Aug 21, 2022
Thomas R. Hoerr, PhD retired after leading the New City School
in St. Louis, Missouri for 34 years and is now the Emeritus Head of
School. He is currently a Scholar In Residence at the University of
Missouri-St. Louis, and teaches in the Educational Leadership
program, preparing prospective principals. He also led the ISACS
New Heads Network and founded the Non-Profit Management Program at
Washington University in St. Louis. Hoerr has written several
books, and his newest, _Taking Social Emotional Learning
Schoolwide: The Formative Five Success Skills for Students and
Staff_, was published in December of 2019. He has written more than
150 articles, including “The Principal Connection” column in
Educational Leadership Magazine from 2004 to 2017.
He was previously on the Transformative Principal Podcast
episode 224 where we talked about who you are is more important
that what you know, and
episode 225 where we talked about his book, The Formative
Five.
- Why does Empathy matter so much?
- If there were more empathy in schools, we’d be in better
shape.
- If you don’t have empathy, it’s hard for people to follow
you.
- If you do have empathy, it’s easier for people to follow you.
- Empathy is a muscle. You can make it stronger
- intentional and transparent
- Voluntary - making it voluntary is having empathy.
- listening, aggressive, pursuing.
- One of your problems - you look too busy.
- I was working; I was being accessible.
- Who are you closest to in your school.
- Even if my idea is the best, it’s not the best if nobody is on
board.
- Breakfast with Tom - agenda is yours.
- Empathetic Conversations - extension of this notion that I really
want to get to know people as people, not just teachers.
- I know you as a student, I want to know you as a student
- Leadership is about relationship.
- Teacher observations - school principals should use them as a way
to build trust and observations.
- Educators are underpaid.
-
Herzberg’s theory of motivation
- Teaching is far too siloed
- If people can just read one part of the book, what is it? The
part about listening.
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