Month: April 2016

By Lauren Spencer

 
   As a leader at Berkeley High, I define leadership as a team of students working as hard to better the school and it’s environment. Leadership is about using our knowledge as students and using the information we obtain from working with our peers to assist us in coming up with plans to make the campus safe and fun. This year, I observed students of all grade levels become friends because of their classes. This happened because classes such as Spanish and Afro-Haitian Dance combined students of all grades. During class, teachers encourage students to get to know each other resulting in friendships. It is common for students of different grade levels to get to know each other outside of school but it happens more often on campus. One morning in the beginning of the school year, I noticed a girl in my dance class talking to someone else. When the bell rang, my teacher began class by having us introduce each other to one another, yet again, to someone new. I watched as the students nervously introduced themselves but was immediately became happy when I observed the girl, a Sophomore talking to a Freshman girl (both in different small schools), laughing while telling her that she’d like to have lunch one day. Today, the girls are very good friends and you can tell they care about each other. This friendship and others like it are very important to me because it can help with decision making on plans such as the Student Bill of Rights and what the design team is working on to create a more diverse and unsegregated campus. It can create a stronger bond between students because they won’t feel that they must be divided by grade and small school. With my experience and observations I would define leadership as students using our knowledge and using the information we obtain from working with our peers (of all different grades and small schools) to assist us in coming up with plans to make the campus safe, fun and more like a community.

By Maren Frye

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines leadership as “the capacity to lead.” However, as a leader at Berkeley High, I think it entails much more than that. Leadership means that you take charge of a situation, that you strive to help people, and that you use your position to make a change. A true leader will recognize the opinions and values of their compatriots and make those people’s voices heard. Here at Berkeley High, I’ve observed that leaders are willing to stand up for what’s right and carry on, even when they don’t succeed. For instance, recently the freshman leadership team organized a dance for all freshmen and sophomores. Unfortunately, the dance had to be canceled. However, at our next meeting, we were already discussing ways to use the decorations we had bought for the dance for a new and exciting activity. This was because the leadership team is a group of committed, hardworking students. When something doesn’t go our way, we don’t let that stop us. We just keep on trying to make the school a better place. This is something I’ve also noticed outside school about many leaders. If they don’t get a bill passed or  rally organized on the first try, that doesn’t mean they just give up. They will try, again and again, to accomplish their goals. For example, it took Gandhi over 20 years to free India from the British rule. He suffered through countless jailings, fasting almost to the point of death, long marches, and his wife dying while imprisoned with him. But he never gave up. He never stopped fighting for what he believed in until he won, and India was its own country again.

Knowing that leaders never surrender to failure has inspired me to follow in their footsteps. If I am ever in a position where I am considering giving up, I will remember what I have seen this year from my leadership team and what I have learned about world leaders. This will motivate me to keep going, to not concede defeat. So, will all of this knowledge I now possess, I think I will add to my previous definition of leadership: it also means not giving up. It means carrying on, even when you’ve given up all hope. It may mean sacrificing yourself for the good of others. But above all, it means that you don’t accept failure: it means resilience.

Alicia Sieu

What is Leadership?
Even when I was in middle school I was involved in student government, that drove me to be involved in leadership at Berkeley High. As a leader, I define leadership as a unified, passionate and motivated group of leaders. We want to see change at our school, we want to be involved in the process. In order for people to get motivated and passionate we need a voice. Leaders don’t follow. They are the ones that step up and create a role model for others. Leadership allows people to get their voices heard. Leadership allowed me to become part of the school and understand how things run. As a leader, I think we executed many successful things this year. We had a successful unity day, we came as a school and had a walk out and we had multiple smaller events. I think leadership can happen anywhere, but someone has to step up and become the person others follow. We can be leaders outside of school, you just need to be that one person to be the first leader. Whether you are volunteering or a random act on the street, you can be a leader. Leaders can come from any situation, you just have to notice it and be the person to step up. Anybody can be a leader. Leaders are not only in the school environment. For example, we see that people like Alecia, Damani and other individuals showed their leadership through the walk out. They were angry and pissed off and through that they showed leadership. They led the majority of high school students on a protest and wanted people to be aware of the racist actions. They were the ones to create a successful, nonviolent protest. I can apply this information in the future because I know when I am angry and really passionate I can become the person people follow. I define leadership as a person or group that wants to see change happen. Leaders are everywhere. Even if you are a quiet individual you can be a leader, anybody can be a leader.

By Eli Kane

As a leader at Berkeley High School I define leadership as an attribute possessed by people who have the ability to be engaged, confident, and aware. So far my short time at BHS has taught me many things about being a leader. Being part of the freshman leadership team, I have been able to observe upperclassmen, teachers, and my peers be leaders. I have learned many things from watching, but one memory stands out above them all. I remember it was during spirit week, and Mr. V was playing music during lunch. At first, I observed many students stand timidly around the music, as though each one of them was waiting for someone else to make a move. Then out of nowhere a crowd of people ran up to the senior steps and started dancing. They had so much energy and enthusiasm as they jumped up and down to the beat of the music. Now, all of the students who were scared to dance at first, had joined them and were dancing like crazy. While that group of students may not have realized it, they were being leaders. They were engaged in the music and the spirit; they were confident enough to go up in front of everyone and dance; and they had the awareness to realize, that if no one else was going to make the first move, then they were going to. If it wasn’t for them nothing would have happened at all. I see this type of leadership happening everywhere. For example, when it comes to sports, one person may be going harder than everyone else, but in doing that, they are motivating their peers to match them. In the future, I will take this valuable lesson I learned and apply it to my everyday life. Like public speaker John Maxwell once said, “leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” This quote represents exactly how those students were leading, and how I would like to lead for the rest of my life

Eliza Smith

Leadership is a very valued skill. These days, it seems like everyone is looking for people with “leadership qualities”. Whether it’s colleges, sports teams, or employers, everyone seems to assume that leadership is a good thing. While I do not disagree that leadership skills are useful (I’ve spent three years on school leadership for a reason), it’s important to remember that it’s what you do with those skills that counts.

Let’s take Donald Trump for example (because who else is anyone talking about). His success indicates rather strong leadership skills. People feel as though they can relate to him, he has successfully unified and organized a large group of people for a cause, and he has even inspired people to take independent action on multiple separate occasions. In  these vague terms, he sounds great — a wonderful leader of the people. However, what an evaluation of his leadership skills alone does not demonstrate is the actual effects that Donald Trump is having with his “wonderful” leadership skills. Let’s be more specific: people find Trump relatable because he has voiced their most despicable biases, the cause which Trump has unified so many people behind is one of hatred and ignorance, and the actions which people have been inspired to take on his behalf have largely been violent. When these facts are added to the description, the idea that Trump is a great leader is less intuitive, at least in my opinion. However, whether or not you support Donald Trump is not actually that important to the point of this article. The goal of the Donald Trump example is to illustrate that it takes more than leadership skills to make a great leader. What defines a leader is not their leadership skills but rather, how they use them. So as we are privileged to learn and develop our leadership skills through our leadership teams, it’s important to remember that “with great power comes great responsibility”. As student leaders we have the responsibility to use our leadership skills now, and in future leadership positions, to do the best that we can to support those whom we are honored to lead. A leader exists to serve.

Diamond, Jeremy, and Theodore Schleifer. “Trump Rally in Chicago Postponed as Protesters, Supporters Clash.” CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.

By Tara Steckler
As a leader at Berkeley High, I define the essence of leadership as the ability to use your leverage and power in the school community to work with your peers and create a systematic way of achieving your goals. An old Welsh proverb says, “He that would be a leader must also be a bridge.” This means to say that being a leader is not making decisions alone, even if you truly believe they are the right decisions. Instead, being an effective leader is facilitating discussions with those around you and listening to multiple perspectives on the same topic. I believe that this is definitely the case with Berkeley High Leadership. Through 2nd period ambassadors visiting classes, announcements, and reaching out to students, our leadership team has managed to decrease transparency and encourage students to fight to have their voices heard on campus. I believe this happened this year due to our fantastic executive leaders of the leadership team and all of the time, energy, and passion they poured into their crucial jobs. If a leader is uninterested in their responsibilities or negative about their jobs, there is no way that they could lead a productive team.  So, using the knowledge I have collected this year on leadership, in the future, I hope to be an example of what constitutes an effective leader in school, sports, and extracurriculars. More importantly, I hope to share my discoveries with my peers so that they too can become stronger leaders themselves and better our community step by step.

By Nava Bearson

Larry King, an American television and radio host once said, “I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.”

I believe that listening is integral to leadership. Listening develops meaningful relationships, allows for navigation of complex group dynamics and enables problem-solving. Through active listening, a leader can promote understanding and encourage collaboration. In addition, sensitivity to others allows a leader to recognize when to lead and when to push others to lead.  

To me, authentic leadership starts with listening and then evolves to advocating for causes that make the community stronger. I aspire to effectuate change by constantly listening, learning and taking action.

This year I observed a growing sense of unity at Berkeley High. The Black Student Union led a united student body in taking a stand in response to the hate crime committed on campus. The student body set the tone for how the administration should respond. I know that I, and so many others, felt so proud to be part of this community of student activists.

In addition, the amount of school spirit at sporting and artistic events increased significantly. Students are coming out to support their peers doing what they love. I know that students feeling supported and respected makes a huge difference in their academic success and wellbeing.
In the future, I will recognize the importance of building community wherever I go. A more unified community promotes the success of individuals and the community as a whole. This leads me to define leadership as advocating on behalf of others to make a difference on causes that benefit everyone.

Julianna Figueroa

As a leader in Berkeley High, I define leadership within the Berkeley High School community as an organized team that moves towards a positive change for a community as a whole. Then again, it is important to realize that there are many other definitions for leadership, and for leaders. Kevin Kruse, in an article from Forbes, “What Is Leadership?” (2013), describes Peter Drucker’s  definition of a leader; “The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers.” I happen to find this true, but a leader has so much power, and can make of their leadership whatever they desire. Leaders have the power to influence the minds of people, and I believe that this can be not only be positive, but negative. For example Adolf Hitler was a powerful person that influenced people to kill millions of Jews. Leadership is what one makes of it, but the leader’s “followers” play a huge role because without them there exists no leaders. “Followers” are the fuel of a leader, they are the leaders power. This year, what I observed in the perspective of a leader was the hostility within the environment of Berkeley High School. I personally have never had many friends nor have been considered as “popular”, I have my own personality… loud, awkward, and somewhat annoying (to an extent). I have noticed how classmates speak about me, loudly (behind my back), and even to my face. I have noticed the lack of acceptance between classmates, and the ignorance of some. I have noticed the lack of positive leadership in the halls of Berkeley High, and the aura of a negative attitude lurking. As a deputy in the sophomore class of the “all student body” leadership team, I feel that there are “bright” leaders that shine and that can be apart of the team. And I feel that there are leaders that can persuade their “followers” towards a positive change in the community.

By Kaili Meier

As a leader at Berkeley High, I define leadership as the ability to take initiative and contribute to a part of something that is bigger than just the individual’s role at Berkeley High. Being a leader does not always mean that you are the loudest person on campus, but it means that you take the initiative to make the campus a better and safer environment for all students to succeed. It is easy for many students to feel lost on campus since there are so many of us so it is important for student leaders to help create events like the Student Summit and the Academic Achievement Awards so people have the chance to express their voices and be recognized for hard work and ambition. I also define leadership as providing support for students to catalyst their own visions for the school. For example, leadership is sometimes about being an ally and listening to the voices of student groups like GSA or Black Student Union.

This photo courtesy of http://www.its.utmb.edu/images/collaborative_table.png, and represnts leadership because everyone has something to contribute whether it be a small suggestion or a large scale vision.

This year as a leader, I observed how I can personally affect my peers. Through my position, I learned how to organize an event and recognize students for their hard work. During the Achievement Awards, I watched people’s’ faces light up as they walked to the stage and heard the teacher’s’ praise of their determination and grit over the course of the semester. It was really rewarding to see others be recognized, since a lot of people at BHS feel that they are overlooked.

I think this event happened because I had two great people helping me plan it, Simelia and Amber, and we all really put a lot of work and effort into the day. We wanted to make sure that students knew that people were aware of their work and getting to meet people from the Newcomer program and BTA was really cool. It wasn’t a group of students who would normally all talk together and altogether it was a positive event that made me realize how much it can mean to someone to be recognized.

The aspect of school leadership that I am going to discuss is going to be the event that I was most largely involved in. The awards took place in the Little Theater and students from all small schools were awarded. The awards were handed out and students came up to the stage to hear what the teacher had to say and receive their award. My co hosts, Simelia and Amber were extremely dedicated to the event and volunteered their time to making the day really special for the students in attendance.

I will apply this information in the future to remind myself that even though it may take the extra step, or I might want to not put 100% into what endeavor it may be, I always need to be fully committed to what I am doing because I have a responsibility in my position to see things through. It was really accomplishing to organize the awards and see everyone really happy afterwards.
With all of these experiences and observations in mind, I would define leadership as taking initiative to give back to your surrounding community and doing your part in ensuring that your environment is a place where everyone feels valued and appreciated.

Renee Revelorio-Keith

As a leader at Berkeley High, I define leadership as the responsibility and opportunity to advocate for others besides yourself. Leaders are elected, appointed, and encouraged by those around them to be representatives of all Berkeley High School students. Leadership has power and influence over the structures at the school and the opportunities available to students. It is imperative that us as a leadership team use our power to advance the needs and wants of the community, not just our own agendas. For that reason, we must sit down and listen to what people at the school are frustrated about, what they enjoy, and what they hope Berkeley High will become. It’s our job as leaders to make these hopes come to true, and to improve upon the systems at Berkeley High so that every student feels safe and comfortable enough to go out and make opportunities for themselves at the high school.

Leadership is also about creating community. As we’ve seen in the past, Berkeley High isn’t always the friendliest place for newcomers, for freshmen, for people with disabilities, people of color, women, people with different gender identities, sexual orientations, etc. It is our job to make sure that not only do we not perpetuate the exclusive and sometimes hateful actions taken by individuals at the school, but that we also are active in creating spaces where people feel safe and supported. For example, after the hate crime earlier this year, many black people at Berkeley High felt unsafe and disrespected. Hundreds of students were publicly threatened on campus, and felt hurt by the actions of a Berkeley High student. It is situations like these that create divides in the school. Luckily, the Black Student Union decided to step up as leaders of the school and organize a walkout and a set of demands in order to promote solidarity and unity, in order to create more community where we were severely lacking. That it what a leader does. A leader brings people together, allows them to feel valued, encourages them to reach their own potential. A leader creates safe spaces, spaces for learning and accepting one another. As a member of Executive Team Leadership, it’s important that we focus our efforts on building that community within the Small Learning Communities, within each grade, and among the people of our one school.