A Glimpse into World Leadership School Instructor Training
“True Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders”― Ziad K. Abdelnour
One of the goals for Annual Instructor Training is to replicate a student program. We use it as an opportunity to knock our instructors and faculty off balance and give them the chance to re-envision themselves as change agents in the world. Just like on our Collaborative Leadership Programs with students, we want the students to disconnect, decenter and re-envision, we want the faculty and instructors to do the same while at training. It is a unique and necessary opportunity for adults to become the students, in order to grow as educators.
Every April, World Leadership School staff and instructors convene in the beautiful, majestic mountains of Colorado for four days of learning from and about each other. Every year, we invite a group of school partner faculty and administrators to join us at training to learn more about the mission and values of World Leadership School. Putting so many like-minded people together in a cabin for four days allows for authentic exchange and deep bonding around WLS’s mission to ‘empower young leaders to find innovative solutions to the world’s pressing problems.’ Friendships are made throughout the weekend, and those connections carry our instructors into the field with a tremendous amount of energy and excitement for the adventures ahead.
When WLS held its first Instructor Training in 2008, it was in the home office of Executive Director and Founder, Ross Wehner, where we prepared four instructors to lead programs in Belize, Costa Rica, and Peru. Instructor Training has developed into a weekend that all of our instructors look forward to as a time to re-connect before heading out on summer programs. Instructor Training takes place at the Fountain Valley School Mountain Campus, with views of numerous 14,000-foot mountains off the back porch. Friday and Saturday are jam-packed with curriculum; on Friday night, we head to Princeton Hot Springs for a soak, and on Saturday night we end the weekend with a barbecue on the porch! Veteran Instructor, Susan Lambert, puts it best: “Returning to instructor training each year is like returning to a family reunion with best friends from around the globe. We are able to connect with one another, learn from each other, and also find time to enjoy the stunning Colorado setting that surrounds us.”
Next year we will be having our Coordinator Training; our coordinators will be traveling from all over the world to Colorado for a full week of training. It is an incredibly special time for everyone in the World Leadership School family. We hosted our first Coordinator training in 2013 and we had 8 countries represented — and we are aiming for at least 10 countries in 2016!
In the middle of April, 2016, Country Coordinators from Asia, Africa and Latin America will arrive a few days before our instructors. It is a time for WLS staff to work with our Country Coordinators on learning sessions about responsible community development, integrating local students into our programs, and the TabLab initiative. We will also share meals together, visit St. Mary’s Academy in Denver, and take in a Colorado Rockies baseball game! Once the instructors start arriving mid week, we will leave Denver and head to the Mountain Campus. We will spend the next few days going over WLS program learning sessions, risk managements, and exchanging ideas on how we can better fulfill our mission. It will be a time for sharing, connecting and preparing for life-changing travel experiences!
We ask a lot from our instructors and coordinators. We are asking them to leave their family, friends and lives to travel thousands of miles away with teenagers. Not only is it an exhausting job, it is one of the most rewarding experiences that they have throughout the year. While at training we celebrate what each unique individual brings to their program and what we can learn from each other. Training is an opportunity to surround ourselves with like-minded people who are committed to instilling passion and purpose into the future generations.
— Erin Hawk, Director of Operations
