Action, Agency, Ownership, Leadership

Although the terms - action, agency, ownership and leadership - are connected, they are distinct. And understanding them is vital to understanding the Primary Years Program (PYP).

It is also important to remember that action can take many forms. The following are examples of action from the International Baccalaureate (IB):

• a change in attitude
• a consideration or plan for action in the future
• a demonstration of responsibility, or of respect towards self, others and the wider world
• a commitment to leading or participating in a youth advocacy group
• an engagement in school decision-making or an expression of support in community, local and global decision-making.

Before I share some examples of action taking place recently at Seisen, let’s take a quick look at the other terms:

Agency refers to taking initiative and responsibility. When students take ownership of their learning, they are demonstrating agency. PYP teachers actively encourage agency in many ways, such as encouraging students to set up the classroom. We want students to make decisions about learning!

In other words, we want to develop leaders!

 

Clothing Drive - “A demonstration of responsibility, or of respect towards self, others and the wider world”

After collecting clothing during the week of November 10th to November 14th, we mailed 7 boxes of clothing to Uniqlo / GU on Friday, November 21st.

A big thank you to the Seisen community for your support!

And a big thank you to the Grade 4 students who helped spread the word, and collect, sort and box the clothes!

 

Kodomo Shokudo - “A demonstration of responsibility, or of respect towards self, others and the wider world”

On Tuesday, Dec 2nd, Grade 5 students and Grade 8 visited the Kodomo Shokudo near Yoga Station.

The students handed out the gift bags gathered by homerooms, served curry to the guests, and played board games with some of the children.

Each family gratefully received two bags filled with daily necessities and other items. Thanks again for your generosity and support!

 

Grade 5 How We Organize Ourselves (Leadership) -

“An engagement in school decision-making or an expression of support in community, local and global decision-making / A demonstration of responsibility, or of respect towards self, others and the wider world / A consideration or plan for action in the future”

Another avenue for encouraging action at Seisen is of course the units of inquiry. Since September Grade 5 students have worked in thirteen small groups to develop leadership skills. Each group had a focus: environmental, learning, community, social, social justice or cultural.

Many of the groups will finish the work next week, but it is possible that some groups will continue the work into the spring.

The groups planned various initiatives. Some groups moved quickly into action. On Tuesday this week, one of the groups focused on being social leaders greeted students as they arrived at school with messages of positivity.

Other Gr 5 leadership groups took action recently too. For example, another group focused on being social leaders visited nearby Japanese schools and taught an English lesson.

The last scheduled meeting for the Grade 5 leadership groups is on Monday, December 8th, but some leadership groups may decide to continue or finish up action they’ve planned or are planning.

So when you see one of the Gr 5 students, ask them what action their leadership group is or was up to.

That might be a question worth asking any Seisen student!