Last Day of Community Builders!

It's bittersweet that today was the last day of community builders. The time really went by quickly with those kids. There were definitely some that I became closer to than others. Overall though, I think it was a really positive experience! In terms of how well we did today though, I think we were a little unprepared. We thought that everything was going to take a little longer than it did. So at the end of everything, we were just kind of sitting around, wondering what to do. What happened today was not really reflective of our entire though. Every other week we were always running out of time since we had so much planned and were having a lot of fun. I think that it was a good experience to work with someone who I had never gotten to work with before and really learn to grow with the students. Many times some of the input that the students gave was pretty impressive.

Now, how did this experience end up helping me grow? I think for one, I learned how to go with the flow and not panic when something didn't go right or when everything wasn't exactly planned out. In the end, everything always turned out fine. It wasn't perfect, but we definitely learned from our mistakes. I think the importance of communication was very clear in community builders as well. Matt and I needed to make sure that we were on the same page with each of our responsibilities. Communication was really important in those tight moments when we needed to figure out how to transition or what we needed to do next. Sometimes that communication was verbally talking with one another; most of the time it was using non-verbal communication to convey a message to the other across the room. In the future, communication will be helpful with a team or a group and figuring out how to get something done. However, the use of non-verbal and verbal communication will be more prevalent for a work-place that is fast paced.

An area that I still need to work on in terms of leading people would probably taking some of the responsibility off of my shoulders and letting someone else take charge. A lot of the time that we were in the classroom, I would automatically try and get control of the room and ask for the attention to be on me so that I could explain something. I felt like sometimes had fewer opportunities to speak because of my need to be so controlling. I think that in some opportunities I should have let him take control. However, part of me wonders if through our dynamic, it was alright that I did a lot of the marco duties like getting the students under control and explaining activities while Matt did some of the micro duties like taking care of the materials, making sure that each student had what they wanted, and just maintaining some of the conversations during our activities.

From the top of my head, I really can't think of anything else to add at the moment. I imagine that as I participate in other leadership-driven activities that the importance of working in Community Builders and learning how to my improve my leadership will be more apparent.

Thank you for the opportunity, Community Builder staff! It was truly a blessing!

Final Project Presentations

Well today was the second day of final project presentations. Matt and I were supposed to go today, but there wasn't enough time for our presentation. Honestly, I am surprisingly impressed with how good other people's presentations are and how different they are. I just expected that I would be listening to the same materials about leadership over and over again. However, people are bringing their experiences to the presentations. While some people focused on their majors and how they use leadership in them. One group focused on the strengths and weaknesses in leadership. This was probably the most interesting group to listen to because it definitely made me reflect on my own leadership styles. I finally realized how my inability to cooperate with people really can hinder my leadership. I get so easily annoyed by some people that I tend to get really snappy with them. Unfortunately, they're the same with me. No progress is going going to happen that way. The group didn't really address how to solve this problem, sadly enough. From what I have learned, I would think that patience would be important. Also, I  need to keep in mind what my goals and values are and make sure to maintain them.

I really don't have much more to say than what I've already said about my group project. Matt and I seem ready. We took our differences and managed to find some similarities and create a decent presentation. We'll just wait and see!

"Challenging the Process"

I am designating my theme for this post, "Challenging the Process;" a chapter out of The Student Leadership Challenge written by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. I think that in a classroom setting, this is the part of leadership that most students have a hard time with. Many of us are eager to lead, but the idea of change can be a little scary. One of the more obvious situations in this past week has been deciding what groups are which for the final group project presentation. Dr. Kittle said that we could make groups of people within our major or something along those lines, but when it comes down to it, people are going to stay with their friends and not venture to find anyone who may have similar academic interests.

Ii do not know that many people in our class. Additionally, most of the people I do know have already presented early. Therefore, when Dr. Kittle announced that we should be thinking about who we are going to be in a group with, I got a little nervous. I didn't know who it was going to be! After we finished a class activity one day, instead of sticking around to find a group, I left the class amongst other students who also finished early. I was too nervous to ask anyone if I could be in their group or if they even had one or not. I am introverted, so reaching out to someone makes me very uncomfortable. Also, when I was in high school, people never asked me to be in their group. I always had to be asked to be in a group and I usually felt left out because everyone else knew one another really well and they weren't interested in my input. Plus, by working with different people, it gives an opportunity to have a unique experience and learn about other perspectives. However, without taking the challenge to do that, it limits the world of possibilities.

I was pleasantly surprised when one day, I opened my email to see a message from Matt (a different one than the one I work with for community builders) in my inbox. He said that he couldn't find a partner and he was wondering if he could join my group. Relieved, I said that the two of us could form our own group. In terms of  our group, I think that he took a challenge by having to ask to join a group and it ended up being for the better. Instead of feeling embarrassed and ashamed, I should have remembered the assignment as hand and that it was necessary that I find a group. Just putting it off until later would only make it harder to join a group. Matt reminded me that I do just have to put away my pride and get the job done when it needs to be done. A leader may not worry what other people think as long as the task at hand gets done and gets done well.

Communities

On Thursday, we had the joy in Neighborhood 1 to create our final group project. Since our group really liked doing games and activities, we decided that we should make our own that reflected what we did throughout the semester. Similar to the Game of Life, we created a Game of Community Builders! Matt and I printed out a long sheet of paper with the Community Builders logo for the game board and brought over construction paper, mini logos, scissors, glue, and colored pencils, but really the creation of the game was up to the students. I believe that handing over the project to the students did exemplify leadership. It was their project and they showed what they learned. However, also, sometimes leaders just need to step back and see what others can bring to a team in order to make it great. If Matt and I had prepared most of the game before we arrived, the activity would not have been as worthwhile. It would have reflected more of what Matt and I know rather than what the students learned. That's not the point! We had to look down from the balcony and see what we needed to do so that the students could do the best work that they could do.

An important theme from this week was making sure that everyone was getting involved. This meant that each student and the adult volunteer had a part in the creation of the game in addition to Matt and me. Since it's hard to get everyone involved in every single part of the game, we decided to delegate the making of the game a little bit as well as have some tasks that were universal. For instance, there were a couple students that were making the game board and the rest of the students were cutting and gluing. Then, we could make sure to use all of the students but utilize various skills. One issue that we had been having was getting our Adult Volunteer, Pat, involved. This week we put her in the group of the board decorating group so that she could have more interaction and conversation with the students. We had recognized that in previous meetings she didn't really include herself in the activities. By deliberately placing her in a group that needed to work through conversation, it actively made her get to know the students a little bit more and help out with the group. We realized that she was not going to place herself into group interactions but rather we needed to be intentional in involving her. I think that personally, sometimes I get so caught up in my position/job within a group, that I forget about encouraging others to participate as well. Sometimes I just assume that they will want to be involved and will jump right in. However, not everyone's personality gives them the strength to jump into a situation like that. It is important to look at everyone's strengths and weaknesses in a group and try to address those as much as possible so that the group and the individual grows.

This week was a fun time with the 6th graders. It's sad that our time with them is almost over - it has passed by so quickly! I really enjoy getting to know the students and having fun learning about leadership with them. Each of them brings a fresh perspective and challenges my thinking about the standard definition of leadership that I have in my head. For me, this just reflects my need to work with diverse groups in order to gain more understanding about leadership and how to work with various groups in distinct situations. As Mandie has mentioned, I am hoping that since I can work with 6th graders, that I can really work with anybody!

CB efforts to date

So far in Community Builders, it has really been a fun journey. However, it has forced me to get a little bit out of my comfort zone. To be more specific, I am really a shy person; especially when first getting to know someone. I don't really feel comfortable starting conversations because I always draw blanks with what to say. I get intimidated by the fact that I don't know much about someone else because I don't know if there is anything that we have in common or anything that we will have in common. I usually hope to find a connection with someone if I really want to talk to them. When I am with the six graders, instead of withdrawing and sitting and waiting for someone else to start the conversation, I have had to be the one to bring something up. Rather than trying to find something that the students and I have in common, I ask them a lot of questions about themselves so that they will talk more. I feel more comfortable then because as long as they are talking, I have to ask less questions! However, they do like having someone listen to their stories and be interested in them. I am starting to be more conscious of when I start trying to relate everything back and try to stop myself. I believe that if I talk too much about myself, it might shut down other people who want to be heard. I am hoping that in future conversations, I can try to learn more about the person and only talk about myself when asked or if there is a big connection between us.

In terms of working with Matt, I feel like I was really lucky to get him as a partner. It's really easy working with him and I feel like we both generally work in a similar way. He's definitely more extroverted than I am, but his ability to be organized and punctual is something that we have in common (and it's something that is important to me and keeps me calm). I have started to realize that I rely on schedules and getting everything done on time and when that doesn't happen, I get a lot of anxiety. Therefore, when everything gets done in a timely fashion, I feel so much better. Although Matt and I are a great team, I'm afraid that I haven't really grown as much as I would had been with someone who was more different than I was. It is possible that we are more different than I realize though since we complement one another very well. Who knows? In terms of how this experience has helped me for the future, I have to realize that not everybody is going to be as awesome as Matt. Working with others is going to be a little more difficult.

For instance, working with someone of an older generation such as our AV, Pat. Pat is an enthusiastic volunteer. She always has feedback on what we do and is eager to implement her ideas into our lesson plan. Sometimes she can be a little too pushy though. After her first email with her commentary, we didn't really respond to her constructive criticism. I am not saying that we should have been defensive or anything, but rather recognized her expertise in working in Community Builders and how she's there to help. Some of her ideas are a little "old," and rather than just ignoring them, we should politely acknowledge her ideas, take them into account, and say that we might have decided to take a different approach. We are technically leading the lessons so we have to power to use or not use what we want, but we have to remember that she, too, is part of the group and can have some say. Additionally, her expertise can be helpful as I mentioned. I think that the lessons that I have learned from Pat would be being open to ideas, acknowledging someone's feedback and advice, but having the guts to use the advice or not. Plus, the older generations can feel like they are no longer useful. Pat can help us! We just need to make sure that we get her more involved in our group. Sometimes I want to please everyone, but that's not possible! I have to have faith that I have some good ideas too!

In terms of this week's lesson, I am excited to make a game of communities (similar to the game of life). Matt and I think that everyone can get involved and bring their own style to the game. Details will be shared later!

Class article activity

Article 1 - "What makes a great employee?" from Jan. 19, 2011 on Blake Mycoskie's blog

The article that I brought into class the other day was a blog post from the man who created TOMS shoes, Blake Mycoskie. He has gone on to write his own book as well as his own optical program one-for-one in other countries as well. However, in this employee, he gave a little anecdote of what he did when he started the company.

Rather than hiring employees with experience for his new business, Mycoskie looked for people interested who had the least amount of experience. His reasoning was that people with lesser experience would not have preconceived notions of what the right way to do certain tasks are. Therefore, he takes the risk of giving the inexperienced a change. What he expects out of these workers -unpaid interns actually - is passion and creativity.

It's as simple as that. I think that in society today, people have finally realized how different people are. More importantly though, society is not static, so we cannot assume that a certain model is going to be applicable for all people at all times. In order to be successful, a leader would have to recognize how society is always changing. They don't necessarily have to be the ones to know what to do, but rather be the one to recognize the change and find people to stay ahead of the curve.

Personally, I don't think that I am always good at thinking about what the next big thing is. However, I can think of the questions to push people outside of the box and look at the big picture. I guess in this context, I do better at being on the balcony and looking towards the future.

Article 2 - "5 Leadership and Life Lessons from John Wooden" by Kevin Eikenberry

This article was Eddie's that he shared with me in our "speed dating" activity. The article takes some of John Wooden's famous quotes and puts them into the context of leadership. The quotes are the following:

"Move, Move, Move!"/"Earn the right to be proud and confident."/"Ability may get you to the top. But character will keep you there."/"You can do more by being good than any other way."/"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

Being an athlete (and after playing basketball for eight years), these quotes are very relatable. I can see them in the context of sports. For me, sometimes it's easier to see my relationships in terms of a team. My friends and family are my teammates and ideally, I want to work well with all of them in order to "win" or have peace. Therefore, I have to remember how to work hard and be a good person. These lessons do not have to apply just to sports or to being a leader, but just being human. I think it's a good way to keep perspective and remain humble.

Reflective Class Activity - 2/19

By the beginning of class today, we have all read the Leadership on the Line book by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky. We have learned the ups and the downs of leadership as well as some skills in order to improve our leadership. Dr. Kittle really helped us reflect just a little further about our leadership, and I'm going to go ahead and share some of the more important questions (to me personally) with you.

Who helps you be honest with yourself?

At this point in my life, being part of "teams" are very important. I put teams in quotations because it doesn't have to include a sport. For me, yes, some people who help me be myself are my co-captains and teammates on the Ultimate Frisbee team. The other day I had a conversation with my co-captain, Kyle, about a rut that I've been in. He reminded me of why I was voted captain in the first place - because I play hard and I show up every day. I give everything I have to give to the team. My dedication helped me earn my position. I don't need to boss people around in order to be a captain. I need to remember to be myself.

Other people in some of my "teams" are my family members, people I work with, and my academic advisors. They remind me of what my goals are in life and to not be distracted by the little things. They remind me to keep on going and not be discouraged by small failures, because those are just life lessons waiting to happen. Without some of these people on my "teams," I might have lost sight of who I am and who I want to be.

What are some of your leadership weaknesses?

I don't really like to think about this topic very much. I am a person who in the big picture has had a lot of success (not to toot my own horn). I try to avoid these weaknesses while trying to succeed. However, I have learned in other leadership courses, like LS 115, that sometimes it can be beneficial to try and work on those weaknesses to be a more well-rounded leader. Being aware of these weaknesses is probably one of the more important topics those.

Some of my weaknesses:
- Constructive criticism: I hate having people tell me I am wrong when I am not ready to accept the criticism. Unfortunately, sometimes I think that people don't listen to the way that I am thinking about an issue, when the real story is that I close my mind to their ideas.
- Trust: It can seem easier to get something done on my own because I know how I want it to get down and which way it should be. However, I have to trust that other people are trying to achieve the same goal as I am and they, too, are capable of getting something done.
- Clear communication: I like it when there is clear communication. Unfortunately, I believe that I am terrible at expressive myself in a clear and concise manner. I get too wordy or forget something or explain a task in an absolutely confusing way. I have learned that sometimes by writing down directions/idea first and then saying them out loud helps me make sure to more effectively communicate some of my thoughts better. Of course, I can't do this all the time, so this will be a work in progress.

There are a few more that I could address, but it would take up too much time to list everything. I'm a hard critic of myself, so it could go on for a while!

How do I "anchor" myself?

The term of "anchor" is still a little bit abstract for me. However, my understanding of the word is what helps me/encourages me to become a better leader (or be a leader in general).
1. Goals: I am a very goal-oriented person. I like knowing where I have to go, but have the freedom to explore approaches on how to get there. Goals help me remember what I need to do rather than focusing on my position in an organization (because that can intimidate me).
2. Being in an open community where ideas are shared: I do not think that my ideas are the best ideas out there. I don't believe that one person always has the right answer either. That's why I really feel comfortable in an environment where ideas can be shared with one another in order to find the best solution/idea. I really like brainstorming and it's potential. In order for me to best formulate an idea, I need to see how other people see the issue.
3. Trust: Yes, this is in my weakness area as well. I have been able to find places where I am really comfortable with people and trust what they do. I feel that my work is more efficient when I don't have to look over my shoulder or double-check everything. I also think that promotes efficiency as well.

Alright, I think this might be it for today. There is so much more that I could say or expand on, but I think that can be another challenge for another day. Until next time, everyone!

Progress

I think that community builders are going well so far. I really enjoy them and I still think that they are a bit of a challenge. Honestly, I am not sure how much more I need to say that I haven't said before in another post.

This week we are supposed figure out what our final group project is going to be. Matt and I have NO IDEA what we are going to do for that final project. It needs to be something that addresses service, community, or one of the various organizations that we learned about. The students really seem interested in helping the causes and they like games... but how can that translate into a final project that we share with other classrooms? From the position that Matt and I are in, we have to look at the big picture. In terms of the LoL readings we have done, we are kind of on the balcony in this situation. We have gotten to learn about what the students like and what they have gotten out of the activities that we have done as a group. Now Matt and I have to take all of our observations and opinions and put them together to see what type of project would better help the group as a whole. A problem would be making sure that all of the students enjoy, participate in, and get something out of the group project. This is a collective project where we all should work together in order to achieve a common goal. Our AV, Pat, let us know that they did a music video last semester that the students really enjoyed. Instead of making sure that the majority of students benefit from this, we need to try and address the needs of each student. HOW???

Thriving with Water

Today was the second day at the middle school with the sixth graders. Of course I was nervous this time, but not as much as before. I was actually really excited because last night when Matt and I were planning, I thought of a great idea to do comparisons of Nicaragua and Ethiopia without having to do a Venn diagram. I thought of making everything a game! It was called: NAME THAT COUNTRY. There would be a question or statement on the screen and then each team of students would need to decide which country it reflected. We would then keep track of how many points each time got for the number of right answers that they gave. It went wonderfully. The teams would debate over which country it could possibly be. For me though, I wanted to make sure that the students would want to know the material rather than just do something to humor us.

Photo from Water to Thrive

Today was the day that Ed (I forget his last name) came to Waverly-Shell Rock to speak about Water to Thrive. Water to Thrive is an organization that he helped create that builds wells mainly in Ethiopia in areas that don't have access to clean water. He showed a video that shared information about the organization and told stories about difficulties in obtaining water for the Ethiopians and how adding a well changed their lives. No longer do kids have to walk 6 miles round-trip twice a day in order to get water for them and their families. Even though we didn't get to do a service project, the kids were getting really excited about the  potential to do a penny drive at their school to raise money for Water to Thrive. I'm not sure if I have mentioned this, but I love getting people excited about service. Therefore, watching these students get excited about helping in a monetary way warmed my heart!

Our CB time went really fast this week because of the presentation, so there isn't as much to reflect on. We forgot to give out nametags and draw pictures on each of the nametags. Also, I remember I told Laura to make sure to include her group members when she wasn't, and reflecting on that, I think I should have reminded the students as a whole to work as a group, not just talk directly to her. She might have felt outed and insecure which I don't want! Overall though, I am pretty satisfied with everything that went on today!

Leadership and Ultimate Frisbee - The Real Test

This weekend was Wartburg College's Second Annual One Knight Stand hosted by the Wartburg B-52's (the Ultimate Frisbee team). One Knight Stand was an opportunity for 8 teams from Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota to come together to play a sport that we all love from 10 PM until 6 AM. I am one of the co-captains of the B-52s which meant that I had a part in getting the tournament put together and running. This involved a number of responsibilities over a number of weeks.

For me, since I was in Argentina for the fall semester, I did not help out with very much of the planning for the tournament as much as my co-captains did. Once I returned earlier this month, there was definitely plenty to work on though. For starters, we needed to get in shape again so that we would be able to keep up in the tournament. This meant that we tried to run as much as we could. Since we are just a club, we can't actually force our players to run, but we got them excited for the tournament so they did their part. Additionally, the as captains we needed to make sure that we were working on areas of importance in practices such as defense, throwing, reading the disc, and plays.

What is different about Ultimate Frisbee than any other sport is that the captains act as coaches but play with the team. Therefore, we were the ones to teach people how the better their game and what to do in order to improve as a player. This is challenging sometimes because I have only played Ultimate for two and a half years and I don't always know the answer to people's questions. However, a benefit to having three captains instead of one is that we all can support one another and bring our own strengths to the team. When one person may not be as strong teaching one area, another can pick up the slack. The most important way to get the players to listen to us though is just leading by example. Through leading by example, players can see that we know about what we're talking about by how well we follow what we say and how well it reflects how we play. If we can get the players to see that we know how to play and know what we are doing, we can more effectively lead them. This type of learning by captains teaching the younger players reflects peer learning from the Triangulated Learning article. The younger players learn how to play by seeing the more experienced teammates play. However, we still need to take the traditional approach of learning and teach the players what to do or how to play more effectively.

This weekend through the games, not only did I have to tell my teammates what to do and lead by example, I had to be encouraging and make sure that nobody got too down on themselves. This can be hard for me to do because I easily get down on myself when I don't play well because I am so competitive. It also didn't help that we were easily beat in our first two games. My approach to keeping the spirits high was focusing more one the positive of what we were doing rather than being negative about what we were doing. By qualifying the good and the bad, we were able to work on certain areas and play better even though we ended up losing. I had to let go of my initial anger and frustration and realize that that wasn't helping the team. I needed to swallow my pride and focus on the team rather than myself. Additionally, my leadership styles had to be adaptive. Some players need my recognition and feedback in order to know how they are doing while others can comfortably assess how their doing but just need a little encouragement every once in a while. As a leader, I needed to recognize which players responded which way and act accordingly.

Now that the tournament is over, I think we only have room to grow. We saw what some of our weaknesses were and gained some tournament experience. In terms of being a leader of the team, I have finally had my first test of challenges of being captain and acknowledge that before the next tournament there needs to be some changes.

Leadership in the Classroom

It's just that time again to start planning for another week at the middle school to work with our kiddos. Of course, Mandie gave feedback on how we did the other day. The main comment of feedback she gave us was to better involve our adult volunteer, Pattie. I had noticed that we had not involved her so much in our activities the other day. She spoke with us afterward about how we did a good job and gave her suggestions for next time. However, my goal for next time is to get her more direct interaction with the kids.

Probably one of the meaningful parts of ID 315 that we have done outside of actually working in the classroom was reading the journal entries of the 6th graders and responding to them.  Personally, I love writing letters because I find personal expression so much easier on pen and paper. I liked how the students could write about the theme we gave them and how they drew a picture of something they liked or remembered. The drawings were adorable! Additionally, it was interesting to see the various perspectives of the students and which specific activities they really enjoyed. Then, we can keep in mind what they liked and try and incorporate it into future activities. Across the board we received positive reviews which really excites me. The students were also very interested in what we are going to be doing for the rest of the semester or what we are going to do with the organizations that we talked about the other day. I really enjoyed reading about their enthusiasm though. I am looking forward to spending more time with them this week.

The triangulated learning article did reflect what we are trying to do in Community Builders. For example, when we defined the words "community," "service," and "learning" in class last week, that took a more traditional approach. We were their teachers, reminding them of what those words mean by definition and in context. We take the peer learning approach by being role models for the 6th graders. They are going to learn from our actions and how we behave. They will learn lessons of leadership by how we as Wartburg students conduct ourselves. Finally, the students are going to learn through service-learning activities that we will do with Self Help International. Even though we won't get to see how the hygiene kits we use directly affect the area, we will be able to see the conditions the people live in through the presentation that Self Help will be giving at the school. By actually creating the kits, the feeling of service is more tangible because we can see and count how many hygiene kits we made. I am hoping that we can make sure to emphasize how small steps such as making a box can help someone.

I am aware that there are going to be challenges when working with the students or with being a leader in general. What I am most nervous about is having the 6th graders doubt who I am or what I am trying to share. Sometimes they are not going to be as excited about some of the issues or activities as I am - it's inevitable. I don't want to lose control of them or lose the importance of the issue with a lack of control or interest. Now how I do that - that will be the challenge and the experience!

Triangulated Learning

I remember learning about triangulated learning two years ago in my HSLI Mentor Preparation Class when Renee Sedlacek taught the class for a day. Initially, I just remembered the triangle and that each side represented a certain aspect of leadership. After refreshing myself about the triangle through the assigned reading in ID 315, I now remember that the three sides represent: traditional learning, peer learning, and service-learning.

In the reading, the article defined traditional learning through the context of instructor-led discussion of materials assigned to the students and listening to lectures. This reminds me a lot of what the standard education system in the United States is. Additionally, when I was in Argentina, this type of learning was emphasized even more. The assigned material is the most important part to this learning. For some people, this might be a great way to learn about an event or theory. However, this type of learning can be insufficient when learning about issues because the person may not really understand the conditions of the problem. For instance, people can talk about poverty and see homeless people on the streets, but they cannot really learn about what it is like to be poor by reading books and listening to teachers speak. It takes experiences to really understand the complexities of some issues. This could be in the form of actually hearing the first-hand experiences of someone else or doing service where the issue may be at large. These two alternatives to traditional learning are the other two sides of the triangle: experimental or service-learning and peer learning.

In my opinion, Wartburg does a really good job at bringing all three sides of the triangle together - that is one of the reasons that I love Wartburg. Of course, there are classes where we are assigned homework and many times we have to sit an listen to lecture (of course, there are a number of participatory classes as well). Service-learning is definitely promoted through the Orange Corps - Wartburg's Service Trip program. Students for groups in order to go serve communities across the nation and address their needs. It is through giving back and being in the various environments that the students get the opportunity to learn. Other organizations try to emulate the same learning style such as Habitat for Humanity, Best Buddies, and VAC. In terms of peer learning, one of my favorite programs at Wartburg is the High School Leadership Institute. Through this program, college students teach and mentor high school students about leadership and how they can take those lessons of leadership and apply them to their own service project at home. The high school students learn from college students - people who might be like them - about leadership. Then, they can apply those lessons in a service-learning manner.

For me, I think it is important to remember all of these various learning strategies when trying to teach people about a certain issue. Not everyone learns the same way, so sometimes taking another approach might be better than trying the same lesson over and over again. Additionally, in order to be an effective leader, it is essential to be able to adapt to various situations as well. Ultimately, education is important to leadership because then people know what the goal is or what they are fighting for. Therefore, to all leaders, it is important to remember each side of the triangle!

First Day of School!

Today was the day that we had all been waiting for. I was incredibly nervous as I approached Neumann. I knew that I was prepared and I knew my parts, but I still had a lot of jitters. Seeing Matt with our materials did calm me down for some reason. I knew that he was prepared and that together, we could do it. I believe that Matt and I have a nice chemistry and that helps me with my confidence.

As the bus pulled up, I realized that it was finally real - we were off to do what we have been talking about for the past two weeks. No turning back! It was a surprise to see that there weren't any students in the bus at first like we expected. When we first entered the school was the real surprise though. I had never been inside the middle school here in Waverly before. I felt like it could have either been the entry for a hotel or a Lifetime Fitness Health Center. Everything was shiny and orderly. As we entered the auditorium, I was amazed by the grandeur of everything, but I became excited to meet the kids for the first time. My adrenaline kicked in and I knew that I could do it (whatever "it" was).

I felt a little more comfortable after seeing the presentation of the projects from last semester. I didn't really have an idea of what the groups did. It was really neat to see the kids to get excited, but most importantly, I really enjoyed seeing how the kids were actively involved in service. Seeing the smiles in the photos encouraged me because it showed me that the students enjoyed the service that they were doing. The goal for me is to help the students to continue to enjoy the service that we do - even if they don't get to directly see the effects of their work. I think that might be the hardest part - making them see their contribution.

Overall, the lesson went pretty well. We made sure to set rules before we got started, and as Mandie told us, everything went pretty smoothly. There were some parts of the activity that the students really liked (the small group discussion about ways that we use water and what we would do if we didn't have water) and other parts that were a little harder to pay attention to (the descriptions of the various organizations that we are going to work with). I am a little bit disappointed because the students are not as excited to work with the organizations as I am. How could we change that so that the students want to partake in the change and get excited about it?

In the end, I realize that I made the right choice by doing community builders. I am ready for the challenge of sharing my passion with middle school students. Finally, I realize that I can relate to the 6th graders and that they really do (more or less) care about what we have to say.

In hindsight, there a couple aspects that we should change for next time: help clean up as a group after we finish, and plan more than we think we need. We didn't run out of activities, but we had a few extra minutes that I filled in by having Matt and I introduce ourselves a little more and let them know what we are involved in on campus. These students are involved in activities on campus and it is possible that I might see them around!

Community Builders

I am lucky to have been selected to be part of the community builders group. I am very happy to be part of the group. I was not sure if I wanted to be part of the ISP group because in the past, I have participated in several projects that have included working with non-profit organizations through creating my own service projects. Therefore, by being a part of community builders, I am doing something different which is exciting but also nerve-wracking. I have spent time working with children, but never in an educational context. The challenge for me will be to be able to make learning about leadership fun and educational. That's one of my goals, but I have only been able to work with youth and young adults so far. In order to better myself as a leader, I have to be able to work with various demographics. Additionally, by working with a variation of people, I can find with whom I like to work with. From there, I can start to focus on what is my passion.

I was a little intimidated listening to Mandie talking about how everything will be like with the 6th graders. For one, I have a hard time accepting criticism - even if it's constructive. The 6th graders are not afraid to let people know what they are thinking. It will be essential to take their feedback and accept it rather than be offended. Especially if it happens during class time. Additionally, there are two students with disabilities that are in our class and I haven't ever spent time working with children with disabilities. However, I know something important to remember is that they are children as well, they just might have a harder time getting some things done in comparison to one another. We just have to make sure that those kids are also involved in the activities as well.

In terms of the activities, I am not sure what to do. Of course, we have a basic lesson plan that we will use. However, at this point, I am unfair with what the level of 6th graders is! It's been a while since I have been a 6th grader or spent time with one. I am unsure if they'll like me or if I will be able to interact with them. Only time will tell though. I get to meet everyone for the first time on Thursday!

An MBTI Reflection as an INTJ

For starters, what is an INTJ? In short terms, an INTJ is defined as someone who has original minds and great drive for their own ideas and pruposes. Has long-range vision and quickly finds meaningful patterns in external events in fields that appeal to them, has a fine power to organize a job and carry it through. They are skeptical, critical, independent, and determined. Has high standards of competence and performance (MBTI). 

I took the MBTI two years ago and remember getting different results (ISTJ). Now that I have reviewed what an INTJ is, I feel like an INTJ better suits who I am. This feeling of security is even more reinforced after doing the session with Derek Solheim. For me, in certain situations, a decision may seem really easy to me for obvious reasons (in my opinions). However, other people may be focusing on a completely different perspective. I think that sometimes I get lost in my own opinions. I do think that I am very capable and get tasks done effectively so that I forget to consider other options. Additionally, I forget about the feelings who I am working with. Therefore, sometimes it may seem that I am very commanding when I am not trying to be. More importantly, I better understand who I am and who I can be as a leader. When reading the descriptions, I knew that I did act similar to an INTJ, but I would not have noticed some of the qualities I have without them being pointed out.

By understanding the way that I work and the ways that other people are different from me, I can better trying to work with others without getting frustrated. This is going to be especially important when working in groups. At times, people be an opposite to me. That does not mean that we are going to have a destructive relationship. For one, it means that each of us can being various aspects to the relationship with one another and in the classroom. We are both going to bring new ideas to the floor that the other might not think about or normally consider. This will be helpful in teams because if one person struggles with doing one part, it may be possible that the other knows what to do.