My idea of leadership in elementary school comes down to one word: dominance; Dominance by teachers, parents, friends’ parents, older classmates, siblings, and authoritative peers. During the ages of elementary school, there is little freedom from any authority figure- you do as you are told, or you get in trouble. The authority figure, or leader, has all the control in the relationship and there are consequences if you do not bow to their authority. For example, if you disobey your parents as a kid, you are punished; if you do not do as the leader in your group of friends wishes you to do, you are ostracized.
This view on leadership has definitely changed since then. Now I see an effective leader as someone who works with the group’s best intentions in mind. This is harder to see as a child but has become clearer to me as I grow older. An effective leader is respected, not because of their dominance but because of their caring authority, wisdom, and respect of their followers.
The shift in my views began in 5th grade. I had a Sunday school teacher who told us if we wanted to draw or whisper in class, we could; I was absolutely dumbfounded at his permission and I rarely did either of those during his class because I wanted to please him. I had other church teachers on Wednesday nights who would spend a lot of the time listening to us girls talk- talk about everything. They rarely offered their opinions or judgments and it was a very safe place to share. At that point in life, almost no one else was allowing those same freedoms, I was still dominated over by peers and authority figures, yet those three teachers showed me how you can respect a leader and be respected by a leader. They made all the difference.
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