On Leadership
Leadership is a word that has been subject to abusive overuse in education circles for the better part of decade or more. Like so much else that schooling is supposed to provide, every student is to be prepared as a leader just as every student is supposed to be above average in all his accomplishments. This leaves open to question both who will follow and whether average is any longer a mathematical concept. Nevertheless, life turns out leaders and most of us would like to imagine ourselves as up to the task should such a role ever fall to us. There is much talk about natural leaders and charismatic leaders; the genre of business literature has made a veritable cottage industry out of trying to identify and replicate the qualities of ‘good’ leaders. Whether because of the messiness of human nature or the perversions of our social institutions, leadership has proven to be a problematic quality to cultivate. When one adds ethicality as a dimension of leadership beyond merely success or expediency, forging new leaders becomes even more challenging and the ‘good’ leader more elusive.
The aim of the Student Ambassador Program at Ridgeview is to foster a particular kind of leadership, and our most recent Ambassadors having just been named gives rise to a contemplation about the means and ends of leadership at Ridgeview.
The process of being named an Ambassador is no mere popularity contest. One is nominated by the faculty, but while sycophancy might secure one a nomination, it is unlikely to secure one a confirmation. Merely being inoffensive, or demonstrating academic ability, or being affable take one only so far. In choosing Student Ambassadors, the faculty are looking for those students who have demonstrated their commitment to Ridgeview and to the Ridgeview experience more broadly. Those who show promise are invited to apply, and a part of their application involves writing essays and interviewing with the administration. Given the strict scrutiny inherent in this process, there is a tendency to believe that because only some are chosen, that this is therefore an elitist organization.
It is elite in some senses and not others. For example, it is undeniably elite in the sense that it is “a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society.” However, it is not the case that every student who is chosen as an Ambassador has the same abilities or qualities; in fact, great effort has been taken to choose students who, when formed into a collective, will reflect a diversity of interests and accomplishments. Neither is this group intended to be elite in a sense of exclusivity: the bulk of their charter is to reveal Ridgeview as a place of inclusion. We mean by this that a person can come from another school in another part of the country or world with different religious or political views, be of different abilities, whether these be intellectual or physical, and nevertheless be made to feel welcome at Ridgeview. That is the job of the Student Ambassador: not to be haughty or distant or self-satisfied, but to introduce the prospective student, to welcome the new student, and to help teach the rising student.
This being Ridgeview, the conversation about leadership with the Ambassadors invariably turns on a discussion with many familiar themes. We talk about self-knowledge and the difference between being oneself and knowing oneself. We contrast the end (τελος) and the idea (ειδος), and emphasize that if we wish to be followed, we must first be good. We read Plato and ask what it means to turn the soul towards some purpose. We examine the seductions of persuasion and ask when and how we should be persuaded of something. We teach circumspection of demagoguery and the rejection of sophistry. We sit around a table or a campfire and talk about wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation. While we celebrate physical courage, we spend more time contemplating moral courage. We look hard at whether the foremost quality of any leader is love: love enough of others that a leader does not accept us as we are, but with love enough to help us become better than we are. These are truly the ultimate lessons of leadership: first, leadership is worth nothing if it is a mere egoism; second, it must be a quality, whether innate or learned, that nobly comingles itself with a service to someone or something else; and third, it must acknowledge as its inborn duty the betterment of the world.
This betterment need not be thought of in terms so grandiose that the whole project is rendered unachievable. Small acts of kindness are wholly welcome. The true, but harsh, judgement that remains unspoken or tamed into something constructive is welcome. The sacrifice of a small amount of time, or going outside of one’s comfort zone, or the defense of another in a matter of justice—all are regarded, even if atomistically, as a betterment of the world.
Whether it is around the table or around a campfire, whether in teaching our youngest Hoplites how to tie knots or plant trees, in welcoming our first responders, or placing flags on the graves of our veterans, or talking to prospective families at an informational meeting, Ridgeview’s Student Ambassadors represent the highest aspirations of our school’s culture.
While their parents are doubtlessly proud of our newest Ambassadors, we should all be proud of their achievement and want for them to be successful as leaders. Their success means a more flourishing Ridgeview, and this means a happier, healthier, and more vibrant place for all of us. We welcome all of them and look forward to our return to school and to the great adventures we shall have together in the year to come.
Congratulations Ambassadors!
D. Anderson
Principal
