Service-learning without intentional leadership development is trivial and shallow, these youthful authors point out. And such leadership development requires adults and young people to work collaboratively in the design of service-learning. When that happens, the outcome will be both profound learning and successful projects

Des Marais, Joy

Farzanehkia, Farid

English

The University of Nebraska, Omaha

University of Nebraska OmahaDigitalCommons@UNOSpecial Topics, General Special Topics in Service Learning5-2000Service-Learning Leadership Development forYouthsJoy Des MaraisCollege of St CatherineFarid FarzanehkiaUniveristy of MinnesotaFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slcestgenPart of the Service Learning CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Topicsin Service Learning at DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted forinclusion in Special Topics, General by an authorized administrator ofDigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contactunodigitalcommons@unomaha.edu.Recommended CitationDes Marais, Joy and Farzanehkia, Farid, "Service-Learning Leadership Development for Youths" (2000). Special Topics, General. Paper65.http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slcestgen/65Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.Service-Learning Leadership Development for Youths Service-learning without intentional leadership development is trivial and shallow, these youthful authors point out. And such leadership development requires adults and young people to work collaboratively in the design of service-learning. lVhen that happens, the outcome will be both profound learning and sua:essful projetts. BY JOY DES MARAIS, YOUA YA:-.JG, AND FARlD FARZANEHKIA 678 PHI DELTA KAPPAN NEEDED IMMEDIATELY: Young people and adults ready to work togcth-ertoward community improvement, so-cial change, and learning. Ideal candidates must be willing to take risks, learn, and share power and accountability for suc-cess and failure. Benefits include chal-lenge, leadership development, a new per-spective on intergenerational affairs, and relationships with people of different ages and backgrounds. F YOU READ a job description such as this in your local paper or on the Internet, would you apply? Would you describe service-learn-ing leadership this way? The service-learning field is grow-ing larger and reaching more edu-cators and young people every day. Much has been written about the benefits that can accrue to young people who partici-pate in service-learning. But what has rare-ly been considered is the potential for all young people to develop character, citi-zenship, and knowledge through leadint; service-learning - not just participating in it. We have been inundated with research on leadership. Names like Howard Gard-ner, James Kouzes, Barry Posner, Robert Greenleaf, and Kenneth Blanchard have become synonymous with theories on lead-ership attributes, leadership practices, ser-vant-leadership, and situational leadership. For the most part, the field of leadership development has concentrated on adults in-JOY DES MARAIS is director of Strategic Youth Initiatives for the National Youth Lead-ership Council (NYLC), St. Paul, Minn., and a graduate student in organizational leadership at the College of Saint Catherine, St. Paul. YOUA YANG is a member of the board of di-rectors of the NYLC and a student at Augsburg College, Minneapolis. FARJD FARZANEHKIA, who worked with the NYLC's Youth Project Team when he was in high school, is a student in premedir:ine at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Illustration by Karen Stolper Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.volved with organizational management and bas relied on methods such as simulations and ca~e studies. But young. emerging lead-ers do not have the same leadership devel-opment needs as adults. For young people, the best approach is to develop leadership in real situations. We have found that service-learning is the most powerful approach in youth lead-ership development. However, if it is such a powerful method of developing leader-ship, why isn't it better known and more widely practiced? Because it's challenging. It's threatening to the status quo. it allows for mistakes. It means sharing power and responsibility between youths and adults. It means blurring the line between teach-ing and learning. With t,l-tat distinction gone, the ageist hierarchy collapses, and many people assume that chaos will follow. But that is fear of the unknown speak-in g. Our experiences as emerging service-learning leaders contradict such pessimism. Through service-learning, young people be-come engaged leaders taking responsibili-ty for solving complex problems and meet-ing the tangible needs of a defined commu-Pity. Case studies, simulations, and other typical leadership development methods be-come tools of I he past. Public policy, stake-holder analyses. interpersonal CO!Thilunica-tion, technology, and project management are tools of the present and future - tools that make learning about community, self, and leadership authentic and meaningful. Generation X and Generation Y 1he authors' generations, otherwise known as Generations X andY, have suffered from a great deal of criticism. Unlike the baby boomers who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, today's young people have not been prut of a widespread movement that is work-ing toward a major social change. Previous generation-based movements focused on the Vietnam War and on equal rights for women and people of color. Today, with the vast number of issues that surround us, we have not devoted the same degree of atten-tion and effort to any single issue, For that reason, today's young people have been misunderstood and criticized for not being leaders, for not being involved, for simply being lazy. As a result of the previous generations' hard work for racial, ethnic, and cultural acceptance, today's young Americans live in highly diverse communities. Living with such diversity btings challenges and respon-sibilities. Simply living in a community with others who are different does not mean that one respects, understands, or benefits from those differences. Here lies the greatest chal-lenge of any generation. This challenge is unique and requires leadership, involve-ment, and effort. But today's young people have stepped up to meet the challenge. A 1998 nation-al survey conducted for Public Allies (an organization dedicated to developing com-munity leadership in young people) by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and funded by the Surdna Foundation of New York City found that 68% of the young people sur-veyed had been involved in their commu-nity in the past three years. Furthermore, 54% said that they participate in service activities at least once a month. 1 Our perspectives on leadership, com-munity, and social change are also distinct from those of our predecessors. When asked to describe their preferred model for leader-ship, respondent<; to the survey overwhelm-ingly supported leadership that is "bottom up" - that comes from "ordinary people in the community, regardless of their posi-tion or level of authority."2 Contrary to pop-ular belief and media portrayals, we young people are striving to eliminate the baniers that keep us from loving, respecting, and helping one another. While Generations X andY do not pro-mote a specific goal within the area of so-cial change, today's young people do share a concern for building, maintaining, and serving community. We are motivated to serve, learn, and lead by issues that affect an aspect of our own lives. This motivation leads us to be involved in our communi-ties as individuals rather than to take part in collective action. Acting Like a Leader Versus Being a Leader Young people face several challenges in their development, growth, and estab-lishment as capable and important lead-ers. One of the most difficult is the mis-match between what they are told is ex-pected of them as leaders and the manner in which they are prepared to assume such leadership. In the late 1970s James MacGregor Bums contrasted traditional leadership, which he labeled as "transactional;' with a more "com-plex" and "potent" type of leadership he called "transformational."' These two con-cepts of leadership lie at the core of the problem we are describing. When adults list the types of skills, traits, and characteristics they want to see developed in young leaders, they are vi-sualizing transformational leaders -lead-ers who communicate a vision and inspire action; leaders who may stand alone when faced with controversy. Names such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Gandhi; and Gloria Steinem come to mind. Individuals such as these are uncommon leaders with uncom-mon experiences. And none of them are young people. Consciously or not, adults assume that leadership is something one earns or grows into. Thus young people cannot possibly be leaders in the present. They may be ready to rehearse leadership, but not to perform it. Moreover, adults are not willing to re-linquish their own positions of power and decision making. These attitudes lead adults to limit young people's leadership devel-opment to transactional activities and re-sponsibilities. In typical service-learning experiences, for example, young people are given a project and told the tasks that need to be accomplished. Calling business-es to ask for donations of funds or supplies, scheduling speakers for reflection activi-ties, and distributing fliers about a service-learning project are examples of transac-tional activities. All these steps must be tak-en to ensure a successful service-learning experience. But most often, students are assigned to do particular tasks rather than being allowed to detem1ine each and every step of a service-learning experience, from community assessment, to evaluation, to celebration. Simply assigning students tasks in teach-er-designed service-learning projects denies them the opportunity for decision making and action planning. It limits their under-standing of the interconnectedness of ta<>ks and gives them no sense of the complexi-ty of project management and leadership. Thus emerging leaders have the frustrat-ing experience of being told to aspire to transformational leadership but being de-prived of the opportunities necessary to develop it. Elements of Effective Leadership Development Our experiences have taught us that sev-eral elements are critical to the development MAY 2000 679 Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved.of effective young leaders of service-learn-ing: youth/adult partnerships; granting ymmg people decision-making power and respon-sibility for consequences; a broad context for learning and service; and recognition of young people's experience, knowledge, and skills. Youth/adult partnerships. Relationships between young people and adults are usu-ally cast in terms of a traditional mentor/ mentee dichotomy. In a mentoring rela-tionship, the adult is seen as the individ-ual with the power - with the experienc-es. resources, and skills to give to a young person. Mentoring implies a leader and a follower.' Partnerships are different from mentoring. Partnerships often evolve from mentoring but offer a mutually beneficial relationship for young people and adults. The success of the relationship is depend-ent on both parties. Each person is valued because he or she contributes unique ex-periences, resources, skills, and perspec-tives, regardless of age. Most important, both parties have the potential to learn from each other. Partnerships in which young people and adults share learning and leadership allow t~em to become co-creators of com-munity.5 Relationships between young people and adults are often manipulative - one party tries to obtain a perceived benefit by causing the other to act against his or her will and possibly even self-interest. 5 Posi-tive and healthy leadership and youth/adult partnerships are not manipulative. They are the result of the development of potential and the achievement of goals. There is no question that morale soars in an environ-ment of good leadership and healthy col-laboration. In effective service-learning classrooms, the teacher moves from being the gatekeep-er of knowledge and resources to acting as an ally and a partner in learning and so-~~ \' l_~ __,.---,--~ -~ ~, "If your friends told you to fly into a windshield, would you do that, too?'' 680 PHI DELTA K.,:\PPAN cial action. Good adult partners listen, of-fer ideas, give students responsibility for positive and negative consequences. and re-spectthe students as people with resources to contribute. Even more important in such partnerships is the sharing of power be-tween the teacher and the students. Decision-making power and responsi-bility for consequences. Adults in the kinds of partnerships we are describing often face the question "Do I let a problem work it-self out - even if it may mean failure -or do I jump in and rescue a service-learn-ing project?" The answer depends on wheth-er the goal is profound leaming or a fruit-ful service-learning project. It is possible to achieve both outcomes, but it is difficult. Adults must recogni7~ that being a young service-learning leader means taking re-sponsibility for the process and the out-comes. But being able to "let go and let be" seems to be the greatest challenge for adults in service-learning. lt takes strength and courage to hold yotmg people accountable and to know when to intervene. In situations where students' safety is in question, adults must step in with caution. But errors and blunders are inevitable and come with the territory of freedom and responsibility. Mis-takes and failures provide the greatest learn-ing. Young people aren't challenged to im-prove when they arc constantly rescued or corrected. Context of learning and sen,ice. In ser-vice-learning, the entire world is transformed into a "classroom under construction." Learn-ing is no longer seen as a scheduled activ-ity from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in which the teach-er lectures and the students take notes. The community is no longer seen as just the place where people live. Young people be-gin to make real connections between needs and resources, learning and service, peo-ple and leadership. With a background in service-learning, students have the oppor-tunity to expand and explore their knowl-edge with others in the community. The concept of community is ever-chang-ing as learning and action take place. The connections between the self and spheres of influence begin to take shape for each person. And to the learning is added the feeling of being a part of something greater than oneself- the feeling of knowing that one has made a difference; the feeling that one's contribution is important, even criti-cal, to the success of a service-learning proj-ect. As a result, students are more engaged in their leamingo Recognition of experience, Jawwledge, and skills. When a young person turns 18, it is assumed that he or she has acquired enough experience, knowledge, and skills to vote. In this instance, young people have an adult citizen's responsibility thrust on t'Iem with little or no experience in how to handle it. Leadership in service-learn-ing activities can help to bridge this gap. But the general attitude toward young people is clear: the shorter the time one has lived, the less respect he or she is en-titled to. This attitude must change. The reality is that we all know and can do different things. The development of service-learning leaders builds on what young people already know and can do well while challenging them to enhance their skills or even to try something dif-ferent. Though it is true that young people may not have years of experience in rec-ognizing and diagnosing a problem with acceptable and proven methods, a fresh perspective can sometimes lead to new and efficient ways of solving community prohlems. Conclusion The most powerful aspect of service-learning is the opportunity it provides to all young people to be leaders now, today, in their own lives and in their communi-ties. Our experiences as young leaders in service-learning have had a profound im-pact on our learning, our decisions, and our perspectives on our commtmitics. Ser-vice-learning without intentional leadership development is trivial and shallow. And such leadership development requires adults and young people to work collaboratively in the design of service-learning. Then the outcome will be both profound learning and successful projects. I. l•kw Leadership for a New Century: Key Findings from a Study on Youth, Leadership, and Community Service (Washington, D.C.: Peter D. Hart Research Associates. 1998), pp. 1, 8. 2. Ibid .. p. 7. 3. James MacGregor Burns, Leadership (New York: Harper & Row, 1978). 4. Loring Leifer and Michael M-=Larney, Younger Voices, Stronger Choices: Promise Project's Guide to fi:mmng Youth/Adult Partnerships (Kansas City, Mo.: Quality Books, 1997). 5. Barlxtra Marx Hubbard, Comcious Evolution: Awak-enmg the Power of Our Social Potential (Novato, Calif.: New World Library, 1998). 6. Danny Cox, Leadership When the Heat's On (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992). p. 12. K - -- -- - ·~ -- - - ~- --- ~ -~ 

Service-Learning Leadership Development for Youths

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Service-Learning Leadership Development for Youths

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