Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes. —Peter Drucker

13 March was marked as an “unusual” day for Grade 2 students at TK. Each class started their afternoon learning with some surprise visits from globally prominent leaders’: Malala Yousafzai, Princess Diana, Birute Galdikas, Benjamin Franklin, Bill Gates and The Wright Brothers. They were on campus to share their stories and inspirational life experiences with Grade 2 students. Each leader came from a different background, nationality, and occupation, yet their leadership was defined by their world changing results in various fields.

Malala talked about her fight against Taliban to defend young girls’ rights to education. She shared that while she was proud to be the youngest Nobel laureate, she had a lot more work to do to improve girls’ rights to education in her native Pakistan, and the rest of the world. Princess Diana told our students about her life story, and her unwavering commitment to charity work: and her personal passion in working with patients suffering from AIDS and Leprosy. A passionate environmentalist, Birute Galdikas, took students on a “tour” to her Orangutan Foundation International and shared information that outlined the orangutans’ needs, struggles and likes.

Benjamin Franklin took students back in time to the late 18th century, and excitedly introduced his scientific inventions (including bifocal lenses), and talked about his role in drafting the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Students were ready to fly an aircraft thanks to the exciting presentation by the Wright Brothers, inventors of the first fixed winged aircraft. Finally, students were in awe as they met contemporary self made billionaire, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. Although most of the children were familiar with Gates’ work in the computer world, they learnt more about the man, and the generous contributions that the Gates family has made to various charitable causes, that include fighting hunger, poverty and diseases in the developing world.

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This was a very memorable introduction to the students’ new unit of inquiry on “Where We Are in Place and Time” thanks to our Grade 2 teachers, who had disguised themselves as these amazing world leaders, and introduced students to a world of change, invention and leadership.

At the end of the unit on 6 May, it was the students’ turn to disguise and act as world leaders, who have changed the world for the better. What a great way to bring learning to life.

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