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All cultures
need role models and leaders. Most of us agree that professions such as
medicine, technology, education, business and industry, politics, and the arts
need people who can use intelligence, creativity, and critical judgment. The
role of parents and educators is critical in assisting with the development of
leadership attitudes and skills in gifted youth. Leadership has been designated
a talent area in federal and state definitions of gifted students who require
differentiated programs, yet it remains the least discussed of the curricular
areas for these students in the literature, and it is not well defined.
Characteristics of Leadership In Gifted Youth
Few gifted
programs identify students with high leadership potential or incorporate
leadership education into their curricula. However, many characteristics of
gifted youth enable them to profit from leadership development. Those
characteristics include the following:
- The desire to be challenged.
- The ability to solve problems creatively.
- The ability to reason critically.
- The ability to see new relationships.
- Facility of verbal expression.
- Flexibility in thought and action.
- The ability to tolerate ambiguity.
- The ability to motivate others.
Parents
and the Development of Leadership
Preparing
young people for leadership responsibility begins in the home with an enriched
environment that offers opportunities for children to acquire broad interests,
self-esteem, and the insights and skills that characterize leaders. Parents can
provide their children with support and encouragement as they participate in a
wide variety of home and community activities. Parents should encourage their
children to be involved in the selection, planning, execution, and evaluation
of family activities ranging from a day at the zoo to a vacation overseas.
Youngsters should also be encouraged to plan, initiate, and complete a variety
of self-evaluated individual projects, but these skills are not learned
automatically. They must be patiently taught and modeled by parents in the
home.
Discussion
and debate about current events and other topics foster independent thinking
and nurture leadership potential. Parents who listen openly and thoughtfully
without expecting children to embrace their social, political, and economic
views are demonstrating leadership characteristics. Mutual respect,
objectivity, empathy, and understanding are highly valued by gifted young
people, particularly those who need a safe place to test their ideas.
Opportunities for decision making at an early age will help to foster the
critical reasoning skills necessary to be an effective leader. Inappropriate
decisions by children and youth, although difficult for parents to accept, may
enhance future decision-making skills when self-evaluated.
Infusing
Leadership Concepts and Skills Into the Curriculum
Major
emphasis should be placed on leadership development in all academic areas,
including the fine and performing arts. Thematic curriculum units and reading
lists should include biographies and autobiographies of outstanding leaders.
Students should be encouraged to analyze and evaluate the motivation,
contributions, and influences of each leader and assess the leadership styles
employed. Major events and family and other influences important in the life of
each leader should be emphasized.
Sciences.
Physical and biological sciences, mathematics, and social sciences provide
unique opportunities for projects in which initiating, planning, critical
thinking, creative problem solving, and decision making can be developed. They
are rich with opportunities to learn about leaders who have influenced such
areas as government and politics, science and technology, humanities and the
arts, business and industry, philosophy and religion, and health science and medicine.
Students can learn how their interests, passions, and abilities can develop
into careers. They can compare the contributions of others with their own value
systems. For example, many leaders have been concerned about poverty and the
human condition.
Humanities.
Language arts, speech, English, and other courses that emphasize oral and
written communication provide opportunities for potential leaders to learn how
to present ideas clearly and persuasively. Preparing and presenting speeches,
listening to and critiquing presentations, writing news reports and editorials
for school and other local publications, preparing for and engaging in debates,
leading conference and discussion sessions, and participating in school and
other election campaigns are only a few of the many options available. Group
activities provide opportunities for young people to learn how to help others
feel important and valued, accept their contributions, keep discussions
relevant, and occasionally follow rather than lead.
Arts.
Students can learn leadership skills and gain inspiration from talented people
of the past and present who have enriched all of us through their contributions
in the fine and performing arts. Their creative works, the trends they
initiated, and the enduring results of their efforts are worthy of study, as
are their lives and the circumstances under which their work came to fruition.
Other
School Options For Leadership Development
Several
strategies strengthen and broaden educational experiences for gifted youth.
Instructional units on leadership development should be provided at each grade
level in a resource room or pullout administrative arrangement. Some secondary
schools offer structured credit courses on leadership. Having students prepare
and periodically update personal plans for leadership development, including
provisions for obtaining the experiences set forth in their plans, is another
promising activity. The value of this experience is enhanced when students
share individual plans in group sessions, brief the group on their purpose,
revise plans if the critique brings forth acceptable suggestions, report to
peers on progress made after following the plans for a period of time, and
evaluate the plans using self-designed criteria. Mentorships and internship
programs provide opportunities for youth to work with adult community leaders
who are willing to help identify, develop, and nurture future leaders.
Leadership
Through Extracurricular Activities
Since
leadership is learned over time through involvement with others,
extracurricular activities provide fertile ground for nurturing future leaders.
Group participation offers unique opportunities for young people to belong,
support others, and learn a variety of leadership styles. Students learn how to
encourage others, create group spirit, and resolve conflict. They begin to
understand diverse attitudes, skills, and talents and how to interact
effectively with a diversity of people while working toward a common goal.
Leadership in extracurricular activities has been found to be more highly
correlated with adult leadership than with academic achievement. A 10-year
study conducted with 515 high school student leaders revealed that almost
two-thirds of them participated in out-of-school organizations and athletics
and more than half participated in fine arts activities.
Although
there are many organized extracurricular activities for youth, those who want
to develop their leadership potential can do so through less formal methods.
Individuals or groups can plan special projects or a leadership plan by setting
goals, objectives, and timelines toward a mission of improving some area of the
school or community. Skills such as seeking all available information, defining
a group task, and devising a workable plan may be developed through any
community project. No matter how small or large the goal, the process involved
in devising and implementing the plan develops leadership potential. Leadership
is much more than being elected or appointed to a position, and it is acquired
most effectively through practice. Educators, parents, and other concerned
adults who are interested in the development of leadership in gifted youth can
make a difference in the lives of these students by providing them with
opportunities to realize their leadership potential.
Komentar:
Kondisi
anak berbakat yang berbeda dengan anak lainnya, menuntut program pendidikan
yang berbeda atau khusus bagi anak berbakat. Selain mengembangkan potensi yang
dimiliki anak berbakat, pentingnya pengembangan sikap kepemimpinan harus
menjadi point penting bagi semua pihak. Peran orang tua serta guru dalam ruang
lingkup pendidikan sangat penting dalam mengembangkan sikap kepemimpinan anak.
Sikap kepemimpinan anak berbakat dapat dimulai dengan ruang lingkup keluarga. Orang tua dapat memberikan anak-anak mereka dengan
dukungan dan dorongan ketika mereka berpartisipasi dalam berbagai kegiatan
rumah dan masyarakat. Orangtua harus mendorong anak-anak mereka untuk terlibat
dalam perencanaan, pelaksanaan seleksi,, dan evaluasi kegiatan. Diskusi dan
perdebatan tentang peristiwa terkini dan topik lainnya mendorong pemikiran
independen dan memupuk potensi kepemimpinan. Orang tua yang mendengarkan secara
terbuka dan merenung tanpa mengharapkan anak-anak untuk merangkul sosial,
politik, dan pandangan ekonomi yang menunjukkan karakteristik kepemimpinan.
Saling menghormati, objektivitas, empati, dan pengertian yang sangat dihargai
oleh orang-orang muda berbakat, terutama mereka yang membutuhkan tempat yang
aman untuk menguji ide-ide mereka.
Penekanan utama harus ditempatkan pada pengembangan kepemimpinan
di semua bidang akademik. Siswa harus didorong untuk menganalisis dan
mengevaluasi motivasi, kontribusi, dan pengaruh masing-masing pemimpin dan
menilai gaya kepemimpinan yang digunakan. Ilmu fisika dan biologi, matematika,
dan ilmu sosial memberikan kesempatan unik untuk proyek-proyek di mana memulai,
perencanaan, berpikir kritis, pemecahan masalah secara kreatif, dan pengambilan
keputusan dapat dikembangkan. Siswa dapat belajar keterampilan kepemimpinan dan
mendapatkan inspirasi dari orang-orang berbakat dari masa lalu dan sekarang
yang telah memperkaya kita semua melalui kontribusi mereka dalam seni rupa dan
pertunjukan.
Beberapa sekolah menengah menawarkan program kredit terstruktur
tentang kepemimpinan. Setelah siswa mempersiapkan dan secara berkala
memperbarui rencana pribadi untuk pengembangan kepemimpinan, termasuk ketentuan
untuk mendapatkan pengalaman yang ditetapkan dalam rencana mereka, merupakan
kegiatan yang menjanjikan. Mentorships dan program magang memberikan kesempatan
bagi pemuda untuk bekerja dengan para pemimpin komunitas dewasa yang bersedia
untuk membantu mengidentifikasi, mengembangkan, dan memelihara pemimpin masa
depan.
Kepemimpinan dalam kegiatan ekstrakurikuler telah ditemukan
lebih tinggi berkorelasi dengan kepemimpinan orang dewasa dibandingkan dengan
prestasi akademik. Kepemimpinan
lebih dari sekedar yang dipilih atau ditunjuk untuk posisi, dan diperoleh
paling efektif melalui praktek. Pendidik, orang tua, dan orang dewasa terkait
lainnya yang tertarik dalam pengembangan kepemimpinan di masa muda berbakat
dapat membuat perbedaan dalam kehidupan para siswa dengan memberikan mereka
kesempatan untuk menyadari potensi kepemimpinan mereka.
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