Everyday Leadership

Mark Kosinski, a guidance counselor and teacher in Chillicothe, Illinois, uses Building Everyday Leadership and Everyday Leadership student books for a high school leadership class. He told us his students especially respond to the “Prejudice Gallery” activity, in which students examine positive and negative stereotypes about different groups of people. The stereotypes are written on big paper and posted on the wall for students to walk up to and think about. Kosinski says, “After viewing the wall of stereotypes, we had an amazing discussion. There was one student who was particularly quiet. I finally called on him to get his feedback on the activity. He said, ‘The first time I walked through, I smiled because I have said so many of those things to people. When you told us to put ourselves in their shoes the second time walking through, I thought, I am the one making people feel as bad as they do.’ He paused for a bit and said, ‘This experience has changed my life.’” Kosinski’s students also do service projects, and they went to Janesville, Wisconsin, to look at the world’s largest Peace Pole. “Our class is working on a project to have Peace Poles planted in front of every school in our district,” he said.