Shaping new leaders

By Jeffrey D. Wagner
Fall River Herald News
Thu Jun 21, 2007

Dartmouth -- Philadelphia author and educator Salome Thomas-El recalled to graduates of Leadership Southcoast on Wednesday afternoon the time Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the inner-city Vaux Middle School, where Thomas-El became a legendary teacher and chess coach.

Schwarzenegger, who claimed to be a good chess player, challenged Thomas-El’s top player, Denise Pickard, and lost.

Pickard, later conceded to Thomas-El that she was nervous before she terminated “the terminator” but she remembered a lesson her teachers taught her: always be prepared.

Thomas-El, who wrote the book “I Choose to Stay: A Teacher’s Fight for America’s Inner City Schools and The Immortality of Influence,” told graduates that preparedness is one of the major ingredients of successful leadership.

He also told the third graduating class at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Woodland Commons that to be a good leader, one must make good decisions, be honest and have a vision and have a plan.

Thomas-El told the 19 graduates and members of the H.O.P.E. Collaborative that there are often misconceptions about leadership, but one thing he is sure of is that good leaders learn from their mistakes, serve their community and are willing to communicate and collaborate with others.

“Failure is motivating; success is paralyzing,” he said, explaining that successful leaders must be willing to leave their comfort zone in order to face adversity and make a difference.

“Leadership is about how we choose to influence others. … So many people choose not to take the influential route,” he said, and later added, “We inspire by our actions.”

During a press conference before the commencement, Thomas-El told reporters about the making of a movie based on his experiences as an inner city teacher and chess coach. He said both he and Will Smith, the actor who will play Thomas-El in the Disney movie, were not satisfied with the original script. But a second script is currently being written for the film. He said he wants the movie to be truer to life than most teacher films. He claims that in the majority of teacher films, only one teacher is portrayed as making the difference in students’ lives.

But that, he said, could not be further from the truth. He said that for every inspirational teacher, there are several sources influencing that educator.

“We must understand as adults that we have a tremendous amount of influence on young teachers,” said Thomas-El who now serves as a principal at Russell Byers Public Charter School in Philadelphia.

Thomas-El said there were many teachers and people who influenced him before he could influence others. He said his third-grade teacher agreed to take Thomas-El under her wing after his mother implored her for help, saying that she had eight children and wanted one, Thomas-El, to go to college. His high school English teacher dashed his athletic hopes but changed his life when she told him that he had a better chance of earning his MBA than making it into the NBA.

Thomas-EL said teachers and leaders must be motivated by a willingness to put others first. He also said they must be intelligent and flexible, and realize their job might stretch beyond the normal call of duty.

Thomas-El said that with the divorce rate high nationwide and with many inner-city children lacking a father figure, he has had to assume the role.

Leadership SouthCoast is a 10-month community leadership program designed to develop the organizational, leadership and problem-solving skills of its participants, according to a written release.

The program offers its students insights into the community and helps them identify ways of understanding “where strategic alliances might be forged and provides organizations unique perspectives on the behind-the-scenes workings of our state,” according to the release

Prior to the graduation ceremony, the 4Peace Foundation, a hip-hop group from Boston, gave an anti-violence presentation for the graduates, Thomas-El and the local anti-violence group, the H.O.P.E. Collaborative.