Patrick Awuah on Educating Leaders

Discussion questions before you watch the lecture:

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1. What qualities are necessary in a good leader?

    

2. Are there natural born leaders or do leaders need to be trained?  If they need to be trained, what should they be taught?

    

3. Patrick Awuah is from Ghana but received his college education in the United States at Swarthmore College, a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania.  What does the term "liberal arts" mean?

Discussion questions after you watch the lecture:

1. Awuah says that several factors are important in a good education; an emphasis on service to others, the importance of learning about ethics, and the development of critical thinking skills.  In your view, are those qualities emphasized at Montgomery College?  In what ways are you encouraged to develop your knowledge and skills in these areas?  What opportunities exist for you to serve others or learn about ethical decision-making?

    

2. Awuah says that educational practices in Ghana are very different from those in the United States.  What differences did he discuss?  If you are from a country other than the U.S., did you have a similar experience to Awuah?

    

3. Awuah had a high-paying job at Microsoft and lived in an upper middle-class neighborhood in Seattle.  But instead of simply enjoying his life, he decided to return to Ghana to try to make a difference in people's lives.  Why did he give up his comfortable lifestyle to take on such a huge project?  Have you ever made a huge change in your life because of something you believed? tampa injury attorney
   
   

    

4. How could Awuah's efforts lead to a more peaceful or more just world?

    

5. What is "the real business and privilege of leadership" according to Awuah?  Do you agree?  Did your views on the qualities of good leaders change after watching this lecture?

    

6. Contemporary U.S. culture is fast-paced and filled with noise and information.  Do people need silence and solitude?  Have you ever sat quietly for 20 minutes?  An hour?  Do you think you could?  What could we learn from the ability to simply sit quietly and breathe?  How would this affect us?