Addison Parrott

Fifth-grader Addison Parrott is learning some great leadership skills, giving back to her community, and having fun while doing it. It’s all part of Team Lead, in which she is participating for the first time this year. She describes it to us as, “About being more of a leader than a follower... basically just helping the community.” They brainstorm and come up with various activities, such as caroling at a nursing home, or doing food pickups and deliveries. She also tells us about a coin challenge they did, where kids brought in whatever spare change they had at home in jars or under sofa cushions, weighed it, and rolled it up. They used the funds to help buy winter coats and backpacks for students who needed them.

To get to know each other, the students engage in ice breakers, adapting Foursquare to get some exercise in as well. We decided to try it out but with Rock, Paper, Scissors. We learned that Addison was born in Morris (but grew up here) and has two little sisters, Everly (6) and Olivia (2). As the oldest, Addison helps out with her siblings. She notes, “Being a big sister gives me a chance to teach them important things—like not pulling hair (that’s for baby Olivia)!”

Talking more about the nature of leadership, we are impressed by Addison’s mature understanding of the subject. She believes that being a good leader is about “doing what you feel is right, and not what other people want you to... trusting yourself.” Understanding to trust oneself and not give in to peer pressure is a pretty important learning for an adolescent.

We observe that the group seems to be learning how to see the needs in their community and fill them with empathy and compassion. We talk about the importance of these intangible social and emotional skills in being an effective leader. Developing leadership skills in school helps improve students’ self-confidence, enhances their ability to think for themselves, and shows them that they can make a difference in their communities. Research has also shown how practicing leadership skills from a young age helps students develop strong moral character and emotional maturity. All of these things are evident in talking with Addison.

We discuss the idea of “The Butterfly Effect,” where small actions have a ripple effect that can spread the good deeds far and wide. Addison shares a “Starfish Story,” where a child walks along a beach filled with hundreds of starfish out of water. She picks some up and puts them back in the ocean. When challenged by a skeptic who asks what good that little bit will do, the child responds by saying that they “did a small thing that can help.” Team Lead is a great way for students to become involved in helping outside the school walls—and as such lines up with the district’s goal of engaging students in the broader community.

One fun fact we learn about Addison is that she knows how to speak a little Korean. She proudly counts to ten in Korean, a skill she learned from taking taekwondo. She has been doing it for two years and has earned an orange belt. Addison is proud of the fact that she hasn’t gotten any penalties, which can lead to losing a rank. But she notes that there is a plus side to having to go back and repeat skills—and that is that one learns them extra well. She wisely notes that you can’t always avoid failure, but you can learn from it. For example, she sometimes struggles with certain math problems. But when she has to redo them, she feels that the extra instruction time helps her to understand at a deeper level. “Failure is kind of a bonus,” notes Addison, “because I keep going until I really understand it and get a really good explanation.” Addison has learned these (and other) important life lessons at a young age, and we know they will make her a special leader and helper.