Student's View: Why Student Leadership is Important in Education
By Tatiana Le, student intern, AASA, The
School Superintendents Association
Anyone can say that student leadership is important in
education, but the harder part is explaining why.
First, to be blunt, leadership experience is essential for
students to be competitive as they apply for jobs, college and scholarships. In
almost every college interview I had, I was asked to tell a story depicting a
time where I stepped up as leader. If the interviewer wanted to stump me, they’d
ask me to describe a time where I “solved a problem” or “accomplished something
I was proud of.” My job was to fluently deliver a story that was genuine, unique
and most importantly, that showed off my skills as an innovator and leader.
Those stories can’t be told without experience.
Past the surface though, student leadership is crucial in
building confidence. So many students struggle to stand up for themselves when
it matters most to them. In class, students listen to their teachers and the
rubrics they receive. At home, they listen to their parents, their grandparents
and their older siblings. If I didn’t push myself to run for office positions
and speak out, I could have easily found myself doing nothing but listening to
people throughout high school, whether on a sports team, in a club or in a
group project.
I remember one of my best friends in high school constantly
complaining about how our honor societies had become husks; applications ceased
to be selective and members faked their service hours to earn cords to wear at
graduation. As much as she was frustrated, she never ran for president. She
never spoke to the society sponsors or the school administration because she
thought she could never change it. She complained to me and not the rest of the
student body because she thought that everyone else was content with the
situation when the reality was, there were other students fed up with the
system too. They were all just waiting for a leader to come along because it
was easier to wait.
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Students should not feel powerless in an institution that is
supposed to empower them. However, when they feel they are trapped in
situations where they have no say, it’s no wonder why they prefer to obey, get
their good grades and get out. Not to say that there is no room for followers.
Every leader needs strong followers to get anything done, but that strength comes
from the confidence of knowing that you are a leader in your own way. You are
not following to follow, but you are following because you believe in the
leader’s ideas and you know you can step up and lead if you disagree.
I built my confidence as captain of the academic quiz bowl team.
There is nothing more terrifying to me than being tested in front of people
whose jobs are to score your mistakes. I had to do that, and I had to have the
guts to tell other people they should try it too.
There are many other benefits to student leadership that I
can’t talk about in a single blog post like teamwork, interpersonal skills,
responsibility, organizational skills and communication. Bottom line is that I
think every student needs experience in a meaningful leadership position where
they have the resources ability to make the change they want to make. That’s
just how I grow best as a student and become life-ready.