A Leader in Me!
One goal at Babler Elementary is to empower each child to become a leader in one way or another. All children are an "expert" at a skill that they can use to help others. Everyone is responsible for leading and sharing his/her strengths. As contributors, each is provided with ownership and a sense of belonging to the group. It is our job to help children identify that skill and build capacity among our students. To do this, Babler sends home a "Leader in Me" homeside activity. Students have a discussion with their parents at home about their strengths in school-related activities/areas. In primary grades, the homeside activity includes picture clues to help steer the conversation to skills other than "being nice"; students then write or draw a picture about how they could assist others with that skill. The homeside for grades 3-5 is more open-ended. Students simply write what they feel they are good at and how they can lead others with their abilities. Upon return to school, students discuss their strengths with their teacher and talk about how they can make a difference in their classroom and our school with their leadership abilities.