Since I feel like I have tried everything to get rid of my writer’s block, I thought that writing about my writer’s block might make me feel better. I have already warned everyone that my writing skills are not nearly as sharp as my speaking skills, so if you choose to read this, you’ve made your bed. Let’s see how this edited stream of consciousness goes.
One of my professional goals is to “Develop student leadership curriculum and programming that reinforces the ISOs of women of Heart, Faith, Courage, and Excellence.”
Since I arrived in 2017, I have tweaked the structure of our ASB (Associated Student Body) Council each year in an effort to accomplish my goal and to find the answer to the following question: how can we elevate student leadership from being about start to finish event planning to being about larger scale initiatives where events are a byproduct of long-term programs? A long and difficult question that brings up many issues.
When I started ASB consisted of 36 students. In the 2018-2019 school year, that number went down to around 30. Now, we have 24. I started shrinking the program because I remember in my first year that about two thirds of the girls said their primary role on ASB was to be “a helper”, and did not view themselves as leaders. I thought that having less girls would strengthen each girl’s individual role, would reduce an individual’s ability to hide from responsibility, and that everyone would rise to each occasion due to scarcity of woman power.
I have learned from sharing my experiences with faculty members that some of the experiences I have had are similar to those of classroom teachers. I learned that just because you make hiding more difficult, that means that some students will learn how to do it even better. I learned that when students are not given a “study guide” to planning an event that many students become paralyzed to not have the solution spoon fed to them. I learned that some students are so dedicated to looking good on their college apps that they will wake up before 6am to arrive to a class at 7:05am just to check a box.
And I learned that those girls that called themselves helpers were the closest people to actually being leaders on the council. They led by example by always asking if anyone needed help, or just went ahead and did things without being told because they knew they had to get done.
There seems to be a communally held opinion that “a certain type of girl” wants to join student leadership. The stereotype of the girly-girl who thinks she is better than her peers, is a high achiever, and is an extreme extravert prevails when I talk to anyone about student leadership, adult and student alike. I have a student who constantly helps me with tasks who is not part of ASB, but refuses to join because of the perception of those who are on student leadership.
I’ll admit, there are plenty of that stereotype present on my council this year, but I also have the shyest most introverted students, as well as ambiverts, artists, and self deprecating stand-up comedians. But my stereotypical students definitely make up the majority. I was, and still am, parts of that stereotype. I see myself in so many of the students, that I make sure that other people interview students to be on student leadership to make sure my own bias does not come through. But that is another part of the issue: who wants to be a leader.
I feel like each time I have made changes, a few of them have been great, and a few of them need to be refined.
- I went from having interviews for appointed positions to interviews for everyone.
- I went from three girls interviewing at a time to each girl getting her own time.
- I established a group interview where girls are challenged and assessed by how well they work with others.
- I allowed for students that have been previously interviewed to submit a video interview.
- I have created Google Form upon Google Form to not only make the application process easier for students, but for faculty recommenders as well.
- I went from trying to figure out the changes by myself, to asking fellow Activities Directors and students what they felt were the best answers to our problems.
- I switched the ASB model from individuals with unclear job descriptions to teams with slightly clearer job descriptions
Throughout the last few weeks, I have been preparing for elections season by looking at my structure, asking students how they feel, and trying to come up with yet another solution. Every time I think about making a change, a rush of questions floods my mind:
- How do you find the student who is going to give their all and not try to coast?
- If you shrink it again, will you be edging out the students who need this?
- How do you validate having students arrive at school by 7:05am without concrete goals and initiatives?
- How do you give individualized attention to such a large group that is working on so many different projects?
- What have these schools who win awards for Outstanding Leadership Programs figured out that I have not?
- Am I going to look incompetent because I keep changing my mind?
- Am I not innovative because it keeps not working?
- How will this structure work with collaborating with De La Salle?
As I have talked with De La Salle, and many other high schools, I have learned about how different schools structure their student leadership programs. All of them have shaped their student leadership programs so differently, and many of them feel like they haven’t figured out everything yet either.
I feel like I keep scratching the surface on what the issues are without exposing the true heart of it all. If you have any ideas of what you have seen, or something you think would be cool, swing by my office. I apologize in advance that I do not have any candy, the students keep eating it and I cannot control myself either.
I never did ASB at my small Catholic high school because of the stereotypes you mentioned. I do notice that those on Frosh Council that are in my classes break that stereotype. Love that!
This was super relatable – it is cool to hear about the ways you are playing with the leadership model on ASB. Moderating Frosh council for the past couple of years has also brought up a lot of the same questions for me as we consider how to choose a council from students who just started high school. I think it will always be a work in progress, and I dont think there will ever be an exact formula but being open to new ways of doing things seems to be the best approach for sure. We are lucky to have doing this work!
I loved tis post Maggie and so excited you jumped onto the blog… I don't think anything you say would lead people to think you are incompetent for changing your mind… I think it is a demonstration of your commitment and your ability to look at a problem from a different angle to make sure you. ultimately get to the best solution… I think the answers are closer than you think and may rest in the students themselves… I wonder what input they might have if they saw some of the things you are thinking about connected to council…
Oh and last thought… you are a good writer… sentences are easy to red and that is a huge plus…
Love this blog post! I am proud of you and all your work with student leadership and in your role. It's been great to work with you and to see a little into your intentions for the changes that you have made and will continue to make for the good of the students and the program.