The Teachers Who Came From the Cold

Lyudmila Ivanyuk and Victor Bielyshev arrived Feb. 26 for four weeks of attending classes and study
By Amanda Newman, Newberg Graphic Lyudmila Ivanyuk and Victor Bielyshev traveled almost 6,000 miles to come to George Fox University, where they spent their time attending classes and studying in the library. But the two Ukrainians are not exchange students - they are visiting teachers. Ivanyuk and Bielyshev teach English as a second language at the Kiev National Linguistic University, but are careful to avoid the title "professor" - in the Ukraine, that is reserved for instructors with a doctorate. Instead, they call themselves teachers. The two arrived Feb. 26 and spent a month at George Fox studying teaching strategies in English literature and the English language. Ivanyuk attends English as a second language classes, visits with teachers and studies in the library. She plans to begin post-graduate studies next year, and said the "access to books is much easier" here than in the Ukraine. "I'm very grateful to the librarians who help me do everything," she said. "First of all, everything you do by Internet ... it's not how it is in our country." Bielyshev spends almost all of his time attending classes, with a full schedule made up mostly of history, psychology and chapel. "From the first day, I see (a) great huge difference in approach," he said of American teaching. "One example, your students are very free to choose (what they) study." For Ivanyuk, the United States presents a completely new experience. "When you learn about the U.S.A. - about this people, this culture - from books, it's one thing; but when you are here, you can realize (what it's like)," she said, clarifying that her encounters are specific to the George Fox scene. "I found that people develop these feelings of love, of trust ... at this university." Bielyshev, on the other hand, spent time in the United States 14 years ago as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar, but said Newberg differs from Grand Rapids, Mich. "The culture is high here; people are calm, not in a hurry. The families we're staying with are very intelligent, people of integrity." The teachers have stayed with the families of George Fox professor Lon Fendall and Ken VandenHoek, the son of George Fox professor Jeff VandenHoek. Both said they are having a "more than good" experience, and stressed the importance of traveling to other countries and broadening horizons. "When you know (about a culture) from your own experience, it's much easier to explain than from books," said Ivanyuk. "It's a good opportunity for us to open our eyes to many, many things," Bielyshev said. "When you go abroad, you completely find yourself in another person's shoes ... and as a teacher, you never stop studying, because then you stop being a teacher. "The only shortcoming that I see (is) the program is very short ... you need some time to really understand things, and when you start to understand, it's time to go home." Bielyshev and Ivanyuk are working through an Oregon-based international program, the Marshall Christensen Foundation, that helps communities throughout the world share knowledge and culture. "We live in a world that is becoming extremely global before our eyes, and we have much to learn from each other," said Jeff VandenHoek, who instigated participation with the program. "(Sharing our campus) is also part of our mission to serve."

The MCF provides servant leadership training through its "International Servant Leadership Program" or "ISLP" This program combines different facets of training on servant leadership in order to share knowledge, inspire hope and develop leaders. A key component of the training that shares knowledge with students is the servant leadership principles course taught in the classrooms of participating universities, businesses, and to churches. The MCF partners with other organizations and business leaders to identify and teach the following principles.

The Servant Leadership Principles Course
The Servant Leadership Principles Course is a two-week intensive training that takes place on-site at participating universities and through workshops with businesses and churches. The following 19 principles are taught as key themes of servant leadership in the course:

1. Management vs. Leadership
There is a great need for leaders in a world focused on management training. Management is important, but it is about things. People don't want to be managed - they want to be led. Leadership is about people and relationships.

2. Defining Leadership
Leadership is not a position. It can start to today with the people around us. Leadership starts in the heart - and it is a choice to value people and relationships.

3. Core Values
It is the "inner stuff" of our hearts that define our attitudes to people and relationships. We must develop and define the very core of who we are - our "core values."

4. Love and Respect
Values of love and respect say that we value other people and we desire what is best for them.

5. Honest and Responsibility
Values of honesty and responsibility say that we live openly and transparently in a world that often tries to cover up the truth. We do what we say we will do and we take responsibility for our actions.

6. Service
Service is a key value of "servant leadership." Service is the idea of being a servant as opposed to being the "boss." Servants help people to grow and develop. Servants listen. Servants help people to become servants themselves.

7. Forgiveness and Compassion
Forgiveness recognizes our need for reconciliation in a world of conflict and separation. Forgiveness values team unity over personal ambition. Compassion says that we reach out to the needy, even if we expect nothing "in return."

8. Perseverance
Leaders are people who do not give up and continue to live out their core values in the face of ridicule or apparent defeat. Leaders believe that change takes time and requires patience with people.

9. Integrity and Courage
A leader must live out his core values at all times, in public and in private. It often takes great courage to make decisions based on core values. Success must be defined by our values and not by the "bottom line."

10. Influence and Change
Power and position result in some forms of influence. But, leaders who live out their core values with integrity will earn the right to influence others. This form of influence has great potential to bring transformational change into the lives of individuals and groups.

11. Purpose and Passion
An important part of our purpose in life is to give and to serve. This contradicts the popular pursuits to get and to be served. We can develop a great passion for servant leadership as we learn by doing - and choose to serve others, moment by moment, day by day.

12. Team Building
Servant leaders value communities who think in terms of "we" as opposed to "I." Teams, built on trust, can pursue great visions that individuals could never accomplish alone.

13. Empowering and Encouraging
Important pieces of team building include celebrating success, expressing thanks and cheering people on. Team members should be empowered with the right roles, the right resources and a vision for what they can accomplish.

14. Teaching and Modeling
Most of what people learn is through models, not by words. Thus, as servant leaders we must teach servant leadership constantly, and when necessary use words! We must take advantage of every opportunity to model core values.

15. Reproducing Leaders
Leaders must specifically choose to mentor others who can replace them as leaders.

16. Vision
An important part of leadership is being able to paint a picture of the future that inspires. This includes the great vision that our core values can bring change to the world.

17. Healthy Alliances
An important part of leadership is surrounding yourself with people who believe in your core values or who are open to change.

18. Customer Service
Servant leaders model service that cares for both employees and for the customer. Businesses model servant leadership when they reach out to meet the needs of the customer. Interestingly, these are the businesses that prosper.

19. Leadership is Hard Work
Servant leadership is, very simply, hard work. Servant leaders must be ready to push on and live out their core values in the face of negativism, scepticism, and financial and time pressures.

Upcoming Events related to The MCF

January, 2008 - American students from around the Northwest United States will enrol in the MCF's International Servant Leadership Program (or "ISLP"). These students will attend a course on servant leadership principles in March and they will then join students from Kazakhstan and Ukraine in the 2008 International Servant Leadership Academy in July. Click here for more information on the ISLP. January, 2008 - As part of the MCF's "Visiting International Professor" program, the dean of the business school from the Kazakh-American Free University will visit George Fox University (Portland, Oregon) for one month to learn more about American higher education and business programs. February, 2008 - As part of the MCF's "Visiting International Professor" program, four teachers from Kiev National Linguistic University will visit Concordia University (Portland, Oregon) and George Fox University (Portland, Oregon) for one month to learn more about American teaching methods and language programs. February, 2008 - MCF Vice President, Dan Ballast, will visit the Kazakh-American Free University for one month to teach seminars and work with students enrolled in the MCF's International Servant Leadership Program.

Introduction to the The MCF

If you're reading this, it's because one of the volunteers or staff have possibly directed you to the blog. This blog is to serve several purposes, primarily to post thoughts and questions related to teaching leadership. Our goal at the Marshall Christensen Foundation (the MCF) is simple:

Share Knowledge, Inspire Hope, Develop Leaders

This blog has been created to be one part of accomplishing this goal. Before we get deep in thought, however, perhaps you'd like to meet some of the people involved. Visit www.themcf.org for a comprehensive overview of our history, our work today, and who it is that carries out our mission. You won't regret it.

In short, The MCF is about helping people in various settings reach a higher expectation of their capacity to give, their ability to lead, and their commitment to serve others. Popular thought suggests that leaders are born. The MCF and our partners believe that leadership is taught.

Join us in sharing knowledge, inspiring hope, and developing leaders.

Thanks for reading,
Chris Anderson, Board Chairman
The Marshall Christensen Foundation