Why you need an “F” in your Student Organization

Don’t Fear the “F”

We spend so much time fearing “F”s in school, when we should be embracing the positivity and power of certain “F”s that will change the lives of our students. I have been involved with Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) for decades. It has helped to shape and mold who I am as a person, and who I am as a teacher. Since the early 1980’s (don’t get a calculator out, I’ll tell you I’m 56), CTSOs and other groups have played a huge role in my life—as they should for today’s youth, as well, so I’ve gathered these tips for student leadership.

I have a LOT of “F”s to share

While my experiences and areas of specialization fall into the categories of curricular clubs and Student Council, the idea of “F”s leading the way will benefit any group of youngsters, from Scouting to schooling to sports (maybe I should do the letter “S” next!). Through the years, I have had the benefit of coaching a number of students in competitive organizations like DECA and FBLA, and am proud to have coached International finalists and winners at all three levels – Middle School, High School, and College. Let me share with you how we structure our organizations to benefit all of our students, and support our competitive members.

Tips for Student Leadership I have gained over the decades:

Familiarity – The Power of Predictability and Tips for your Student Leadership Meetings

Each meeting, or team practice, is different to a certain degree, but it’s important for a students’ sense of security to have an idea of what’s to come. One thing that our leadership teams are tasked with at the beginning of the year is to develop a structure for the meetings. Building the template for your meetings bonds them as a group, and lets leadership put their individual flair into it. Watching your leadership team work through this task is extremely interesting, as you see different personalities and strengths shine through.

For example: The “Question of the Day” activity always follows the “Welcome” portion of our meeting. Students know what to expect. Though the question itself and the activity that goes along with it is made new every day by a member of the student leadership, the sense of order is impactful. Students need a sense of direction to feel as though they have power over their surroundings. It is through this that they will begin to act as their most authentic self.

Don’t believe me? Notice how they always sit at the same table in the cafeteria? Or even in your classroom without a seating chart? Familiarity at its finest.

Freedom – A Student Leader’s Best Friend

One of the most important things you can do for your students is to let them run the organization as completely as possible. I have said for decades as an advisor and coach: “This is not the Patti Buono show.” As mentors, we are merely facilitator in the actual events—the stars of the show are the student leaders who have been taught (by you!) how to run effective meetings.

This was even true when I was advising Middle-Level FBLA (6th through 8th graders). Giving young people the opportunity to plan and execute activities is extremely empowering for them. It lets them know that you not only trust them, but that they are responsible young adults in your eyes. The boost to their self-confidence and esteem is obvious after each meeting. 

So do you let them fail (the bad “F” word)? Yeah, you really do…to a certain extent. They will feel when an activity isn’t well-received, or students lose focus on a certain topic. It is important to their growth and development to see this happen. Let them try to regroup, change course, and redirect the activity on their own. You only step in when things have clearly gotten outside of the students’ control. Even then, I step in only as far as I absolutely need to go.

DO NOT take over, or present the next topic. Simply quiet the room, refocus using a leading question, redirect a disengaged group of students, and then back off. No need to go to the front of the room or take over. Show that you trust your people by giving them Freedom.

Food – The Student Leadership Magnet

Food. Do I need to say this twice? Need to bump up your weekly membership numbers? Food. Celebrate a group or individual accomplishment? Food. Support students who are staying late to work on a community service project? Food. Giving out prizes from a drawing? Food.

There is absolutely nothing that fills the seats at a meeting like a little snack for students. Better yet—it doesn’t even matter what the snack is!! While pizza will bring students in droves, so will dollar store movie theater candy, or bags of chips, or sticks of beef jerky, or even Capri Suns (they love these an inordinate amount!). So, don’t feel like you need to break the bank. 

Now, you don’t need to offer food at every meeting, either. In our current FBLA, we do snacks about every other week. We do small little cupcakes to celebrate bi-monthly birthdays, seasonal candies to celebrate holidays, and I even gave out bags of chips last month – a bonus of running the Student Store (they were set to expire!)! For me, the chips + Capri Sun combo was easily the most popular so far this year.

Pro Tips for Student Leadership: A visit to your local bakery section of the supermarket or the local donut shop could even result in FREE donations for one of your meetings. Don’t be afraid to ask! Better yet, send a pair of students in to ask—who could deny them? Your students will be happy to go, too. After all, it is Food.

Fun – Easy Tips for Your Student Leadership to Thrive

Students are one and done with a clubs that feels too much like school. These are outside school hours and should be outside school rules. I’m not saying to let things get out of hand, but playing Musical Chairs will be a blast for kids! We recently played Red Light Green Light (thank you Squid Game) in the hallway, and it was a huge success. We even turn a professional handshaking activity into a game. Making something relatively dry into a fun experience always makes for a great event! 

Let’s try to minimize the quiz games, though. Many teachers use these to the point where students find them nauseating. Further, these kids have probably spent most of the day sitting, and they need to move to stimulate their brains and creativity. Instead of sit-and-get, scout around your school or meeting area for an outdoor space you can use. You need a lot of room for Rock Paper Scissor Snake, so get out of your classroom and utilize your entire environment! The more Fun you have, the more your students will want to participate.

Friends – Your Student Leader’s Network is Your Organizations Net Worth

The single best recruiting tool you have to leverage are the members of your organization! The most common way teenagers get jobs, for example, is by working where their friends work—use that tip to your advantage in your student leaders!

For example: We host “Bring a Friend” meetings about once a month to increase engagement and membership. Anyone who brings a non-member gets entered into a drawing for one of those handy snacks we talked about earlier. One of our officers is assigned to break the ice with the potential member—answering questions and making sure the person gets involved in our activities. More often than not, we will see that person again at an upcoming meeting. After all, they already have a Friend or two in the club!

Focus – An After-School Activity’s Greatest Challenge

So it’s after school and everybody is tired and burned out. They shuffle into your room like they’ve just finished a marathon. Their brains are worn out, they barely slept three hours last night, AND Buono assigned a TON of homework!!! How can we get them engaged in our activity? BE THE ANTIDOTE!!!

It’s really very simple: Bring your A-game, your most enthusiastic, excited, engaged self right from the moment they see your door. We station our student leaders at each entrance. Their only job is to greet each person by name. I suggest having popular, school-friendly music playing at a decent level in your room, and keeping it well-lit. Additionally, we station our officers at different spots of the room to engage the various groups as they take their seats.

Pro Tips for Student Leadership: Have them find empty chairs for newcomers and introduce themselves to all members—even if they already know them!! They could just tell them “I’m practicing my professional greeting.”

So now that we’ve woken them up, the hard work begins. To keep students focused throughout the meeting, it needs to be a well-planned and executed event. Just like a successful team practice or performance: Our student leaders TRAIN. The team vary the types of activities, change-up the order of presenters, and engage members as much as possible. We always use a variety of teacher strategies—think/pair/share, turn and talk, random name generators, volunteer you and a partner—to make sure everyone in the room is engaged, participating, and Focused. 

Fees – A Necessary Evil, But Not A Barrier

We charge fees. The fees are modest, but I firmly believe in kids having “skin in the game.” They are more likely to follow through, be more consistent, and be more responsible when they—or their parents—have invested (literally). Our fees are low to promote inclusivity, and do not demand students become “official members” to participate in general meetings, but we do need to pay our state and national fees for CTSOs and other large-scale organizations, so we need to charge something.

Most importantly, we let everyone know–loudly and often—that money should NEVER be a barrier for young people to be involved in our organizations. Nobody else needs to know individual situations, but I strongly encourage (multiple times!) students see me privately if they need a “Buono Scholarship.” In my many, many years as a sports coach and advisor, I have never had a student abuse this offer.

The Buono Scholarship can cover anything from club dues to professional outfits to registration to regional and state conferences. Sometimes the Buono Scholarship comes from my active alumni, in which case I have the recipient write a thank you letter, but more often it comes directly from our club account, and we are happy to spend it. Do it for your young adults—it’s the right thing to do. One of the best tips for student leadership success: Fees are important, but should never hold ANYONE back.

Festive – Student Leadership Can Always Find a Way to be Festive

Encourage your team to celebrate everything, and absolutely nothing! Our www.Americangreetings.com account has paid for itself many times over this school year alone! We have an officer in charge of sending birthday cards, cards for members who make A Honor Roll, cards for success in another club or organization. Even more valuable, we can follow-up with first-time attendees and our MIA members.

To gather the relevant information, we post a sign-in link at the beginning of ever meeting for students to check in. Our sign-in link simply asks for the students’ school email, with a check-box for “first-time attendee.” Sending them a “thanks for coming,” and a “hope to see you next week,” has been wildly successful. That said, nothing is more successful than reaching out to students who we have NOT seen in several meetings. We gently send a “Missing you” card, with a brief note that we hope they can find time in their schedule next week Most of these notes bring the student back.

Is there anything we don’t celebrate??? Well…actually, yes. A tip for your student leadership: DO NOT celebrate ANY non-secular holidays. We do not want to alienate anyone from our group, so we are careful to be diverse and inclusive, and err on the side of caution when it comes to people taking offense. Everyone should be Festive together!

Fraternity – Your Student Leadership Should Feel Like They Are “In”

Networking is our fancy business education way of saying “making friends.” It is a teacher’s specialty to take a group of diverse individuals with little in common and create lasting friendships. That is what your CTSO, team, group should truly be about. We are trying to take the scary and often isolating experience of public school and turn it into an enjoyable activity that one can discuss with peers. Nothing is better than a student-chosen activity or team to make that happen!

While we encourage fraternity during our meetings and conferences, it is much harder outside of the school building. To try to bridge that gap, we schedule social events throughout the year at local places. We know the kids love to meet at the bowling alley or ice rink, but doing so in a public park is even better because it’s free. If you haven’t done it, it will warm your soul to watch these young adults just plain act like kids over the weekend. Eventually, the Fraternity forms by itself.

Philanthropy – Help Others to Help Your Student Leadership

Okay, okay, I know I’m cheating here!!! But this is such an important topic, and a pillar of our student organizations, that you should let it slide!

You want to truly be a change-agent and impact your young adults? Get your them involved in community service activities! It will do them a world of good, while doing good for others. We start small with community service events, so that students learn that it is often easy to impact others. Bringing in a few cans of food may seem simple to your students, but being on the team that drops off the donations, or researches which organization to use, can be life-changing for students. 

Ever done a “Miracle Minute” with your team? BIG tip for your student leadership: DO IT!!! It is astonishing what you can raise in one minute, and having your students count up the donations is eye-opening for them. Collect donations to bring a Senior Center some treats—they will never look at Grandma and Grandpa the same way. Consider collecting gently-used business wear. Tons of organizations need that to help people get back on their feet. There are a million ideas—choose one and open your students’ eyes. Philanthropy is not just for the recipient!

Future – Let’s Create the Best One We Can

We’ve reached the “F” that is Final on purpose (see what I did there?). You, as the coach or advisor, have been given an awesome opportunity to effect true change for your young people. Through you, they will see a world outside of themselves. You can show them a glimpse of what they can accomplish after school ends and can safely push them to reach heights they never imagined for themselves. You are a change-agent of the greatest kind. Are you awed and humbled by this responsibility? I am. Every day with every single kid. The children are our Future and we are the ones who shape them.

So those are my “F” tips for student leadership!

So, go out there and give them an “F”. Give them every “F” you can, to show them that this “F” doesn’t stand for failure. This “F” is FOREVER.

Thank you, if you have made it this far in Tips for Student Leadership – Get and “F” in Student Organizations!

Hey, since you’re here! You may as well check out some of the other awesome tips for student leadership, here! Or perhaps you’re interested in something else we talk about here? Either way, we appreciate you!

Feel free to contact me or leave a comment about which “F” you practice every day and which “F” you would like to hear more about! Or reach out with any unrelated questions, comments, concerns, or random outbursts of excitement by clicking here.