How do we see our leaders?

Leadership can be a birthright, sought after, a natural progression or thrust upon someone. For most national leaders, it is  a position that is pursued, often vigorously and never on one’s own. By its very definition, in a democracy, leaders need the support of the people. So you would naturally assume that they would be popular. But are they? Do the people really respect or admire their elected leaders? 

How do Americans regard the importance of their presidents and political leaders? Overall, highly. Also regarded with high respect are the presidents' wives, even by their title, First Lady.

When asked “What man or woman living today in any part of the world do they admire most?” in Gallup’s Most Admired Man and Woman Poll conducted at the end of just about every year since 1948, for most years the most admired man is the sitting President of the United States and the most admired woman is or has been the First Lady of the United States.

The only exceptions to this or other politicians in the list in 70 years are:

1946, 1947, 1951 - Douglas MacArthur (US Army General)
1951 – Sister Elizabeth Kenny (Australian nurse & pioneer of Polio therapy)
1980, 2000  – Pope John Paul II
1980, 1986, 1995, 1996 – Mother Teresa
2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 – Oprah Winfrey

I wonder what this list would look like in other countries, or in particular, Australia. What type of person would consistently rank Number 1? Political leaders? Prime Ministers? Celebrities? Sportspeople?
Well you may be surprised. In a 2013 Morgan Poll conducted in Australia, Australians didn’t even choose an Australian. But they did have politicians ranking highly in their list.

 

Similar results occur in subsequent polls of the same nature. The validity of any poll is questionable and when this poll was released in 2013 there was the usual outcry of disagreement, particularly with former Prime Minister  Julia Gillard polling so highly. But what the poll did show was that the answers weren’t overrun by sports stars or figures from pop culture.

So maybe our politicians are seen as real leaders by the Australian public, despite the best efforts of the media to discredit them and our political party system. After all, harmony and respect for leadership doesn’t sell newspapers or provide a provocative 30 second sound grab for TV and radio. 

 

Perhaps we should embrace our leaders and occasionally look for the good they do and respect the office of Prime Minister a little more as a nation. Perhaps they should embrace it themselves and stop playing the ratings game and using political speak because they are afraid to be themselves. There is a solid basis in Australia in support for strong leadership.

The implications for developing strong student leadership lies in the notion that people do respect their elected leaders. They also respect people who genuinely care about their world and the people within it. 

Photo Gallery

Here are some more moments captured on my travels.

Pennsylvanian Farmland

Detail of the Capitol Building, Washington DC

Patriotism and remembrance at the World Trade Center

Washington Monument at Sunset

The National Gallery of Art,
one of the many official buildings in Washington DC done in classical style

Leadership and the US Presidency

Leadership is an interesting entity. I refer to it as an entity because it seems to have a life of its own. So varied in its existence and so powerful and influencing, yet so vulnerable. And leadership doesn’t get any bigger than the presidency of the United States of America.

“…on any given day he might have to make life-and-death decisions, propose policies that will change the course of the country, and then greet a group of elementary schoolchildren.”  -  Smithsonian Institution

So who would take on such a role? Ordinary people who start out wanting to make a change, a change for the better. Regardless of anything else, to go through the American political system and rise to the role of president requires a commitment, passion and resilience which are already, admirable qualities of leadership.

The Whitehouse: home to every American President other than George Washington

And what do the American people want from their president and what qualities do they both admire and expect? They expect their presidents to do more than just govern. They expect them to lead; to provide comfort and inspiration in times of crisis and as Abraham Lincoln put it, to appeal to “the better angels of our nature.”

 The hat worn by Abraham Lincoln when he was assassinated. To see such objects in person, you get a somewhat comforting sense that these names you've heard of of all your life, were actually real humans.

Uniform worn by George Washington

In a patron survey at the Smithsonian Institution Museum of American History, never is this more evident. Only 2 simple questions are put to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who pass through. The results speak for themselves and give hope to the role of president and a sense of quiet reassurance to those visiting.

For Question 1, the people have reinforced the need for strong leadership of the nation above all. Interesting to note how low the Party Leader ranks in importance.

For Question 2, it’s no surprise that the 2 highest ranking presidents are the ones who are credited most to, and have become national symbols of, freedom and democracy. This is very much a part of the lexicon of an American upbringing.

So what can we learn from this about how we prepare our students, our young leaders, the leaders of our future? That leadership is about more than having power. Leadership is about showing guidance and support; sometimes through decision making but largely through example.

The United Nations

If there’s one place in the world where a voice can be heard then surely that place is the United Nations. And never more loudly has a student’s voice been heard than when young Pakastani student Malala Yuosafzai  addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations;  the youngest person ever to do so. Her story is amazing and needed to be told. But she didn’t dwell on her own misfortunes of being shot by the Taliban for wanting to go to school, rather she addressed the worlds’ leaders and spoke to them on an even level about peace, fairness and education for all. This message she still delivers today, literally, as on TV tonight with none other than Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. Check out her amazing answer to this question:

http://www.9news.com/story/life/events/2015/03/26/malala-yousafzai-to-speak-in-denver/70484204/

The United Nations is a unique form of leadership. While it wields varying degrees of power, it does a lot of good that goes largely unnoticed. Well known lately for it’s peace-keeping efforts, The United Nations changes the lives of many thousands of children around the world. One of the ways it does this, is through the provision of education for all. The UN’s Convention on the Rights of a Child is a voice for children, and through their advocacy for education in their charter, allows students in return, to have a voice of their own.

 

In visiting the United Nations, you get a sense of the majesty of humankind and its resilience to find solutions and peace in a sometimes confusing and challenging world. You may walk past a Korean tour guide or an Egyptian in the gift shop while passing by an African diplomat in fine military garb. There are many languages heard, skin colours seen and cultures represented through costume and artwork. But the one thing that breaks through it all is that the nations of the world are united when they come together in the General Assembly Hall. A room that you’ve seen many times on the news, in photos and movies but are struck by a ’moment’ when you experience it first-hand and wonder at the conversations, decisions and dramas that have and will continue to be played out there.

Yes, voices are heard at the United Nations and hopefully in the future, more student voices, for they seem to bypass much of the rhetoric and political point-scoring and get to the heart of a matter, simply and succinctly.  

Photo Gallery

I hope you enjoy some of these photos I have taken on my travels.
Check back from time to time to see some more.

Statue of Liberty looking out over Manhattan 

Boating on Central Park

The Guggenheim Museum

A yummy set of lights on Broadway

Clouds rolling in on the Freedom Tower

The Museum of Mathematics

There's a Museum of Mathematics? Yes, right here in New York. But it may not be what you would expect. At least not what I expected. I thought I would see glass showcases and hand-written formulas for something to do with Pythagorus or maybe even some early clacualting machines in all of their brass glory, possibly even a shrine to Steam Punk.

But no. The Musuem of Mathematics, or MoMath is a fully interactive hands on mathematical experience. It encourages the patrons to engage in an activity then explore the maths behind it, although I suspect some of the younger kids look at the bells and whistles then move to the next set of inviting gadgetry. It's very similar to Questacon in Canberra, though not as big and focused mainly on maths, with a bit of physics thrown in.

Staffed mostly by Maths grads or college students, they are only too eager to have a dialogue about the wonders of the maths behind the exhibits, like why the square-wheeled tricycle is easy to peddle or why some shapes are more efficient than spheres to act as rollers beneath a heavy object. One helpful guide told me about the imbalances of the Mathematics curriculum and that it is "too heavy on number" and "not everyone's good at number" so this, in his mind, redressed that imbalance somewhat.

At the end of my experience was the manditory gift shop. I was actually a bit afraid to go in. I feared I would need extra luggage to carry back to Australia, all of the maths goodies on offer. I managed to restrict myself to 3 items only and those being relatively flat-packed.

All in all, The Museum of Mathematics was a worthwhile experience, though not the type I expected. I would love to take my class there, and watch as they had authentic mathematical experiences, chatted with dudes that loved Maths and had a hands-on mathemagical extravaganza!

http://momath.org

Pono - An Amazing School Community

My first school visit was to a newish school with big ideals. Known simply as Pono, it caters for younger students, up to 8 years at the moment, and as it grows, so too shall their age.
Involving a subway trip to Harlem, a unique adventure in itself, the school was situated on the bottom level of an apartment building, about 5 blocks from the station. I was warmly greeted by people who genuinely wanted to share their vision: 

Pono is an independent, democratic, and outdoor center for children set up with the purpose of immersing children in stimulating environments and harmonious learning communities where each child’s interests and natural, innate desire to learn are cherished and nurtured as the children are guided to becoming life-long learners, critical thinkers, and balanced human beings.

The environment was clean, uncluttered and most evidently student centred. I was fortunate enough to be there on the day they had their planning meeting, to set the learning for the following term. Each student’s interests were outlined, written on a chart and then the other students had the opportunity to dip in or out of these interests for themselves.

There are no chairs at Pono, a decision made by the children. People sit on the floor and small tables and blocks of wood adorn some parts of an otherwise expanse of polished wooden floor.

By the end of the meeting there was a list that would be taken and coordinated into a learning schedule. No ideas were refused and each and every one of them came from the passions, interests and desires of the students.

The role of teachers is to nurture, guide, and support the interests and natural progress of the children. More importantly, they teach by example how to be socially conscious; how to pursue learning journeys; and how to live harmoniously in a community where one’s freedom ends when it interferes with the freedom of others.

Many parents stayed to watch and not one of them interrupted or influenced their children. They were committed to a procedure that they had chosen and respected.

Learning happens everywhere, and it happens best when children are immersed in authentic environments and situations, rather than through rote or forced instruction in rigid artificial settings. We take full advantage of the riches and resources available in New York City: We hold most sessions in parks and gardens, museums, theaters, art studios and so on. We create partnerships with different educational and cultural organizations.

The school is brave. It fits somewhere between the Free Schools and the Democratic Schools here in New York. It is most definitely visionary. It’s not for everyone but it works for those who have chosen to work there, send their children there and to assist in the learning of free-thinking citizens of the future.

Children and adults learn together and from each other, despite presumed or identified abilities, disabilities, challenges, and labels.

Pono is without doubt a school that engages in the belief and trust of the notion of Student Voice and not just in a mission statement or a glossy website, but in what they do everyday that they step foot into their special space.

New York

Arriving in New York, you get a sense of how much you think you know the place through popular culture. There's no doubt that there is a familiarity about it, a little like stepping onto a movie set, one very big movie set.

I'm very much looking forward to playing a part in this amazing city, even if only a small, walk-on part.
Above is the spectacular Manhattan while below is the beautiful Central Park, NYC.

Welcome to my blog. Here, I will let everyone know about my travels, discoveries, research and wonder, observations and experiences.

All photos on this blog were taken by me. Where I have captured others' work in an image, no copyright infringement intended.