Leadership Curriculum A Hit At Coon Rapids High
by Bret Hesla
It’s often said that today’s students are tomorrow’s
leaders. If so, I heard self-advocacy’s future leaders in rare
form earlier this spring in Coon Rapids High School, as they made
a recording of a rap about leadership. Crowded around the microphone
that I brought in, fourteen students rapped, chanted, whispered,
sang and shouted out their messages of power.
I know my rights, I
know I’m free.
I know I can be assertive when I need to be. With an L, with an E,
with an A, with a D--Check out me, ‘cause I’m a leader.
The rap is part of a
new leadership curriculum resource, I Am A Leader, produced by
St. Paul-based Advocating Change Together. I Am a Leader guides
classrooms through a series of 10 lessons, each with several classroom
exercises, group projects, and homework assignments. From “knowing your rights,” to “assertiveness,” to “feelings,” to “working
with others,” the units are designed to build skills of leadership.
Coon Rapids High is one of the first schools in the area to use these
new materials. Over the past year, the school has interspersed its
regular curriculum with sections of the new ten-part series.
Special education teacher
Betsy Detlefsen said the class uses the rap a lot. “The students love it. They’ve even developed
a move to go with it.” Teacher Jodi Gadient added, “This
format is a good, repetitive way for students to internalize the
important messages.” Each lesson closes with a new verse for
students to work on. Most of the students had clearly memorized all
the verses for this week’s recording. Even so, large sheets
with words were held up during the recording by classroom aides Jenny
Tjader, Trudi Snyder, and Heather Darling, just in case.
The new curriculum has
drawn participation from adults outside the classroom. One parent
created a background CD for the rap. The class can use the CD as
accompaniment while they perform the words. As the CD’s gentle rhythms pulse beneath the student’s
voices, the listener is subtly reminded of the collaboration between
classroom and community.
Other parents have been
pleased with the curriculum, citing results they’ve noticed at home. “It’s been fun to see
what my daughter brings home,” said parent Kathy Sanders. “One
day, Jenny came home talking about role-plays. She was practicing
aggressive, assertive and passive communication. It’s wonderful
to see her expand her awareness of these choices as to how to behave
in order to get what she wants in life.”
The chapter on disability
laws has also made an impact. Detlefsen said, “We divided the class into two groups and walked around
the school noticing all the changes our school has gone through because
of recent disability laws.” Indeed, Coon Rapids High School
has many features to notice: ramps, automatic doors, support staff,
whole departments and specific adaptations to accommodate their many
students who are hard of hearing. “This particular activity
has continued to generate lots of talk,” said Detlefsen. “Now
on field trips, our students are pointing out and noticing changes
in and around town, features mandated because of disability laws
like the ADA, IDEA, and Section 504.”
After the recording session had ended, all of the students except
one went back to their desks and resumed their other work. One young
man asked if I needed help packing. I asked him to go and disassemble
my sound equipment and pack it in the box. Off he went while I spoke
with the teachers. A few minutes later he came back with the stuff
and a final question about how best to pack one particular item.
With so much unprompted courtesy and service, I left feeling confident
that the next generation of leaders is indeed emerging. As I walked
out the door, the class called out a big THANK YOU all together.
For more information about the I Am a Leader Curriculum, contact
Advocating Change Together at 651-641-0297.
