The Triumph Of Kindness

Over the course of my career, I have tried to model various leadership behaviors based upon successful leaders that I have worked with or for. This has led me to incorporate different styles into my own. Considering my current leadership strengths and how I view successful leaders I will use a servant leadership theory to analyze my own competencies. Servant leaders have 9 different aspects comprised of: emotional healing, creating value for the community, conceptual skills, empowering, helping subordinates grow and succeed, putting subordinates first, behaving ethically, relationships, and servanthood (Boone & Makhani, 2005, pg. 86). The aspects of a servant leader are those that I personally value and identify with. In addition to this, it is my belief that servant leaders, because they are people oriented, are more effective in a variety of environments and situations.

In Miriam Toews novel A Complicated Kindness there are many references to pop culture. There are references to music, books and films. These all lead to the development of key ideas in the novel. East Village is supposed to be a town free form the influence of most media. The children are allowed to watch certain films but only the ones the church deems fit. Yet somehow the un-holy films find their way into the procession of kids in the town like Nomi. The films are used to develop key ideas by showing that not everybody is happy with a strong importance on religion, where Nomi gets some of her influence for wanting to move to New York and how the church uses the ban on films to remain in control. The church isn’t successful on banning

Literature is arguably the most significant aspect taught in high school. It allows us to expand our minds to interpret human nature and its consequences. Several high school curriculums neglect the importance of improving the novels to better fit current generations, which consequently reduces its impact. A Complicated Kindness is a novel by Miriam Toews that should be implemented in the English curriculum, as it not only relates to high schoolers in today’s society, but is also deemed one of the best Canadian books through its personal touch and prominent themes that relate to other important novels.

In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special

For example, a pediatric neurosurgeon named Alexa Canady demonstrates the qualities that a leader must embrace. She became the first African American female neurosurgeon, but when she was young, she often faced rejection and discouragement from those around her (Canady 1). In fact, when she was in second grade, Alexa scored extremely high on one of her standardized tests; her teacher thought it was wrong because of her “race and gender” and exchanged her score with another student’s (Women 1). Despite these difficulties, Alexa never gave up. After her rough years as a child, Alexa graduated high school with honors, but was unsure which career path she would like to pursue. She studied mathematics along with zoo-ology in college before settling on neurosurgery (RosalindFranklinU). After winning many awards during her career, Alexa earned a spot in the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame (Canady 3). But this alone doesn’t define her as a leader. Selflessly, despite her heavy workload, Alexa also found free time “to take a high school student around for the day.” Alexa says, “I do it because it’s important… if you want to be something, you have to perceive something is possible” (Canady 4). By mentoring these kids, Alexa set a great example to follow your dreams no matter what other people say.

Developing a desire to give back to our nation’s heroes led me to become involved with a Disabled American Veterans program that aids local veterans by offering them an opportunity to seek assistance for everyday tasks. Creating connections with a few of the veterans prompted an invitation to participate in their monthly chapter meetings where I discovered that our conversations left a lasting impact on me; hearing their life stories of successes and struggles is eye opening. Although a majority of group members has a disability from their service to our country, they remain the most humble individuals one will ever meet. Additionally, my time with these heroes wills me to become more intrinsically motivated in finding ways to continue to

I credit my current responsible and compassionate nature to my experience as a teacher’s assistant. With a position as impressionable as this, being a mentor to the students taught me how to be a leader. Being able to

Sexual Experimentation, Drug and Alcohol Abuse In The Virgin Suicides and A Complicated Kindness, the restrictions that religion puts in place cause the youth to rebel against that religious system. In A Complicated Kindness, it is made clear from the beginning of the text that there is “a ban on the media, dancing, smoking, temperate climates, movies, drinking, rock ’n’ roll, having sex for fun, swimming, make-up, jewellery, playing pool, going to cities, or staying up past nine o’clock” (Toews 5). These strict rules against what are considered standard activities lead Nomi to rebel.

The majority of humanity proceeds through life at an unfluctuating or even mundane pace. It is not until we experience a noteworthy event in our personal or professional lives that, we pause and contemplate the impact. For some individuals, this crucible event provides clarity to the point that life becomes more meaningful. For others, the impact of the experience alters the course of their life forever. I experienced such an event in my professional life during a moment in which an elderly World War II Veteran quietly revealed to me that unassuming heroes inconspicuously walk among the rest of us every day. This realization forged within me a sense of duty, purpose, and values, which has strongly influenced my leadership style.

Being the oldest of six children to a single mother has naturally spurred me to shape and build my leadership skills. Over time, I have gained the ability to lead in situations that I deemed necessary. Consequently, I have become an active member of both the National Honor Society and the Female African American Scholars organization (a group geared toward creating a motivational community among the academically successful African American students in my school). Additionally, I have become captain of John Glenn’s varsity tennis team and I have launched a nonprofit business to guide teen mothers through the Young Entrepreneurs Academy. All of my obtained leadership skills have proven useful to me on many occasions.

Moreover, while taking the Leadership Foundations Class, there were many lessons that provided me with tools to be an efficient leader. However, when my teacher exposed the class to servant leadership, I immediately took interest in it. At this moment, I finally directed my leadership to embody the qualities of a servant leader. Some of which include: acting with humility, encouraging the new generation of young leaders, valuing diverse opinions, and serving others before

Life lessons learned from Amanda Kraus are those that we will be using every single day. The knowledge I was taught has open my mind to a new perspective that I could relate to not only my experiences now at the University of Arizona but also in my former life. Therefore, implementing the ideas taught at the speaker series would help me for the reason of being able to realize what others think than rather just myself before doing any act of kindness. Finally, Amanda Kraus has educated and informed me on the ignored situations and circumstances that people with disabilities face in their daily lives in which could help me in the forthcoming

My interview of Mark offered great insight into the continued practice of this leadership habit both professionally and personally. Mark is currently in his second year of teaching and has a great deal of insight into being prudent in my future career field. In addition to professional practice, Mark exemplifies a true servant leader in his everyday life. Toward the beginning of the interview, Mark and I quickly began to talk about success, goals, and achievement. In his own classroom, Mark

A: SPD taught me early that there is no correct way to lead others, and that anyone can do it, regardless of age, academic level, or position title. I was one of the youngest brothers to join my local chapter’s executive committee, and had to fight for what I believe in against numerous older brothers that wanted to continue to do things the way they had always been done.

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”-Jackie Robinson As an educational leader, there are more opportunities to influence and impact others, however, there is great responsibility to ensure these will produce positive effects. As a new leader, I have spent a great deal of time analyzing and figuring out my domain of influence as well as when I have a voice to speak or act within my authority.