As third quarter comes to a close, many teachers have begun selecting juniors to be their SILC (Student Instructional Leadership Cores) students for next year. Although some students view SILCing as another way to build their resumé, the SILC program is arguably one of the most constructive and beneficial leadership opportunities offered at New Trier.
Senior year provides countless leadership opportunities for students in all forms of extracurricular activities.
Whether it’s being the captain of a varsity sports team or an executive member of a social service board, these roles require student leaders to possess the skills necessary to lead a group towards the achievement of a goal.
While some students are natural born leaders, not everyone is as confident with their abilities. For example, speaking in front of a large group or giving criticism to peers can be challenging.
Through New Trier’s unique SILC program, students have the ability to improve on these skills and gain experience, making them a better leader in their extracurricular activities.
Regardless of what subject a student SILCs, all participants work with their teacher mentor to identify ways to improve their leadership. Access to this teacher mentor is a unique opportunity because it gives the students someone to observe them daily and provide feedback on their in- class techniques.
In most other leadership positions, faculty sponsors serve more like supervisors than mentors thus students do not receive the same critiquing.
For a SILC who sees leading a class discussion as a challenge, their mentor may push them out of their comfort zone, encouraging them to lead the class until this is no longer a fear, but a strength.
Students also write off the SILC program because they don’t see teaching as their intended career path. While SILCing provides a valuable experience for those interested in pursuing teaching, the lessons learned in the program are applicable to any professional field.
Teaching a skill, leading a meeting, and giving constructive criticism are all skills that apply to any field from business to communications.
What deters many from entering the program is the extra time commitment and stress that an extra course may cause. Admittedly, SILCing does take away a free period; however, the skills learned are helpful in a wide array of courses.
Most classes incorporate presentations and collaborative projects throughout the year. For example, Literature and Composition and Great Books expect students to lead a class discussion multiple times a semester.
During the SILC seminars, students learn useful tips for these situations, such as how to build a better relationship with peers and how to ask good leading questions during discussions. This is also the first experience many students have in which they actually learn the fundamentals of how to best give a presentation.
SILCs are required to attend three of these seminars and complete assignments before each.
While finding the time to attend these workshops and complete an extra assignment is stressful (for the majority of the semester), SILCing is a very manageable and flexible commitment.
Learning and physically practicing quality leadership skills is a more productive use of a class period than working on a few assignments or chatting in the hallway with friends.