A Lesson in Leadership from the young Ben Franklin
A historical leader I look up to is Benjamin Franklin. While many of us know that he was one of the founding fathers, we may not know to the extent he was a civic leader. I love that he was a jack of all trades, renaissance man. He was an inventor, writer, publisher, entrepreneur, diplomat, and leader. He, however, never became president, which I find fascinating. He was well liked and had lots of intellect and common sense, yet, never felt the need to seek that highest office. I think that was mostly in part to his belief in the power of one and his vision for his individual community as well as the growing country.
Franklin was always thinking of the good of the people and he sought to live out the virtues every day. He even kept a running list/journal. He wanted those around him to do so as well. He believed that our good work should benefit all, not just one, and that is evident in his creations of libraries, fire houses, a free hospital and the laundry list of inventions for which he never sought a patent. He wanted the everyday person to have access to tools he or she needed without additional costs. He wanted people to do good for the sake of society, the collective self instead of the individual self.
Franklin reminds me of me in that he takes on passion projects and he seeks answers to questions for which he see lie unanswered. I tend to do that too and I like to use writing as part of my communicating to others. In one biography-type website, I found that Benjamin also had a bit of a rebellious side. When he was an apprentice for his brother's newspaper, since we wasn't allowed to write for it, he came up with an alias and wrote anyway. "Benjamin wanted to write for the paper too, but he knew that James would never let him. After all, Benjamin was just a lowly apprentice. So Ben began writing letters at night and signing them with the name of a fictional widow, Silence Dogood. Dogood was filled with advice and very critical of the world around her, particularly concerning the issue of how women were treated. Ben would sneak the letters under the print shop door at night so no one knew who was writing the pieces" (http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/)
"Silence Dogood"-- I'm sorry-- that's hilarious. He fought to get his voice out there and was clever about doing so. He didn’t take no for an answer. My kinda guy.
Similarly, "In 1729, Benjamin Franklin bought a newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin not only printed the paper, but often contributed pieces to the paper under aliases. His newspaper soon became the most successful in the colonies. This newspaper, among other firsts, would print the first political cartoon, authored by Ben himself." (http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/) He was committed to a cause and he followed through. That is another way in which Franklin and I are similar. I'm not as much of an inventor as him, but I think I use my skill sets as best I can to accomplish goals that benefit the students, community, and those around me. I want to model doing things for the common man out of goodness and virtue and I want my students to lead by example with their voices, minds, and hearts. I think Franklin did that, not from the White House (which wasn't white at that time) but from his own streets, thinking about the middle class workers and those trying to become them. He didn't love all the credit, although at times he wasn't humble (we're all human), and he did things because he saw a problem and wanted to find a solution that would benefit his fellow countrymen. That seems like a worthwhile vision to me.
Franklin was always thinking of the good of the people and he sought to live out the virtues every day. He even kept a running list/journal. He wanted those around him to do so as well. He believed that our good work should benefit all, not just one, and that is evident in his creations of libraries, fire houses, a free hospital and the laundry list of inventions for which he never sought a patent. He wanted the everyday person to have access to tools he or she needed without additional costs. He wanted people to do good for the sake of society, the collective self instead of the individual self.
Franklin reminds me of me in that he takes on passion projects and he seeks answers to questions for which he see lie unanswered. I tend to do that too and I like to use writing as part of my communicating to others. In one biography-type website, I found that Benjamin also had a bit of a rebellious side. When he was an apprentice for his brother's newspaper, since we wasn't allowed to write for it, he came up with an alias and wrote anyway. "Benjamin wanted to write for the paper too, but he knew that James would never let him. After all, Benjamin was just a lowly apprentice. So Ben began writing letters at night and signing them with the name of a fictional widow, Silence Dogood. Dogood was filled with advice and very critical of the world around her, particularly concerning the issue of how women were treated. Ben would sneak the letters under the print shop door at night so no one knew who was writing the pieces" (http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/)
"Silence Dogood"-- I'm sorry-- that's hilarious. He fought to get his voice out there and was clever about doing so. He didn’t take no for an answer. My kinda guy.
Similarly, "In 1729, Benjamin Franklin bought a newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin not only printed the paper, but often contributed pieces to the paper under aliases. His newspaper soon became the most successful in the colonies. This newspaper, among other firsts, would print the first political cartoon, authored by Ben himself." (http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/) He was committed to a cause and he followed through. That is another way in which Franklin and I are similar. I'm not as much of an inventor as him, but I think I use my skill sets as best I can to accomplish goals that benefit the students, community, and those around me. I want to model doing things for the common man out of goodness and virtue and I want my students to lead by example with their voices, minds, and hearts. I think Franklin did that, not from the White House (which wasn't white at that time) but from his own streets, thinking about the middle class workers and those trying to become them. He didn't love all the credit, although at times he wasn't humble (we're all human), and he did things because he saw a problem and wanted to find a solution that would benefit his fellow countrymen. That seems like a worthwhile vision to me.