CC students are volunteering to help girls develop their leadership skills.

Women are different! YAY!

2009-12-14T22:00:00.005-05:00

Today at Chapin Middle School we learned how unique women are. Today the girls learned really how different women are from men.

The majority of these differences stem from the way the brain works. We learned that studies show when men and women are given the same problem, their brains light up in different areas showing that men and women are looking the same problem in different ways.

We learned from studies done by JoAnn Deak that girls like to know what is going on. Girls will be more likely to do hear a noise outside in the hall compared to the guys, who will probably not even notice the noise at all. Girls are less likely to try something new compared to boys. Girls strive towards perfection and they prefer controlled environments where they know what to expect. When compared to boys, girls will take longer to think about a task. And girls’ thoughts are connected to emotions more than boys.

Continuing this comparison, after a break up with a boyfriend, girls have more resilience than boys. Girls are more caring and connect more with people. Girls are better at reading peoples faces and understanding the complexity of people. Girls are also more detailed in thinking compared to guys.

At the end of Friday morning, the girls had to admit areas of leadership or areas of their lives they could improve. The girls had to stand up in front of the group and admit these things. It can be very empowering to stand in front of a group of your peers and admit areas of weakness. All of the girls did a great job at being transparent with their peers.

Oh, Christmas also came today =D

Leaders Look at Issues from all Angles

2009-12-04T11:08:00.002-05:00

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!

Leaders See What Can Be Improved

2009-12-03T19:11:00.002-05:00

At our last Girls Empowered to Lead at Chapin Middle School meeting, groups discussed how to improve situations at school. The Columbia College Counselors and CMS students brainstormed about ways to make the school a better place and then presented these ideas to the whole group.

Seven Columbia College students are volunteering their time and enthusiasm to help girls at Chapin Middle School

2009-12-01T11:07:00.001-05:00

Seven Columbia College students are volunteering their time and enthusiasm to help girls at Chapin Middle School develop their leadership skills. Too many young women in the US stop developing their leadership skills in middle school. Girls are less likely to voice their opinions; more likely to go along with the crowd; less likely to follow their dreams; and are more likely to worry about whether they are popular than whether they are effective.
To address this distressing trend, speech-language pathology majors, Allison Boyer, Mikael Hess, Danielle Johnson, Lizbet Kloot, Ana Nazario-Tapia, Hope Stayman and Carolyn Turbeville, are assisting Dr. Linda Salane and Dr. Leigh Ann Spell in a leadership certificate program that teaches girls how to describe their specific leadership gifts, to be effective problem solvers and to make a difference in their school and community. This program is based on the 4 C’s model emphasizing courage, commitment, confidence and competence. The group meets bright and early every Friday morning from 7:30-8:15 a.m. at Chapin Middle School where the Columbia College students serve as wonderful role models for the girls. Activities are fun and interactive and all participants learn many things including one of the important messages from the program: “Leadership is not the position you hold but the difference you make.”