Looking Back

SCHOOL IS ALMOST OUT!!!

As exciting as those four words may sound...I must admit that I would prefer to be a high-schooler for a couple more months. I'm not saying that I want to keep writing papers, or spend more time studying and completing homework assignments, but if I could stay in school just to be involved in all of my extracurricular activities I would be in favor of school year round!

It's hard to imagine what my life will be like next year. No more getting up early so that I can be at school by 7:15 to make sure student council is on track with everything. No more hectic homerooms of announcements and motions and attendance and pep talks. No more staying after school to finish up some last minute class officer necessities. Instead, I will be completely on my own working with different individuals, with different advisors, and with different goals in mind.

However, I must say that as I look back on my 13 years of public education, I could not be happier. Elementary school was rough for me because I was so shy and had a hard time making friends, but by the end of fourth grade I was performing in the talent show, offering to read to the class, and even had my first boyfriend. Two of my favorite teachers were from my elementary school years. Then I went on to middle school where things took a downhill slope. I refer to those four years as the "awkward years." Everyone was both physically and mentally awkward. I made friends but little did I know that I wouldn't keep those same friends through highschool. The minute I became a freshman I knew that I wanted to begin defining myself as an individual. Just like most freshmen, I became more independent and got myself involved with as many activities as I could. I joined the girls' tennis team, sang in the choir, performed in the school musical, danced with the showchoir, became a leader within my class as class Historian, and was elected by my class as a representative in student council. As my 2 million minutes in highschool ticked away I made many choices. I went from class Historian to class Vice President, I took on the position of choreographer for the musical and showchoir, and I quit the tennis team so that I could fulfill my duties as Student Council President. However, I also made tough choices about dating, friendships, which classes to take, how hard I was going to work in those classes, and how I was going to treat those around me. I made it my responsibility to talk to as many of my peers as possible so that when I graduated I couldn't say that I didn't know everybody. Well let me say, as I look forward to graduation this week I can honestly say that I atleast recognize all 318 of my classmates. It just makes the whole experience so much more meaningful knowing that I am not just graduating as myself but I am graduating as a part of the class of 2008!

I look forward to a new beginning but I will forever be grateful for the opportunities and experiences I had through elementary school, middle school, and especially high school!

Reflection on NSLW

After a week of hard work, inspiration, and active involvement I feel confident saying that National Student Leadership Week was a success at South Western!

One of the elements to the week that made it really come to life was our leadership breakfast. At the breakfast the student leaders were recognized for their hard work and dedication to the high school. Our former Principal was also invited to give some words of encouragement. Let me just say, he was an inspiration to the entire group.

Mr. Quashnoc opened with a reflection on South Western's "Legacy of Leadership Development."He not only spoke about the development of our school, but he also spoke about the development of leadership within our school. He told us stories of ordinary South Western graduates doing extraordinary things for the betterment of their colleges, communities, and professions. 

Mr. Quashnoc also shared with us the core values of the South Western Culture in terms of "CAP."

  1. Commitment- He focused on the difference between being involved and being committed.

2. Attitude- He encouraged us to always have a positive attitude no matter what challenges we come up against.

3. Persistence- He told us we must never give up, and we must be courageous in all of our endeavors.

As Mr. Quashnoc began to wrap up what he was saying his intensity grew, his passion came to life, and his focus was strictly on the students. He concluded with four very powerful words, "Keep the Legacy Alive!!!"

Why Student Leadership?

National Student Leadership Week is approaching. April 14th-18th leaders all across the country will be celebrating the power of student leadership. But why?

Recognition:

Students are continually working to improve their schools and communities, and they should be recognized for that. When someone is designated "a leader" it becomes easy to get accustomed to the work they do and in turn, fail to recognize their accomplishments and successes. Everybody appreciates a "thank you" here and their or a random act of kindness; but, leaders, especially, won't persist on being acknowledged. They're the ones making things happen, so they're the ones who should be commended.  

Encouragement:

Being a student leader, I know how it feels to have everyone just assume you will take care of everything. This could get dangerous at times when student leaders begin thinking that they aren't really contributing as much as they would like because everything just becomes routine. Being a leader becomes a chore when students don't take the time to embrace their accomplishments. More encouragement from peers, teachers, parents, and community members is needed when leadership becomes more of a job versus a service. Encouragement can help student leaders to realize the impact they really do have on their schools and communities.

Motivation:

Participating in National Student Leadership Week is also a way to motivate other students to become active leaders. By seeing how appreciated leaders really are someone might want to step up to the plate and make considerable contributions themselves. 

Beginning My Project

As I have begun tackling the challenges our music program is currently facing, I have already established my goals and my plan of action. My next task is to get feedback from the music staff, music students, and administration. I have decided to do interviews to organize everybody's thoughts. After the interviews have been conducted I will carefully analyze the results and hopefully begin to identify a common problem. 

So far, I have not experienced any challenges within my project, but I have been working independently. I understand that this isn't always going to be the case. This next week I am going to have to sit back and listen while remaining neutral to the subject until I can collect all of my data. However, I am looking forward to speaking with my teachers and peers and blogging  about my experience.

"Do Schools Kill Creativity?"

Yesterday I watched a video at www.ted.com entitled "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" presented by Ken Robinson. Mr. Robinson stated that, "Creativity should be treated with the same status as intuity." He spoke about intelligence being : Diverse, Dynamic, and Distinct. He believes that schools aren't considering these three distinctions when establishing their goals and expectations for their students, and as he puts it, "we focus on our heads, not our bodies." He goes on to speak about the importance of art, music, and dance in an adolescents life. He believes that we should be focusing on the whole being and making something of that. When we focus just on the end result or, for example, our career, we aren't embracing everything we have to offer. Instead we are limiting our successes to a specific area of focus.

 

I definitely agree with Mr. Robinson. Intelligence is more than a perfect score on the SAT or a 4.0 GPA. It is being educated in a diverse array of subjects, being dynamic in the choices you make, and being distinct in who you are and who you wish to become. We can't mold adolescents into the "ideal student" and expect them to go on and succeed in life the way we view succession. Succeeding is different for everyone and we, as a society, should embrace that.

Mr. Robinson really put into perspective for me the impact that our schools have on us as individuals. We have come to value our education so much that it is the driving force behind everything. I don't necessarily believe that this is a bad thing, but I do believe that education allows for diversity, and it is up to our school systems to acknowledge that. We should be given the opportunity to succeed the way we have been created to succeed, whether this is through academics, art, music, dance, or drama. We still need to value our education, but we need to do so in its entirety not just in its ability to classify us all ass proficient according to state standards.

"If you're not willing to take a chance to be wrong, you will never create anything original." -Ken Robinson

Consistency Vs. Change

Too often do we, as a society, get caught up in consistency. As students, we get up in the morning, take a shower, get something to eat, head off to school, say the pledge of allegiance, listen to teachers' lectures, go to lunch, attend after school practices, come home, do some homework, some get on the computer, and go to bed. We do this so frequently that it becomes almost second nature to us. We no longer think about why we are pledging to our flag, or comprehend what our teachers have to say. Instead, we go about our daily lives without a purpose.

As a student who has come to learn the impact of change, I find myself always needing diversity in my day. I try to make each day a little different by the choices I make and the goals I set for myself. I now find myself looking for something to change, which I know is not always the best approach to something. When we don't change something that needs to be changed, we are in turn creating a bigger problem; but when we change something just for the sake of experiencing change, the result doesn't always turn out as positively.

A problem that I have noticed at my high school is the way our music program fits into our block scheduling. Currently, music takes place 4th period during the Spring semester. Because of the large number of students who take place in music the schedule has to be broken down even further on a day to day basis. An example being, the Women's Chorus and Symphonic Band rehearse Monday's and Thursdays. Anyone not in Women's Chorus or Symphonic Band must attend a study hall during those days. This creates controversy because many students feel that they could better spend their time in an academic class instead of in a study hall. 

After spending four years witnessing the effects of the music program I have come to acknowledge a problem that will continue to be a hindrance on both students and faculty unless something is done to benefit as many people as possible.

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" By: Sean Covey

After reading the 7 Habits book I have acquired a new understanding of what it means to be effective. The book focuses on...

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand then to Be Understood

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Of these seven habits I find my strongest to be Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind. Sean Covey says, "The paths you choose now can affect you forever." Ever since I can remember I have been living by this belief. I have watched people around me go down paths that I know I do not want to find myself on. Whether its my daily routine or my role as a leader I am continuously looking toward the future and basing my decisions off of my personal vision. My strength in this area could be looked at as a downfall in that sometimes I focus too much on the future and not enough on the present. But, overall I feel confident in saying that I am constantly beginning with the end in mind.

The habit that I will openly admit I need to spend more time on improving is Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw. I know that I am not alone because there are many leaders who fall into this category. I am constantly involved with something  and often feel that if I take time for myself I am being unproductive. I also know that the effects are the complete opposite. When I do get the chance to take just a few minutes for myself I become refreshed, rejuvenated, and ultimately perform better.

I find it interesting to look at people and try and pick out which habit they best represent. This has helped me relate to people within my council, within my extracurricular groups and within my school. 

No Child Left Behind

As our country continues to face worldwide problems economically, socially, and environmentally it makes perfect sense to be concerned with our future. However, this concern could be turned into confidence if we were to focus more on education within our country. The education we provide today will be what sets us apart from other countries in the future. A possible solution proposed by President Bush in 2001 was the infamous “No Child Left Behind Act.”  NCLB aims to improve the performance of primary and secondary schools by increasing the standards of states, school districts, and teachers. At first this sounds like an ideal program but here has been much controversy about NCLB because of its inability to test all students equally. Many individuals believe that teachers are now “teaching for the test.” Curriculums are no longer focusing on what is needed to be successful in life, but rather are focusing strictly on what is needed to be proficient in terms of NCLB. By doing this, we are lowering the standards for many students who are naturally above proficient. Our government needs to stray from the idea that everyone should be the same. We shouldn’t be trying to reach a happy medium. We should be looking at every student individually as a whole, not off of one test. If we are hiring highly qualified teachers like we are supposed to be doing it should be the teachers who are setting the standards and making improvements accordingly. 

My Role As A Leader

     As president of Student Council I have come to acknowledge myself as a leader and as someone who wants to make a difference in my school and community. I have learned first-hand how to work with members of the council, the executive board, my advisors, and the student body. Most importantly, however, I have learned more about myself and my personal contributions as a leader. There are times when I need to take the initiative and stay committed to a task, but there are also times when I need to delegate and put trust in my council-members to offer their commitment. Delegation has been one of the hardest jobs as president. I am so used to just doing, but now I must think of my council first and delegate accordingly. Overall, being president has been the most rewarding positions I have ever held. When I stand in front of the council, give basic instructions, and then watch them put their minds to work and accomplish their goals I realize just how important leadership is. It's not about how many leadership positions you hold, but instead it is about what you choose to do with those positions. A common misconception is that leaders are the ones who are successful. What is misunderstand is that a true leader takes what he or she knows and provides that information to others so that they can be successful. Leadership really is a service; and as Student Council President, the service I am able to give to council, to my school, and to my community is how I know I am being successful.