How students deal with leadership?

Hi fellows, I'm teacher loren, and here I'm going to share a little of my experience at the beginning of the year (we started classes in February here)

Here in Brazil, as in classrooms worldwide, we recognize that leadership at the elementary level is less about exerting authority and more about nurturing essential social-emotional skills. These skills form the foundation for developing responsible, empathetic, and collaborative individuals. Consequently, I've observed that children and adolescents experience significant growth through these experiences. As educators, we have the valuable opportunity to cultivate their leadership potential and gain a deeper understanding of their interactions with both themselves and their peers.

Observing this over the past few years, I've noticed how much some students enjoy leading, but only to boss their classmates around, rather than helping as a leader is supposed to do. Other students like leadership to feel important and share this with their parents, and others still do it feeling obligated to hold the leadership position, with much reluctance.

A few students stand out in this, exercising leadership genuinely, collaborating with classmates and the teacher. That's why I believe it's important to rotate among them and test everyone in this exercise of leadership throughout the school year. I've had cases of students who hated it but, after the third time in the position in the year, started to like it and became one of the best leaders in that school.

It is very satisfying to follow this, because we will always exercise leadership in our lives in some aspect.

What does leadership look like in Elementary school?

Think less "president of the class" and more "kind and helpful classmate."

At this age, we're focusing on:

Empathy and Communication: Our little ones learn to understand and respond to the feelings of others. They learn to share, take turns, and resolve conflicts peacefully. These are foundational skills for any leader.
Informal Leadership: It's the child who notices a friend struggling and offers a hand, or the one who takes initiative in a group project. It's leadership in action, without the need for a title.
Building a Foundation: We're helping them to listen, respect diverse opinions, and work effectively as part of a team. These are skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.

From my perspective here in Brazil, I see that this process is universal. We are all working to give our students the skills to succeed in the classroom, and in the world. So, and there?