Batavia Students Celebrate 'Sheroes'

Press release from Batavia Public School District 101:

On Friday, March 5 the J.B. Nelson Student Advisory Board (SAB) was treated to a Leadership presentation by a local Batavia mom, Maureen O’Brien. O’Brien is the owner of two companies; an exterior remodeling company, O’Brien and Son, Inc., and the Global Wisdom Leadership Forum which exists to equip and accelerate the advancement of transformational leaders.

It was a genius idea of the SAB leader at JBN, Mrs. Philips to invite O’Brien to speak with her students. At first, it may seem like a BIG topic to present to 4th and 5th-grade students, but O’Brien is a pro and she hosted an engaging conversation. She started out by asking the students, “Name a great leader that you know.” Students answered anything from the President of the United States to Martin Luther King, Jr.

She talked about unconscious biases. But instead of giving a definition for the students to memorize, she asked them to close their eyes. She then asked them to think of a truck driver (for example). And when the students opened their eyes, they saw a picture of two women truck drivers behind the wheel of their semi-trucks. Most of the students admitted to thinking of a big, burly man with a beard.

Next, she spoke about (S)Heros and how you have an opportunity to lead by being an upstander. Upstanders stand up for others and stand up against problems. She charged the group to speak up when they see something that isn’t right, “If you see something, say something.” She even wrote a book, “And the Children Watched—A Reflection on the COVID-19 Pandemic”, when she was a bit discouraged by how some adults were not being good examples to children during the pandemic, not modeling positive behaviors, and gives examples of how positives can come from a crisis.

She then talked to the students about kindness and how “intentional kindness” can have more of an impact. Though saying to yourself that you are going to be nicer is a great start, if you say, “Today, I am going to say hello to every teacher that I see in the hallway,” that may be more intentional and allow you to feel the positive energy from your kindness.

The conversation closed with O’Brien saying how excited she was by meeting such amazing students and that she expects that the next time someone asks them if they know a leader, they will point to themselves.

A big thank you to the “leaders” at JBN for being so creative and helping our current students to become great S(Heroes).

This press release was produced by Batavia Public School District 101. The views expressed here are the author’s own.