Leaders Look at Issues from all Angles

It was another fun and exciting day at Chapin Middle School! Today, at our Girls Empowered to Lead at Chapin Middle School meeting, groups used the Six Thinking Hats technique to look at important issues facing teenage girls today in a number of different ways. We focused on these three important issues that middle school and high school girls face on a daily basis: confidence/self-esteem, achievement pressure, and body image pressure. The white hats represented the question, "What is the issue really?" When wearing this hat, the CMS students, along with the Columbia College Counselors focused on the facts that they knew or the facts that they would want to know in order to understand the problem. The red hats represented the question "How do you feel about this issue?" The groups shared their feelings about each of the three issues, remembering that everyone's feelings are valid and are to be accepted. The yellow hats represented the best thing that could happen concerning this situation, and the black hats represented the worst. The groups wore green hats to focus on creative ideas to improve the problems they face. Finally, the blue hats represented the question "What can you do this week as a leader to address this issue?" As always, the CMS students provided wonderful examples of things that they can do to improve these issues on their campus. As Columbia College Counselors, we are there to be role models, and to help the girls improve their leadership skills, but we are learning just as much from them! Every Friday with these girls is truly a rewarding experience for all of us!