December 2009: Message from the Director

Dear Educator,

The holiday season is upon us now, and I am sure you are looking forward to spending quality time with your family and friends. For educators, this time of year also means a well-deserved and much-needed break. Be sure to take some time to relax and prepare to come back to your students refreshed and ready for the New Year.

The holiday season is also a time during which we focus on giving of ourselves to others. Therefore, the theme of this month’s edition of Leadership Link is “Kindness and Altruism.”

Contained in this issue, you will find a section on “Kindness and Altruism” with a lesson plan for you to share with your students, that highlights the idea of making kindness a yearlong theme. Also take a look at the “Today in Education” section for some unique and unusual teaching aids that some teachers are bringing to their classrooms.

As always, please continue to e-mail me at anita@cylc.org with your questions, comments and suggestions. I look forward to continuing to improve the newsletter based on your feedback. Have a safe, happy and wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Best Wishes,

Anita Barrett, M. Ed.
Managing Director of Academic Affairs
Congressional Youth Leadership Council

Kindness and Altruism All Year Long

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the creative light of altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life's persistent and most urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?'"Martin Luther King, Jr.

The months of November and December are often referred to as the “season for giving,” as we are more inclined to be kinder or do something without expecting something in return. What would happen if we approached kindness as the norm rather than the exception? Use the following lesson plan to help demonstrate to your students that there isn’t only one season in which to be kind. By showing random acts of kindness and “paying it forward” to others, they can see the need for the “season of giving” to become a yearlong event.

Click Here to view this month's lesson - Lesson on Kindness and Altruism. You will be asked to login using the password you received via e-mail at the time you subscribed to CYLC Mentor Newsletter.

Did you use this lesson plan with your students? Please share some of your classroom experiences with using this lesson plan or share suggestions with your teachers on ways you adapted this lesson plan to work for you.

Celebrate National Bill of Rights Day on December 15th!

The Bill of Rights became part of the Constitution of the United States on December 15, 1791. In 1941, on the 150^th anniversary of this event, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed December 15^th to be Bill of Rights Day. His goal was to make Americans aware of their rights and to remind them of their duties as citizens of the United States.

The Bill of Rights Institute has provided lesson plans, videos and other resources to help you to bring the Bill of Rights to life in your classroom. Click here to access your classroom resources.

Learning Math From the Rubik's Cube

Some New York City schools have revamped their math curriculum by introducing the Rubik’s Cube to help teach students of all ages important math concepts, including volume, angles, area, perimeter, algorithms and enumeration. Analyzing and solving the Rubik’s Cube not only helps students develop their math skills, it also builds their confidence and perseverence. Read the full story here.

Do you have any non-traditional teaching methods?

Exercise Balls Help Students Focus

A 2006 study conducted by The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota on childhood obesity showed that students with attention problems could focus better by sitting on exercise balls instead of chairs. The balls allow children to move without making noise and disturbing others. The children that require extra movement get the opportunity to do so silently.

Teachers around the country and the world are switching their chairs with exercise balls, to improve their students’ attention and posture. Read how and why some Illinois schools have done just that by clicking here. See the exercise balls in action in a Minneapolis classroom by clicking here.

Have you used any unorthodox methods to increase attention from your students? Share your experience with your peers!

NYLC Scholars Take Action on the Hill

Some lucky students attending the National Young Leaders Conference (NYLC) this fall engaged with former members of Congress for an inside look at the legislative branch of government. In this series of three webcasts, the students asked the Representatives questions on three specific topics:

How a Bill Really Becomes a Law. Click here to view the webcast.

So,You Got Elected. Now What? Click here to view the webcast.

Choosing Congress: Pursuing Public Service on the National Stage.Click here to view the webcast.

CYLC's Youngest Entrepreneurs

Chase Conley and Luke Morgan are not your typical 8^th grade students. Not only have both young men attended three CYLC leadership programs but they are also partners in their own business, DemonHotSauce.com!

Chase and Luke exemplify the CYLC mindset of striving to be young leaders in all that they do. They have taken what they have learned about the leadership trait of goal setting and used it to set and achieve their own unique goal of starting their own hot sauce business. Each boy brings his own expertise to the business, and they are even donating part of their profits to help their local community. Read their interview below to learn about true teamwork at a young age.

Interview:

What inspired you to start your own business?
Luke: My stepdad would make West India hot sauce at home, as he’s West Indian. The West Indian culture is to not only make the sauce hot, but also flavorful, no recipe involved. I thought it would be a great product to make and sell. When I realized how much work was involved in starting my own business, I asked my friend from school, Chase, to help. I knew Chase was really organized and would be a big asset to the business.

Have you always been fans of hot sauce?
Luke: I’ve always loved it and eat it on everything.
Chase: I didn’t like it when I was younger, but my tastes have changed since I’ve been older and I like it now.

Tell me about your web site. Did you do the design yourselves? How often do you update it? Do you get many people contacting you through your site?
Chase: We originally tried to do it ourselves and partly designed it, and then went to Go-Daddy for a template to actually use.
Both: We try to update it frequently but not as often as we’d like. People ask us questions about the product or their orders.

What skills have you gained from attending the leadership conferences that have been beneficial to you in starting your own business?
Luke: One of the main things we learned was goal setting. You need to be able to set goals to achieve them when starting a business.
Chase: I agree – goal setting.

I see from your web site that you donate 10% of your profits to a local charity. Which charity did you choose and why?
Luke: We haven’t yet chosen a charity; we’re waiting until the end of the year when we know our actual profits. We definitely want to keep it local – keep the impact of our work local.
Both: We have been talking about using the profits to help with a service project we’re doing at school, planting trees in the Wilmington area to improve the air quality and beauty.

What is your favorite moment from the programs you’ve attended?
Chase: I loved the Junior Alumni Boston program – Boston is a great city.
Luke: The inauguration was inspiring, but I agree about Boston.

Do you have any ideas for future businesses?
Luke: Not right now, but I have the type of mind that is always thinking about lots of businesses. No plans to move to another genre.

What have you learned from the experience of starting your own business?
Chase: Sometimes you’ll have no orders and then get a ton of orders. You can’t get down when there’s nothing happening or super excited when you have a lot of orders. Luke: You can’t wait for people to come to you. You need to have a compelling story AND a quality product. Make it so people WANT to come to you.

What advice do you have for other young entrepreneurs wanting to start a business of their own?
Chase: Plan, plan, plan. You need to establish a plan, and then be flexible as things change. You may not always sell as much as you’d like when you like, so you need to be flexible in your plan.
Luke: If you are going to run a business, you need to do it about something you are passionate about. It’s a LOT of work. If you’re not passionate about it, it will become a drag. My favorite saying is: Do what you love and love what you do!

Spread the Spirit of Invention

We are pleased to continue our relationship with By Kids For Kids (BKFK) and to remind you about their Invention Dimension national competition. Toys "R" Us, Inc. and JAKKS Pacific are sponsoring this competition to search for the hottest new toys, games and sporting goods created by kids. Encourage your students to submit their invention ideas now, as the deadline for the competition is January 29, 2010. You can learn more about the competition here.