Linear students learn leadership skills
Chaelyn Newton, an eight-grader, speaks with other students from Linear Leadership Academy during the Leaders for the Future student service learning leadership development program conducted by Bonsting/Leadership Development, headquartered in Columbia, Maryland. / Jim Hudelson/The Times
Leadership is more than just a part of Linear Leadership Academy's name.
Principal Sheryl Nix said that's one of the many reasons she was so excited her school is the first in Louisiana chosen to participate in the nationally recognized Bonstingl Leaders for the Future program, a service-learning program designed to create tomorrow's leaders in communities around the country.
Through a grant from State Farm Insurance, John Jay Bonstingl, creator of the program, spent Monday and Tuesday at the middle school training about 80 students on what it takes to be a true leader and arming them with the tools and skills to create their own projects designed to make their schools and communities better.
"This gives kids the opportunity to experience something they may have never done before and to play a proactive part in the bettering of their school and the community in which they live," Bonstingl said. "Amid all of the concerns about testing and standards, that's really the missing piece in much of American education."
During the activity, students divided into teams and made plans for projects ranging from early morning tutoring on campus to beautification ventures.
"As adults, so often we assume kids will be looking for ways to increase recreational time or are thinking of how to better their time outside of school, but so many of the kids I've seen over the last two days have wanted to do things to better their education and improve their school," Rep. Patrick Williams said. "This proves our students are actively thinking about their future and how to make their community and their school a better place if given the chance."
Justice Mitchell, an eighth-grader at Linear, said she enjoyed getting to work in her group and think of ways to improve student achievement in her school.
"We want to make our school better, so our project is to create a study hall for each grade during the day to give the kids with better grades a chance to tutor students that aren't doing so well," she said.
Bonstingl will be back at the school in four weeks to check on the progress the students have made on their projects and offer any additional advice students may need to make their projects a reality.Rich Notes: This is the third time I have seen working results of what Jay helps children find in themselves. He is amazing, but the kids, are the real winners here. If any of you can find some folks that would like to see Jay work at a school in your area, please let me know. By the way, some of you will recognize the bald head showing at the bottom of the picture.
Rich
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