Teachers as Leaders

In the post, The Space Between, I write that pre-school and grades 1st, 2ndand 3rdare the times when teachers have the greatest influence to affect a child’s behavior and view of their world.  I do not intend that a teacher’s potential to influence does not continue to exist well into adulthood, but that the earlier a child is related to the greater the opportunity for them to be influenced at their core. 

We must accept that the young child that comes to the beginning grades I refer to is already well formed by their parents and the stuff that takes place around the kitchen table. Regardless, the teacher still has immense (potential) influence on the child. Here I specifically do not mean the academics (reading, writing and numbers, etc.), but also their emotional, behavioral and perceptual beings. I refer here to one’s sense of membership and connection to their peers as well as their leader, the teacher. 

So this paper avoids any reference to academics the teacher teaches, but to the way the teacher leads. The teacher’s behavior (not words) as a leader is no small thing, but in my opinion the most important message they convey and teach. The teacher says so much through their behavior and attitude that the influence they exude is magnified. 

So it is as leader of the group that the teacher teaches what belonging and individual importance means. The behavior and words that mean inclusion, respect, regard, listening, understanding and participation all mix together creating an environment each child is influence by. A feeling of self occurs and each child experiences a change.

As leader the teacher does not set the boundaries of the classroom, but with the students participation they are created and abided by. Support of each other is established as is membership in a community.  Each child is no longer a pawn to be lectured to and tethered to their adults. They know the difference and why week-ends get in their way.  Sy

I need a leader——-Not to lead me, but show me———-We care for each other.   

Author: Sy Ogulnick

Sy Ogulnick received a BA from UCLA, Teacher’s Credential from Los Angeles Board of Education and completed phase I (Master’s portion) in a Doctor of Behavioral Science program at California Coast University. Sy leased and operated a summer day camp in LA. He and his wife then purchased virgin wilderness land in Northern CA, where they built and operated a coed summer camp. They moved to Las Vegas, NV, and purchased, built and operated a community children’s program for families staying in a major resort casino in Las Vegas. They have created programs for children nationwide that employed many people and in the process developed successful training programs for personnel. This led Sy to lecture on how to train staff and the creating of community within the workplace. Sy was then invited to speak at professional conferences on how best to hire and train employees, which led to his becoming a consultant in the art of improving relationships in a work environment and eventually to his epiphany that “Leaders are the primary problem and the answer to the personnel issues that arise in the workplace.” Sy has written numerous papers on the subject of interpersonal relationships, leadership and power. He has lectured throughout the United States, has been interviewed by the media and has appeared on many radio and TV talk shows

One thought on “Teachers as Leaders”

  1. It comes to mind, that there are – Dogs that hunt horses that follow the dogs and hunters who rid all to chase the fox. Team work. the only looser is the fox.

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