Power and Leadership in Modern Times – A Photo Essay

The Challenge

This is a challenge about power, leadership, government systems, and our visual culture. Let’s start with power. Who has or had power on the global stage? If you are looking at the world through our current lens, one sees immense power in the figures like Vladimir Putin (Russia), Xi Jinping (China), Recep Erdogan (Turkey), Nicolas Maduro (Venezuela), Donald Trump (US), Angela Merkel (Germany) and Omar al-Bashir (Sudan). One small step back in time and you have Margaret Thatcher (UK), Nelson Mandela (South Africa), Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe), Barack Obama (US) and King Hassan II (Morocco). This is hardly the short list: just a few of the many.

What is the relationship between Power and Leadership? Assuming for our purposes that power comes first, how did it inform these persons’ sense of leadership? And to understand this question, one must understand the systems of government in which each worked. Leadership is a relative thing – each is/was working inside a set of legal and cultural rules in order to ‘lead’. Many used power to alter those rules.

It’s a tricky and fascinating thing.

In this Meridian Stories Challenge, your team must pick one powerful figure in current times or who ruled as far back as 1900 – someone of whom there are photographic records– and create a photo essay – 12 to 20 frames – about this person that tells the story of this person’s relationship to Power and Leadership. Your photo essay must include two original photos.

Deliverables include:

Photo Essay (this is the only Meridian Stories deliverable)
Power and Leadership: First Impressions (at teacher’s discretion)
Timeline (at teacher’s discretion)

Assumptions and Logistics

Time Frame – We recommend that this Meridian Stories Competition takes place inside of a three to four-week time frame.

Length – All Meridian Stories submissions should be under 4 minutes in length, unless otherwise specified.

Submissions – Keep in mind that each school can only submit three submissions per Competition (so while the entire class can participate in the Challenge, only three can be submitted to Meridian Stories for Mentor review and scoring).

Teacher Reviews – All reviews by the teacher are at the discretion of the teacher and all suggested paper deliverables are due only to the teacher. The only deliverable to Meridian Stories is the media work.

Teacher’s Role and Technology Integrator – While it is helpful to have a Technology Integrator involved, they are not usually necessary: the students already know how to produce the media. And if they don’t, part of their challenge is to figure it out. They will! The teacher’s primary function in these Challenges is to guide the students as they engage with the content. You don’t need to know editing, sound design, shooting or storyboarding: you just need to know your content area.

Digital Rules/Literacy – We strongly recommend that all students follow the rules of Digital Citizenry in their proper usage and/or citation of images, music and text taken from other sources. This recommendation includes producing a citations page at the end of your entry, if applicable. See the Digital Rules area in the Meridian Resources section of the site for guidance.

Location – Try not to shoot in a classroom at your school. The classroom, no matter how you dress it up, looks like a classroom and can negatively impact the story you are trying to tell.

Slate – All media work must begin with a slate that provides:

the title of the piece;
the name of the school submitting;
the wording ‘Permission Granted’ which gives Meridian Stories the right to a) publicly display the submission in question on, as linked from or related to or in support of Meridian Stories digital media; and b) use it for educational purposes only; and
We strongly recommend that students do not put their last names on the piece either at the start or finish, during the credits.

Collaboration – We strongly recommend that students work in teams of 3-4: part of the educational value is around building collaborative skill sets. But students may work individually.

Presentation – We strongly recommend that at the end of this process, the student teams present their work either to the class and/or to assembled parents and friends as a way to showcase their work. The workforce considers Presentational Skills to be a key asset and we encourage you to allow students to practice this skill set as often as possible. These short videos provide a great opportunity for kids to practice their public presentational skills.

Our research indicates this to be a really useful exercise for two additional reasons:

Students actually learn from their peers’ presentations – it is useful to hear a perspective that is not just the teacher’s; and
The public setting – painful as it is for some students – provides them with an opportunity to ‘own’ their work and to be more accountable.

Process

Below is a suggested breakdown for the students’ work.

During Phase I, student teams will:

We recommend that you start this Challenge by engaging in definitions of Power and Leadership before you choose (or are assigned your) global figure. The idea is to open up the discussion about what political power means and how it relates to leadership, just to begin to build a vocabulary of ideas. Here are some suggestions (we aren’t recommending that you do them all):
- Starting with Wikipedia or the Oxford English Dictionary, research definitions of these words and how they evolved over time. Choose the definition that works best for your team.
- If you can, look for articles and scholars who have probed these two ideas in relation to political leaders. Synopses of articles will open windows into some of the academic thinking that has evolved around these principles.
- Take two well-known, but oppositional global figures – say Abraham Lincoln and Stalin – and do a cursory analysis of their approaches to Power and Leadership. What are their values? What were their basic objectives with their countries? And what were their primary means for obtaining their objectives? This may begin to open the discussion more on the many attributes that can come to characterize the tension that ties these two words together in a single person.
- Interview adults whom you know and respect about what they think are the salient tenets of Power and Leadership, as based on their experiences in the world.
- Since this is a Photo Essay, researching imagery that relates to these two concepts will also be helpful in understanding the range of ways Power and Leadership are understood and communicated to the public. Collect images that you think are evocative or might be useful.
- When you feel that your team has a grasp on the ideas of Power and Leadership, experiment with taking some photos yourself for possible inclusion into your essay.
At the end of this first exploration, write up your team’s ideas about 1) Power, as it pertains to the global stage; 2) Leadership, as it pertains to the global stage; and 3) the dynamic that ties them together.
- Teacher’s Option: Power and Leadership: First Impressions – Teachers may require teams to hand in a one to two-page paper outlining the defining attributes, as outlined above.
Choose (or be assigned) your figure: must be someone who is in power after 1900.
Research the political system of your figure. This is meant to be about broad strokes. Depending on whom you have chosen to explore, ask yourself, what are the central tenets of… a Monarchy? Communism? Kingdom? Democracy? Purported Democracy? Dictatorship? Federation? Socialism? The idea is to understand basically three things:
- How much power is vested in what we would call the Executive Branch?
- What has the history been concerning the wielding of power from this position in this country? In other words, what kind of power does the population expect out of this position?
- Leadership is more of a values-related principle. So ask, can you discern a sense of the values that support the government system in question?
By the end of this Phase, your team should have a sense of these two words – Power and Leadership – as they pertain to central global political figures; and a sense of the governmental and political context for the figure that you have chosen to investigate.

During Phase II, student teams will:

Investigate your political figure. Your team will want to identify the key events in the life of your political figure, starting with childhood. Power and Leadership are not qualities that evolve suddenly: they are complex attributes that are shaped by a person’s history. It’s your job to know that history.
- As you are doing this work, begin to collect and catalogue imagery that you think may be useful in telling your story.
We recommend creating a timeline of the person’s rise to power, all the way through to their death.
- This is not meant to be a comprehensive timeline. You don’t have to cover everything. This is a selective timeline. Your job is to find the pivotal events and moments that contribute to this person’s understanding and use of power and leadership.
- Teacher’s Option: Timeline – Teachers may require teams to hand in a rough timeline of the political figure’s life for review and feedback.
There comes a time when you have all the information you need. Now is that time. The next step is to put it all together. You have:
- Ideas about Power and Leadership;
- Knowledge about political and governmental systems, as well as societal expectations in your targeted country; and
- Knowledge about the life of your figure, from birth to death, specifically as it pertains to these ideas of Power and Leadership.

With all of this your team needs to debate a) what is the nature and tone of the power that your figure wields; b) what are the tenets of leadership in which he/she believes; and c) what is the intersection of power and leadership in this figure, and what are/were the results? In short, you want to form a hypothesis about your select figure and their understanding of power and leadership.

Collect your ideas, arguments and conclusions and organize them into a short, first draft narrative. By the end of this phase, you should have a sense of the verbal story that you want to tell about your figure.

During Phase III, student teams will:

Look at the pictures you have collected. Move them around to match into key points with your draft narrative.
- Here’s the thing: in a photo essay, you want the pictures to do the heavy lifting; to carry the essence of your messaging. Not the written word. The words provide context for understanding the pictures. But the impact of your messaging is meant to be felt through an engagement with your collection of pictures.
Zone Zero is a website that is model for the Photo Essay that you are producing. There are many outstanding photo essays here about challenging global topics. Zone Zero features artists – professional photographers – so please look at this site as inspiration.
After you have done a first run at organizing your pictures, as a team decide what is missing and go find/shoot the remaining pictures needed. Remember: a) there needs to be at least two original pictures; and b) the total essay should run between 12 – 20 frames, including print.
- Keep in mind that at the end, you will want to cite your sources for all of the photographs that you are choosing to include in your essay. Be sure to keep track and to prepare a proper citation frame at the end of your essay.
Your final Photo Essay can take two different forms.
- It can follow the Zone Zero model whereby you set up the essay with print and then let the photos say the rest, in silence or accompanied by music. For our purposes, we would want not one, but three frames with print to guide us in your thinking about your figure; power; leadership; and the intersection.
- You can record your script as a voice over and lay it in over your photos, providing an ongoing narration to the photos. Music can be added as well.
- In either case, this does need to be submitted as a video, so you control the pacing: this is not a slide show where we can control the movement of the pictures with a click.
- If your team comes up with another approach, please follow those instincts.
Finalize your script/writing.
Finalize your picture selection and order.
Record voice and add music as necessary.
Finalize the Photo Essay.

Meridian Support Resources

Meridian Stories provides two forms of support for the student teams:

1. Meridian Innovators and Artists – This is a series of three to four-minute videos featuring artists and innovative professionals who offer important advice, specifically for Meridian Stories, in the areas of creativity and production.

2. Media Resource Collection – These are short documents that offer student teams key tips in the areas of creativity, production, game design and digital citizenry.

Recommended review, as a team, for this Competition include:

Meridian Innovators and Artists

Media Resource Collection

On Memoir and Nonfiction Writing – Liza Bakewell

On Nonfiction Writing – Margaret Heffernan

On Photography – Michael Kolster

On Sound Design – Chris Watkinson

“Digital Rules Resource Center – The Starting Line”

“Guide to Working in the Public Domain”

“Guide to Citing Sources”

“Essential Guide and Checklist: The Doctrine of Fair Use”

Power and Leadership in Modern Times: A Photo Essay – Evaluation Rubric

CONTENT COMMAND
Criteria	1 – 3	4 – 7	8 – 10
Ideas about Power as it Relates to Your Political Figure	Your ideas about power as it relates to your political figure are cursory	Your ideas about power as it relates to your political figure are thoughtful	Your ideas about power as it relates to your political figure are insightful
Ideas about Power as it Relates to Your Political Figure	Your ideas about leadership as it relates to your political figure are cursory	Your ideas about leadership as it relates to your political figure are thoughtful	Your ideas about leadership as it relates to your political figure are insightful
Conclusions about Power and Leadership as it Relates to Your Political Figure	Your ideas about your political figure as he/she relates to the intermingling of power and leadership are cursory	Your ideas about your political figure as he/she relates to the intermingling of power and leadership are thoughtful	Your ideas about your political figure as he/she relates to the intermingling of power and leadership are insightful
STORYTELLING COMMAND
Criteria	1 – 3	4 – 7	8 – 10
Image Choices	The choice of images did not effectively capture the depth and breadth of your content	The choice of images inconsistently captured the depth and breadth of your content	The choice of images effectively captured the depth and breadth of your content
Image Organization	The way you organized your images did not result in a compelling narrative	The way you organized your images resulted in a cohesive narrative	The way you organized your images resulted in a cohesive and compelling narrative
Integration of the Word with the Image	Your mix of text/spoken word and imagery did not effectively communicate your intended content	Your mix of text/spoken word and imagery inconsistently communicated your intended content	Your mix of text/spoken word and imagery effectively communicated your intended content

MEDIA COMMAND
Criteria	1 – 3	4 – 7	8 – 10
Pacing	The pacing of the images, as mixed with text or voice over, discouraged engagement and understanding	The pacing of the images, as mixed with text or voice over, worked, allowing for engagement and understanding	The pacing of the images, as mixed with text or voice over, increased engagement and deeper understanding
Visual and Sound Design	The overall visual and audio design did not compel engagement with the Photo Essay	The overall visual and audio design did compel engagement with the Photo Essay	The overall visual and audio design enhanced engagement with the Photo Essay
21^ST CENTURY SKILLS COMMAND (for teachers only)
Criteria	1-3	4-7	8-10
Collaborative Thinking	The group did not work together effectively and/or did not share the work equally	The group worked together effectively and had no major issues	The group demonstrated flexibility in making compromises and valued the contributions of each group member
Creativity and Innovation	The group did not make a solid effort to create anything new or innovative	The group was able to brainstorm new and inventive ideas, but was inconsistent in their evaluation and implementation of those ideas	The group brainstormed many inventive ideas and was able to evaluate, refine and implement them effectively
Initiative and Self-Direction	The group was unable to set attainable goals, work independently and manage their time effectively	The group required some additional help, but was able to complete the project on time with few problems	The group set attainable goals, worked independently and managed their time effectively, demonstrating a disciplined commitment to the project

Essential Questions

What is ‘power’ in the context of politics in the 20^th/21^st century?
What is ‘leadership’ in the context of politics in the 20^th/21^st century?
Who is an important global political figure in this time period and what is his/her full story?
What is the relationship of your select political figure to the intersection of power and leadership?
What is the difference in communicative impact between the image and the word?
How has immersion in the creation of original content and the production of digital media – exercising one’s creativity, critical thinking and digital literacy skills – deepened the overall educational experience?
How has working on a team – practicing one’s collaborative skills – changed the learning experience?

Student Proficiencies

The student will understand what ‘power’ can mean as it relates to modern global politics
The student will understand what ‘leadership’ can mean as it relates to modern global politics
The student will have a cursory but deep biographical understanding of a key political figure in the 20^th/21st century, as well as its system of government.
The student will have a specific understanding of this figure’s relationship to the intersection of ‘power’ and ‘leadership’.
The student will gain an understanding and appreciation of the power of imagery to evoke thought, emotion and insight.
The student will utilize key 21^st century skills, with a focus on creativity, critical thinking and digital literacy, in their process of historical content into a new narrative format.
The student will have an increased awareness of the challenges and rewards of team collaboration. Collaboration – the ability to work with others – is considered one of the most important 21^st century skills to develop in students as they prepare for life after secondary school.

Common Core And NCSS Curricular Correlations

The Power and Leadership in Modern Times – A Photo Essay Challenge addresses a range of curricular objectives that have been articulated by two nationally recognized sources:

The Common Core Curricular Standards– English Language Arts & History/Social Studies; and
The Themes of Social Studies, as outlined by National Council of Social Studies (NCSS).

Below please find the standards that are addressed, either wholly or in part.

Common Core Curricular Standards – English Language Arts & History/Social Studies

The Standard

8th

9th/10th

11th/12th

RI 4

READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT

Craft and Structure

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text

RI 7

READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.

Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.

Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

SL 1

SPEAKING AND LISTENING

Comprehension and Collaboration

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

WRITING

Text Types and Purposes

Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

WRITING

Text Types and Purposes

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

WRITING

Production and Distribution of Writing

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

WRITING

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

WRITING

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

RH2

HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES

Key Ideas and Detail

Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

RH 4

HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES

Craft and Structure

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text

RH7

HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

N/A

Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Goals – NCSS – The Themes of Social Studies

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT AND IDENTITY

Personal identity is shaped by family, peers, culture, and institutional influences. Through this theme, students examine the factors that influence an individual’s personal identity, development, and actions. This theme typically appears in courses and units dealing with psychology, anthropology, and sociology.

INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AND INSITITUTIONS

Institutions such as families and civic, educational, governmental, and religious organizations, exert a major influence on people’s lives. This theme allows students to understand how institutions are formed, maintained, and changed, and to examine their influence. In schools, this theme typically appears in units and courses dealing with sociology, anthropology, psychology, political science, and history.

POWER, AUTHORITY, AND GOVERNANCE

One essential component of education for citizenship is an understanding of the historical development and contemporary forms of power, authority, and governance. Through this theme, learners become familiar with the purposes and functions of government, the scope and limits of authority, and the differences between democratic and non-democratic political systems. In schools, this theme typically appears in units and courses dealing with government, history, civics, law, politics, and other social sciences.