What makes a leader? A leader in Middle School is hard to define. I teach MS Math, and a leader in my classroom is not the first one with the correct answer, or the one to always receive a 100 on the weekly timed test.
A leader in my classroom is the student who stops to help his/her neighbor understand a concept after many different explanations. It is the person who always raises their hand and waits to be called upon, no matter how anxious he/she is to give the answer. It is the student who always shows their work and never asks if they have to.
I encourage leadership in my classroom. I do this by complimenting the student who helps his fellow classmate. I give stickers to those that show their work (yes! 6th graders still like stickers!), and I try to demonstrate leadership by my example. All students innately want to please their teacher, and what better way to please me, than by doing as I do?