Being a Class Officer
Last week, my eldest son came home saying he’s running for class Treasurer. I was surprised at this declaration because last year I asked him about it and he immediately said no,stating that it’s hard to be an officer. Well, I guess he’s up to the challenge now.
Andrew said he didn’t really plan to run for officer. His classmate nominated and was hesitant at first to accept. The next day, he gave his intention to run by giving his last year’s report card (there’s an academic and conduct grade requirement to run for officer). See, my son still gets nervous when asked to do something new to him and often shies away from it. So thinking twice and ending up agreeing to run for officer is really a step up for him.
In his school, they get to do a few days of simple campaigning. They were allowed to hang a few posters in the classroom (using simple materials and re-used paper) and talk to their classmates about it. However, they were not allowed to hand out stuff around, thank God. I can just imagine problems and issues arising if they did allow it.
I helped my son make his campaign posters and here’s what we’ve come up —
Yesterday, Andrew happily announced that he won. I’m happy for him as this should be a good challenge for him. As class officer, of course, he must be a model student, maintain good grades, and committed to do all the duties required of him as the class treasurer. In turn, he gets an early start in developing three important skills —
LEADERSHIP – the ability not only to lead and to serve. He must also show good communication and critical thinking skills and must have the ability to work with others.
TIME MANAGEMENT – the ability to use his time effectively to be successful in all that he does. With studies, officer duties, extra-curricular activities, home duties and play, he must determine which are the priorities when planning his day.
RESPONSIBILITY – the ability to take care of himself and his class; to be dependable and to accept responsibility for his actions, be it a successful on or not.
So if your child shows an interest in being a class officer, congratulate him already. Encourage him to run but prepare him both for winning or losing. If he wins, remind him of his commitment to the challenge and affirm your support. If he does not get the position, tell him that you are still proud of him and that there will be other opportunities for him to lead.
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