Paradigm – your perception, point of view, or the way you see the world.
Paradigm Shift – the change in one’s perspective concerning the way we perceive things. They are two different things: changing the way we see things around us and changing the things around us.
Through our work as a Leader in Me school over the past four years, the 5 core paradigms have helped shift our thinking to develop the whole child, all scholars have genius, everyone can be a leader, all change starts with me, and teachers and staff empower scholars to lead their own learning.
This year, fifth grade scholars were invited to share their learning and reasoning around the 5 core paradigms. As you read their words, I invite you to imagine what our future can be. Think about “what can be” when they are leading the way.
“Change is important to me because it is basically how we became a lighthouse school and it is our school’s leader in me story. Since I have been here all my school years I’ve seen the change and difference we have made as a school. The biggest change is how people act and how they use the habits. Change is something my school has been doing for the past four years. Change isn’t – we have to change, it’s up to me to change. Change is a big thing that everyone can do. Change starts with me.”- Naya
“Leadership is important to me because it helps me become who I am today. After two years of being at this school, I see lots of leadership and even I show leadership, too. People synergize and work together, demonstrating the 8 habits. Our school believes scholars can be leaders, not just a few, but every one of us can become a leader and IS a leader. I hope that more scholars come to this school and they become leaders. When we became a lighthouse school, everyone being a leader was a big part in it.” – Chloe
“Motivation is important for me because not reacting and choosing kind is important. This is important to me because if I track my progress I will be successful and move on to 6th grade. Our teachers help us understand our gifts and help us own our learning. My WIGS (Wildly Important Goals) are one example of how I own my learning. My personal WIG is to get 100% on each of my tests. My action steps are to practice reading and to practice my math facts. I track them every day. I have been getting 95% I am almost there!” – Jackie
“Education is important because it is the start of our future. Education helps us learn. Leader in Me has lots of education and our 8 habits. Education is delectable because it lets us shine in our own way and helps us become our own leader. Education helps us develop the whole person with us. Education gives us knowledge of the world around us and changes it into something better. It develops in us a perspective of looking at life. It helps us build opinions and have points of view on things in life. Education helps us to interpret things rightly and apply it in real life. For education is important for the progress of a nation which means we must equip ourselves with a good education. In conclusion education is self-empowerment.” – Amanda
“Potential I chose this because potential is important so that scholars know teachers believe in every one of us and not just a few scholars. Not just a few scholars are smart, we are all smart in our own way. No one is the same because potential makes leadership easier and helps kids know they have friends they can count on and knowing that they are smart.”- Emily
With these and many other amazing scholars leading the way – we do have HOPE!
Hope – a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
Comments 2
Thank you Jen for sharing this!!!! Wow. Love it! So powerful. Emily wrote-“Potential- I chose this because potential is important so that scholars know teachers believe in every one of us and not just a few scholars.” As teachers, this is something we really need to be mindful of…it has the power to be the most damaging in education if we don’t see the value and contribution of each and every scholar. The importance of having the scholars share in this way cannot be reiterated enough. This type of scholar engagement provides our young people with a sense of belonging, positive relationships and improved self-esteem. This can only be achieved when our kiddos are active contributors in their school community; these are significant protective factors that support their mental health and well-being now and well into the future. So awesome Dr. Robinson!!
Amazing! These kids are so inspirational! So many of their quotes could be refrigerator magnets
Love, love. I teach in a Leader in Me school and I am a true believer in the power of this program in an elementary school. Thanks for the glimpse inside your school and the thinking of these amazing youth!