High School Peers Inspire Kids
to Aim High
Lead: v. 1. To go
before, or with, to show the way.
What are your goals and
dreams? What are the obstacles that get in your way? Where do you want to
be in five years? What will help you get there?
Good questions. They come
right out of some of the finest books on leadership, including one by
Frances Hesselbein, business leader, and former CEO.
Lest you think that such
concepts are only directed at business leaders and graduate students,
think again.
Students trained in Peer
Education through Lutheran Social Service are applying these same concepts
in high school and middle school classrooms in Minneapolis to help kids
avoid paths of pregnancy, make good decisions and see a bigger vision for
what their life could be.
Such a program is getting
results.
"Peer Education gave me
confidence to go out and become a leader," said Darrius Hubbard, the first
of five children in his family, who will go to college this fall.
Without Peer Education,
several personal hardships may have led him down the wrong path, he said.
Darrius explained that he "moved around a lot" as a child, and has never
really had a permanent place to live. His family has some other struggles,
too. But he has gained problem-solving skills and support from Peer
Education to get around those hurdles.
For example, even though he
lives with an older sister, in a suburb far from his high school in south
Minneapolis, he takes three buses to get to school each morning, and hops
on those same three buses to return home in the evening! When life gets
him down, he leans on his support team in Peer Education, whom he
considers part of his family.
In Peer Education, students
like Darrius are trained to teach their classmates about goal-setting,
good decisions, communication and self-confidence, using tools like time
lines and role-playing.
Once shy, Darrius, himself,
can hardly believe that he read his own words of poetry before the student
body this past year, and delivered a speech with confidence, to a panel of
professors at the University of Minnesota.
One of his most surprising
revelations: he discovered that he's a good teacher.
His goal is to use that gift to help show other kids the way to a better
life.
"Growing up, I wish that I had
had someone like that for me."
While Darrius asks his
classmates what their dreams are, he has dreams of his own:
To be a great father
some day
To buy a house for his mother
To open his own peer education center
"These kids are amazing!" said
LSS Peer Education Coordinator Chicka Merino, who meets with peer
educators weekly throughout the year. "Even with some pretty daunting
obstacles in their lives, these kids show us that they can become
exceptional leaders when we invest in them. All kids need that in their
lives."
