of schooling in order to ensure that they extend themselves and do NOT remain in cruise mode.

We believe that the same must apply to our pupil leader system. We must be careful that we are not wasting leadership talent which, with a modicum of encouragement, mentoring and nurturing would grow and flourish. Our pupil leadership systems have always been good, but Peter Senge challenges us in his book, ‘Schools that Learn’, (2001) to take it further. He exhorts us not to think of leadership in schools as a quality which exists in certain people but rather to ‘develop the leadership potential in every pupil instead of searching for special individuals with leadership potential’.

Tarek Motan, former Head Boy

We had a visit to the school a few weeks ago from a past Head Prefect, Tarek Motan, who is now residing in Canada. While giving him a tour of his old school, I introduced him to two of our current prefects, Luthando Siboya (Lorie House Prefect) and Cody MacGregor (Service). He fell into discussion with them about their vision and goals for their portfolios. ‘The game has certainly changed,’ he said at one point to them (when he could finally get a word in after listening to their enthusiastic description of their portfolio work). ‘All we did in our day was carry out other peoples’ rules.’

Finger Wagging, 80s style 'leadership'

Every era is different, but Tarek Motan is certainly correct in that the game has changed considerably over the last thirty years. Power ruled in his day. PW Botha was at the height of his supremacy wagging his finger at anyone in the country who had the temerity to challenge him. In the schools of his day, teachers (including myself) were wagging canes at pupils who defied the system. In the school hierarchy of pupils, senior boys were using their muscle to impose their dominance.

Against this background, schools did their best to teach leadership. Wynberg must have done something right because the boys of that era are now leading successful companies all round the world. They have succeeded in their businesses in effectively adapting and adjusting to the changing times.

The major difference today is that our job as teachers is not to put leadership into people – but to bring it out. Our leadership training must drive home to all our pupils that servant-leadership is the only real leadership which matters. That is the leadership of Jesus, Ghandi, Mother Theresa , Mandela - all of whom have millions of followers, yet had no need for uniforms, canes or detention slips.

If our schools of the 21st Century are to become great, we have to ensure that our pupils learn the necessary leadership competencies and skills and, in doing so, be given frequent opportunities to test their skills – in the classroom; in tutor groups; on the sports fields and on the various stages of the school.

Professor Walter Baets, Director of the UCT Graduate School of Business urges us at schools to take risks with our boys and give them these opportunities:

“What is pupil leadership at school? Envision a motorbike riding around a curve. The bike tilts sharply and appears as though it will fall, yet the momentum partners with gravity and keeps the bike going. This is a situation of order bordering on chaos. If the biker were to scrape the road with his knee, he may end up on the pavement. If he wants to win the championship, he has to take the curve as fast as possible, with the knee as close to the road as possible. Therefore in order to learn greatness, we have to travel as close to chaos as possible.

We as schools have to be prepared to face risk for reward.”

Nurturing leaders at school involves a significant risk-taking, while not quite of the heart-stopping nature of our motorcyclist going round the bend, but certainly enough to increase the heartbeat of teachers. These teachers are encouraged to promote leadership by giving pupils of all ages opportunities to organise events, produce plays, umpire/ref games, speak from stage, sit on committees where their advice is sought after and valued. Senior pupils frequently chair these committees.

Senior boys are urged to assist others in the school both socially and academically and this has been a feature of Wynberg in recent years. Socially, the ‘buddy’ system of matric pupils accepting the responsibility of mentoring younger boys are realising the universal values of a common respect, interconnectedness and empathy. In the academic ‘Bridging the Gap’ system, senior academic pupils can understand the frustration and misunderstandings of the junior boys and so help the junior motorcyclists round the bends. Leadership in great schools is about teamwork at all levels.

In February this year, we gave the opportunity in our Open Days to our Grade 8 boys, who had been at Wynberg for barely a month, to show prospective Grade 7’s and their parents around the school. The confidence engendered by having to introduce themselves to strangers and then give an hour-long running commentary, was inestimable. It was good to see them grow in confidence as they proudly showed off ‘their’ school.

All the challenges above are posing the same tests for the boys as corners are posing for the motorcyclist. There are many metaphorical scrapes and bruises along the way as the aspiring leaders learn what works and what doesn’t in their relationships with their peers. As their leadership competencies improve, so the boys plot their own paths through life. In doing so they are learning skills and values which will help them to survive in our complex and uncertain world.

In his article, Jonathan Jansen urges us to become great by ‘changing the old and familiar metrics with which we measure greatness.’

We like to think we are doing that by daring our boys to discover their own greatness ...