ShmoopTube

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Leadership in class... a la Shmoop.

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When we hear the word “leadership” in conjunction with anything school related, [School boy stood with Barak Obama]

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we tend to think of that one kid in gym who regularly confused your school's low-budget

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gymnasium with an NBA court. [School kids playing basketball]

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The sound of dribbling still gives us panic attacks…

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But leadership in the classroom... well, that’s a lot less terrifying. [Man in a suit at the front of the classroom]

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And we know what you're thinking…you'd probably rather be the psychopathic pseudo-professional

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B-baller than the dreaded teacher's pet. [Dog with a mans face by the teacher's side]

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But guess what? Leadership in class doesn’t mean being just the teacher’s pet.

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What it does mean is helping others when they're having trouble in class.

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It means leading by example.

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And what does that mean?

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Well, it means listening to your teacher when she tells you to stop talking and wonders [Teacher telling students to stop talking]

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for the ten thousandth time why she thought teaching would be a fun career…

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Only forty more years until retirement, Teach… Yeah good luck and maybe your pension will still be there..[Old people in a retirement home]

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It also means volunteering the right answer, when everyone else in class is desperately

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avoiding eye contact.

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And it means knowing how to communicate with your peers, and knowing how to manage conflict [Student breaking up a fight between two other students]

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when it arises.

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Like that time this happened… [Boxer hits a student in a boxing ring]

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Good communication is key. Otherwise, the weird kid who thinks he's a dog might eat

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your homework again.

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It's cute the first time, not so much the seventeenth. [A kid eating their homework]

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But maybe that still sounds pretty pathetic to you. After all, it’s not like the way you

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act in a high school classroom will have any effect on your future, right?

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Eh…not so fast. Let’s fast-forward fifteen years and take a look at two of your classmates, [Older students working together at a company]

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Johnny and Tommy.

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Johnny was always lounging in the back row, cracking jokes and disrupting class. But hey,

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big deal. Everyone loved Johnny. He was decidedly cool. [Students praising Jonny in class]

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Something Tommy was not. Tommy worked hard in group projects, helped his classmates when

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they struggled, knew how to communicate what needed to get done, and knew how to work well [Tommy working with other classmates]

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with his peers.

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And he only brought the teacher cookies one time, and it was her birthday….[Tommy gives the teacher a plate of cookies]

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Anyway. Fast-forwarding time.

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See this rich and handsome businessman?

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And this unemployed, lazy shmuck?

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Now which one do you think ended up being Tommy, and which one ended up being Johnny? [Jonny looking sad in his home]

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Yup. Believe it or not, being a class leader typically leads to better school results,

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which in turn leads to better opportunities, jobs, and a heftier paycheck every month. [Tommy looking happy with his pay check]

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Remember, the cool kids in high school end up taking tickets

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in the movie theater for their summer job that lasts 43 years.

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No promises about the whole handsome bit, though. We can't guarantee that.

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So while Tommy is vacationing on his private island with his family after winning a Nobel [Tommy on an island with his family]

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Prize, an Academy Award, and being reelected as President of the United States…

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Johnny is…still taking theater tickets.

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But hey, Johnny is winning plenty of awards, too.

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It takes a special man to win “Toilet Scrubber of the Month.” [Tommy in a tuxedo scrubbing toilets]

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Keep em comein’, Cool Johnny. You're pretty cool.

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