I viewed two of the "Student & Leaders" programs. I viewed the programs filmed at School Without Walls and the Hyde Leadership Public Charter School. The students at those two schools showed vastly different forms and types of leadership. In addition, the students also showed interest in providing leadership in different arenas of life.

The students at Walls, a true example of racial and economic diversity, displayed how students from different walks of life can be politically active and be invested in the future of the political system of this country. The students at Walls expressed the thought that as the future of this country - our country - we are endowed with the responsibility of the future. The students at Walls expressed leadership in personal terms - as a means for each of them to promote positive social change by being a part of the political process.

The students participating from the Hyde School, a homogenous group of African-Americans, spoke of another type of leadership. Although also expressed in personal terms, the leadership promoted by the Hyde students centered more so on self-development. The Hyde students expressed the desire to lead themselves out of their particular situations, to better themselves. They express a desire, after having been tried by the fire, to emerge as pure gold. The students at Hyde seem to have experienced more of life's difficulties than the students at Walls, thereby resulting in their desire to lead themselves up rather than lead others out..

Although desiring to lead in different ways, the commitment to community service was a common thread running through both programs. Regardless of whether the students chose to lead through personal development or involvement in the political process, both groups of students seemed to understand that being a leader ultimately involved reaching out and helping others,

As a student who has attended both of these schools, I have had the unique opportunity to communicate with both sets of students and develop a first-hand understanding of why each group seeks the lead in its particular way. I understand the need of the Hyde students to lead by personal achievement, but I also understand and appreciate the desire of the Walls students to lead our country into a new era of tolerance and cooperation.

If I had to reduce what I learned about leadership from these two programs into a short statement I would say the following. Leadership is not an end unto itself. Being in a position of leadership only matters to the extent that one can make a difference in someone else's life.

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