A team-building exercise in Scott Orness’ Leadership Class may resemble the answer to a riddle:

What has 10 heads and 20 legs and is all thumbs?

The three groups of about 10 Woodward Middle School students who crowd together to stand on three flattened trash bags, must do more than just stay upright.

To complete the exercise, they must turn over the bags without stepping off.

And Orness is about to make the logistical nightmare even harder.

“Group I can talk,” he says, “but in Group II only three people can talk, and in Group III you’re all mute.”

It’s soon clear that the group with several designated “talkers” is making the fastest headway. Others are less successful.

“Everyone’s trying to be the leader here,” Orness tells the all-talking group. “Sometimes you have all these people who want to lead. Sometimes leaders need to sit back and have everyone have their say and then step in.

“Sometimes you can lead best by not talking at all.”

Now in its second year, the Leadership Class was started by Principal Mary Alice O’Neill and Vice-Principal Matt Vandeleur as a way to help improve school climate.

“There were some harassment issues at lunch, for instance,” Vandeleur said. “We decided that any time you have the students more involved in decision making, it’s to the good.

“We wanted to give them as much input as possible.”

O’Neill and Vandeleur chose the class by having prospective students fill out an application.

Twenty-six students were accepted in the first semester, and the administrators themselves led the class last year in addition to their regular duties.

Vandeleur taught four days a week, and O’Neill took the class on the fifth day.

A student-generated, anti-harassment statement was formulated through the general class discussion.

Working with student council, the leadership class students coordinated all of the student assemblies and most of the student parties throughout the year.

Orness, who also teaches history and math, and serves as BHS boys’ varsity basketball coach, took on the leadership class for the new school year.

He agrees with the premise that one way to encourage leadership is to encourage the students to have input into class content.

“It’s totally student-generated,” Orness said, adding, “I think it’s a vital part of school climate.”

Hands-on work

Two days a week, students learn leadership skills. They study in two ways – by doing the sort of hands-on learning exemplified by team-building, and by discussion and analysis of the attributes that comprise leadership.

Guest speakers also appear. A recent visitor was Patrick Snow, author of “Creating Your Own Destiny.”

Two days a week, the students do service work at Woodward or other Bainbridge schools.

“We might do grunt work,” Orness said, “weeding or restoring the salmon stream behind the school.”

Another project was tallying the school-wide “Natural Helper” surveys, in which students annually elect peer counselors.

Eighth-grader Catie Mirkovich says the chance to do service was what attracted her to the class.

“I thought I’d try to make it easier for the seventh graders to come here,” Mirkovich said. “When you don’t understand what’s going on, it can be kind of weird being in a new place.”

Students may sign up to try something completely new, or to hone leadership skills they already know they possess.

Ali Maier – one of just a handful of seventh-graders accepted into the class – says teacher comments about her leadership abilities on her report cards encouraged her to apply.

“I like thinking up ideas,” she said. “You know, brainstorming and stuff.”

Some students, like eighth-grader Tess Sadowsky, sign up for the class to get a head start running for high school offices.

“I’m an eighth grade council member, so I’m required to take this class, but I wanted to do it anyway, to improve, because I plan on running for class office in high school,” Sadowsky said. “But I’d say the best part of the class is the teacher – he’s a really good teacher. He knows how kids think.”