How can we be leaders for children?

by Judy Jablon
Author, Consultant, Founder of Leading for Children

I’m convinced that the greatest gift we, as educators, can give young children is to empower them to take charge of their own lives and to help them become curious, thinking, competent people. To create the next generation of critical thinkers and leaders, we have a responsibility to empower children with a sense of their own agency — the belief that they can make decisions and choices that lead to productive results. For this to happen, children have to learn in settings where the adults see themselves as leaders in a climate of optimism.

Children need models of exemplary leadership. Leadership is not about declaration and direction; it is far more important and subtle than that. It is about the shadow

[1] you cast as to engage with others, walk into a room, begin a meeting, participate in a group. I believe that every educator models leadership for children and contributes to an environment where we share responsibility for shaping children’s futures.

To get our nation to take this field seriously and provide the necessary resources and wages to strengthen the profession, those in it have to grow in confidence and value their own importance. The field of early learning requires leaders at every level who are guided by intentionality and can make decisions that strengthen systems and result in improved quality and better outcomes for children.

The birth of a baby is always an optimistic moment in life. However, by the time that child enters early care and education, the overriding mindset quickly moves to a place of deficit and pessimism. Too often programs are described as failing to meet expectations and needing to be fixed. Children are not meeting expectations; they need special assistance. Teachers are not up to par; they need training and technical assistance to improve their performance. This deficit model impedes both actual and perceived forward motion.

Transforming the early learning system to a model of optimism involves so much more than being positive and working to improve the morale of despondent early educators. It is a fundamental shift to a state of mind that leads people to a sense of purpose and a path to the best outcomes for children. By using a strengths-based perspective that balances current realities with a vision for a better future, we make decisions that result in action and change.

Children need models of leadership now more than ever. I’ve started the non-profit Leading for Children as a movement to infuse the field with optimism and to give every practitioner a sense of worth as a leader with the power and purpose to shape children’s futures. I invite you to join me in this movement.

— Judy Jablon

Join Judy in her upcoming webinar, Four Leadership Strategies for Enhancing Program Quality, on March 1, 2017, at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.