Great Leaders are Great Teachers too

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to have an interesting conversation with the fellows at Teach for India on ‘taking risks in the classroom’ and ‘teachers as leaders’.

We reflected on the biggest challenges of our times such as climate change, income and gender inequality, water scarcity, backlash against capitalism and the growing desire for democratisation of power among the youth.?

In parallel, we also looked at the competencies that we should be equipping students with to become problems solvers in the future. I shared with the teachers that as a recruiter, I rank self- directedness, taking ownership, adaptability, having an entrepreneurial mindset, and being empathetic and self-aware as timeless skills.?

We agreed that taking risks is a great way to discover your potential. Without stepping out of your comfort zone, you will neither learn nor grow as an educator. In the context of the classroom, one core aspect of taking risks is experimenting with teaching methodologies. I’ve seen examples of teachers using role play to teach English and creating outdoor Maths trails that integrate art, culture and history. Inter-disciplinary thinking is extremely critical if we want our students to become inventors and innovators of tomorrow. Magic and ingenuity happens only at the intersection of disciplines and never in silos.

We talked about relinquishing control to students, which is sometimes terrifying but also very exciting. Teachers felt that it was important to plan and prepare but also to be open to questions from students even if that might put them in a vulnerable position. One teacher said, ‘I challenge my students to challenge me. I also award points to any kid who would come to class and tell me something I did not already know. This encourages them to seek obscure facts that are fascinating!’?

On the subject of student agency, some teachers invite students to lead the discussions and facilitate the learning. ‘Allow them to pick topics (within whatever boundaries you might have in terms of content, syllabus, etc) and then they become the ‘expert’.’ After all, teaching is the best way to learn and this way students also relate to how hard a teacher’s job is!

Give students the TRUE freedom of giving you feedback. It might mean hearing what you might not be prepared to hear, but it will only make you better as a teacher. If you have created a classroom of absolute trust, they will be able to tell you honestly to your face. This is not just the ‘what did you learn?’ or ‘did you enjoy the class?’ type of feedback but also ‘what could I have done to make YOUR learning experience better?’ And ‘what did you wish I had done or said to you that I might not have?’. Use this feedback to improvise and to check your own gaps.?

That steered the discussion towards the connection between teaching and leadership. Great leaders tend to be great teachers. Two powerful examples from India are Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr. Radhakrishnan. Teachers who acknowledge that they are leaders can play a transformational role in the classroom. Leadership is about taking accountability and being accessible to students. It is also about being rooted in values and building character. The world is rapidly moving away from command and control hierarchies towards leadership of influence and persuasion. Teachers can create such a culture in the classroom. ?

We also talked about how important it was to create awareness among students about social issues like gender based injustices and to stand up against it. Only when mindsets in the smallest units of society, like the home and the classroom, undergo change - will real progress happen.?

Faeza Sirajudin (Fuzzie), superstar teacher and Co-Founder Face The Future, Singapore https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/faeza-sirajudin-b827149/ had the humility to tell me, ’I have always believed that a teacher is not the star of the show. In fact, they are but small characters in the lives of every young person; someone who is briefly a part of their journey. The impact that the teacher can have in that brief moment is a true indication of the type of leader they are.’