"Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate and to connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives."
Today, you met your cohort of fellow Pinnacle Leaders and we did a lot in the way of setting the stage for the next several days of tasks, including this blog, Base Camp, and our collective vision. It is no mistake that we chose to lead off Pinnacle with the sense of Empathy. While in the danger of sounding corny, how do you feel the sense of Empathy fits inside your concept of being a Pinnacle Leader? How does it affect your role as an educator?
Check out this recent blog post about a presentation at June's ISTE 2011 conference in Philadelphia on the "Yeah But's"
empathy is tightly related to meaning - and meaning is the cornerstone of the Pink book. it's also what i was searching for, switching careers to education. empathy is essential in all aspects of education, including Pinnacle leadership.
ReplyDeleteI feel as if Empathy is essential to being successful in life, especially as a teacher and a leader. As a Pinnacle Leader, empathy helps a person relate and connect to a person. It helps them be a better leader and teacher because they can put themselves in another's shoes. Empathy helps a leader relate and see the whole picture, which can be essential to working with technology to keep an open mind and take risks. As an educator, it helps me understand my students and know that school is not only what is happening in their life. Empathy helps me identify with my students so I can be a more successful teacher by connecting school to their personal lives.
ReplyDeleteAs Daniel Pink writes, empathy “is feeling with someone.” Pinnacle Leaders must be able to (1) teach students through technology, and (2) teach other educators how and why technology can be integrated into the curriculum. In order to achieve the latter objective, one must be able to understand other people’s perspectives (i.e., apply empathy). As an educator, I need to have positive relationships with my students, families, community, and other professionals at my school. It would not be possible to build or maintain these relationships without practicing empathy.
ReplyDeleteChristy said…
ReplyDeleteEmpathy affects your role greatly as educator and as a Pinnacle leader. As an educator it allows you to relate to your parents along with you students. This can help you to meet the needs of your students where they are. As a Pinnacle leader you can empathize with your colleagues about their fears and apprehensions of using new technology along with their current teaching methods to maximize student centered learning.
so i scored a 21 on the empathy quiz. hopefully my blog will make up for that, a lil' bit: vincebank.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteA Pinnacle leader needs empathy so that they can understand, identify and assess where each stakeholder is in their journey with technology so that they can be guided to the next step.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Empathy fits into the role of the Pinnacle leader because of the way in which you communicate with others. Learning about presenting these uses of technology within the classroom, it is important to understand that a majority of students, and teachers, may not be familiar with technology or the program that is being presented. Therefore it is important to put yourself in their shoes as a Pinnacle leader and understand their possible frustration, nervousness, and uneasiness about new programs. I feel that this is the same in the role of an educator. It is important to understand where students, and parents, may be coming from in relation to the techniques and programs that you are presenting. It is also takes the ability of being put into their shoes and remaining patient while they may be struggling. If there are individuals who may be familiar with a certain program, it is important to understand they may need more of a challenge not originally given. Also as an educator it is important to empathize with the students about where they come from, how they feel about technology, and how they feel about trying new things. Empathy is a very important quality within a Pinnacle leader and Educator.
ReplyDeleteMy blog: http://welcome1112.blogspot.com/2011/07/welcome.html
Empathy is the whole reason that I took this gig. I am only successful when my students are successful, so why wouldn't I want to be empathetic? As a Pinnacle leader, I will have even more opportunity, not to mention resources (Thank you), to provide an exciting and engaging learning environment for my students. Empathy is a window into the curious world of the student. Granted, it's scary in there, but I am strong, and I am diligent, and just crazy enough to think this education thing is valuable no matter how much The Man fights us. The more we know, the more we have to learn. Let's put this pony in the race!
ReplyDeleteSee my blog at teach2live-gcspinnaclexvi.blogspot.com
Empathy is an important part of being human. By identifying and practicing empathetic skills, we as Pinnacle leaders can impart our knowledge of technology and how it effects the daily lives of our students, parents and peers.
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding how my students feel and getting a grasp on how they learn will help increase functional skills that will help them become better equipped to survive in today's society.
blogspot address: www.ppbarker.blogspot.com
Looks like we are all pretty much here for the same reason. We ROCK!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe sure are. I am really happy that you are happy with the experience as we continue to learn skills that will help us enhance the kind of skills Pink mentions that we need and that our students need for this century....but maybe that's just me being empathetic.
ReplyDeleteEmpathy is essential for Pinnacle leaders because we not only need to understand where our students are coming from (a hand on, almost voyeuristic digital world), but we need to understand that many of our colleagues are coming from a completely different place. Most of the people I work with are uncomfortable with technology because they distrust it. They tend to focus on the negative effect of technology on our world such as losing "face" time at the bank or never reaching a human when they call for assistance. Unless you can provide them with the emotional response outlined in the "Yeah, buts" article, "they" will never convert. Even with the emotional response, many times they will refuse to change because they feel as if it only adds to their already huge workload. As Pinnacle leaders, I feel it is our duty to be empathetic to their concerns, address them honestly, and offer the patience to walk them through new processes. (NOT do it for them, but sit by so they are not frustrated when something doesn't work out as they were told it would) Most of us that signed up for this program realize that technology doesn't always work as advertised, but we have the skills to try several different things to attempt to fix it. Many of our colleagues lack these skills because they have not been given the opportunity to work out their issues on their own.
ReplyDeleteEmpathy as an educator helps you understand the positions that students and their parents are coming from. We are pressured to have them perform, but we have to understand them by taking a step into their shoes. We try to help them learn with family issues, learning issues, poverty issues, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs Pinnacle Leaders we have to understand the fear that some teachers have with just turning on a computer, using that new (or dusty) SMART board, or using that online tool. We need to use empathy to support them as they stretch beyond their comfort zones.
http://amrpinnaclexvi.blogspot.com/
Oops! Here is my blog: http://pinnacleponderings.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteEmpathy is essential as an educator and as a Pinnacle leader~we need to be able to understand where our students are coming from so we can decide how best to reach them. And as a Pinnacle leader, we must possess the ability to walk in the shoes of our peers. As the article mentioned, getting to the root of the issue-where the opposition is coming from-is necessary to solve the issue and/or help that person in a different way. Basically, understanding where a person is coming from (having empathy) directs our treatment of them.
ReplyDeleteWhoops....my blog address is: jgerow.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I saw the first day's topic was empathy, I was excited to read more about it since empathy is such an important quality for a Kindergarten teacher to have! My little ones are so emotionally fragile and scared to be away from their parents for the first time. A kindergarten teacher has to be understanding of their fears and work hard to not be frusterated of how many little misteaks they will make as they learn. As a pinnacle leader, I plan to be empathetic with teachers who are learning how to use new technology for the first time just like my students learn how to tie their shoes or learn to count for the first time. Being a Pinnacle Leader means sometimes I am sure I will have to really break things down to a basic level and never make assumptions about what people already know. Some of the technology is just as foreign and confusing to some adults as creating patterns is to my kindergarteners.
ReplyDeleteMy Blog: http://snwitten.blogspot.com/
Like your kindergarten students, Stephanie, many of my students, although most are born in the US, come from close-knit family units and are fearful coming to school where they may know no or very little English. Empathy, rather than judgement, is so very important. Just as English is a language to be learned and applied in context, so is the content and vocab of technology. We all have different comfort zones and risk taking levels. However, it is the patience, encouragement and empathy of those who guide us into these new arenas and provide us with a safe learning environment, enabling us to maximize our learning potential, who are the teachers we remember with gratitude. I am excited to be a Pinnacle Leader and hope that I am able to make such a difference not only with my students, but with teachers as well.
ReplyDeleteMy Blog: http://kksolis.blogspot.com/