JEDDAH — "Teacher as a leader has to ensure complete involvement of students in developing their talent, potential and skills, and not let anyone sit idle or remain isolated. In this respect, the interactive session with Dr. Ismail Maritheri of King Abdulaziz University at the CBSE principals' conference was very powerful and thought-provoking as we were exposed to various ideas and approaches toward developing leadership skills in ourselves as well as in our teachers and pupils," according to Syed Masood Ahmed, principal of International Indian School-Jeddah, which hosted the three-day event last week. As an outcome of the session, Dr. E.K. Mohammad Shaffe of International Indian School-Dammam (IISD), came forward to create a special blog for Indian school principals towards this end. Maritheri, well known for his oratory skills, focused on his presentation on how principals can play an effective double role in leading their academic staff as well as in developing leadership skills of their students. "Along with preparing the students for academic excellence, schools need to focus on developing leadership skills in students so as to enable them to meet the growing challenges of the modern world. The visionary leadership of principals plays a key role in this regard," he said. Maritheri enlightened the principals on different levels, styles and approaches to develop leadership skills and inspired them to reflect on and reconsider their concept of leadership in the light of modern theories and practices. "The principals can play a vital role in developing a "professional community" of teachers who guide one another in improving instruction and in instilling life skills and installing an emotional compass in students that always points towards addressing diverse problems faced by students." Highlighting the leadership role of principals, Maritheri, a leading Indian trainer and counselor, urged them to share the inspiring success stories of their schools in the past and present that includes the contributions of the alumni who now occupy key roles in the society, students who had been mentored to greater heights in spite of their delinquent behavior and negative attitude towards teachers and parents. He quoted a study of the University of California, Santa Barbara that showed that people with leadership roles in high schools are more likely to hold managerial positions as adults, earning higher income than those in non-leadership roles. Maritheri also urged the principals to form a HR wing in the school and get all students enrolled at least in one club or forum. "By being a member of such co-curricular club and forum let each student be encouraged to follow their passions; explore what they love, and capitalize on what they can do well. By taking on positions of responsibility at school and in their communities, students will feel genuinely good about themselves, and this will help them to use their potential for social service from the very early period of their life," he added.
