Students as teachers, students as leaders . . .

VRG students from the Leadership class (Ledarskap och Organisation)  held lectures and guided engaged activities with more than 300 students and parents from Vasaskolan on Nov 26. For the 3rd year in a row, using students as teachers and students as leaders proved to be very effective.

In a program developed for grade 4 – 6 students and their parents, Vad gör unga på nätet? VRG students together with the activities leaders from the Danderyd municipality at Pavven present aspects of what kids do on the net, as well as the results of a local survey that show what their kids are actually doing.

In the beginning of the event, Jonas Jonsson lead an engaging presentation to get everyone thinking.  Then, the group divided up parents in one group and students in one group.

VRG students, Frida, Felicia, and Niklas, held short presentations about blogging, social media, and gaming.  In addition, they sat on a “teenage panel” and answered random questions from parents.  They were well-prepared, honest, funny, and inspiring.

The student group went to different classrooms where they could participate in different activities about values and making good choices.  These activities were led by VRG students.

The evening ended with everyone back together in the main room with an inspiring message “dialogue (between students and their parents) is the key to safe and happy internet usage.”

What did VRG students learn from this opportunity? When you teach/talk about a topic to another person and try to explain it in terms they understand, you learn it better yourself. When you research, prepare, present, defend your ideas, and debate alternative solutions with an audience in an honest and open way; as well as inspire those around you to listen to what you have to say – you practice being a leader.

On Tuesday, these VRG students were leaders.