|
Growing our souls could be defined as the steady accretion
of empathy, clarity, and passion for the good.
- Mary Pipher
Schools possess "souls," an awareness that struck me recently
when I heard someone describe a school she obviously admired as
"a place with soul." Soulful schools are places that members
of the school community experience as authentic, profound, personally
meaningful, and emotionally stirring. Schools with soul have a uniqueness
and integrity based on the principles and moral imperatives that
guide their efforts. A soulful school's aspirations, commitments,
and, as Mary Pipher expressed it, "passion for the good,"
are both informed by and expressed in its symbols, rituals, ceremonies,
and spirit.
Soulful schools can only exist when leaders welcome, honor, and
nourish the souls of all their members. In A Hidden Wholeness:
The Journey Toward An Undivided Life, Parker Palmer describes
such leaders as individuals who make "a commitment to act in
every situation in ways that honor the soul." Consequently,
leaders cultivate soul when they:
• First and foremost nourish their own souls (the subject
of my next column). Having done so, leaders are more likely to display
the generosity of spirit, empathy, and profound respect for others
that calls forth the soul of the organization.
• Promote teamwork focused on clear and compelling purposes and
principles that enable individuals to link their own heartfelt intentions
to the common good. Leaders keep these purposes and principles foremost
in community members' minds at all times so that the purposes and
principles inform every decision and action.
• Cultivate and value the whole person, not just his or
her intellect or technical skills. To that end, leaders use faculty
meetings and other venues to provide opportunities for individuals
to reveal their uniqueness. Staff members, for instance, can be
invited to tell stories of people and events that have shaped their
lives and that underscore that they are not simply replaceable parts
in the school's machine.
• Value the unique perspective and wisdom that each person brings
to the school community and encourage its expression. Leaders do
so when they promote relationships that are honest, trusting, compassionate,
and cooperative. Such relationships provide the emotional safety
in which individuals can express the most soulful aspects of themselves,
qualities that are most precious and closely guarded against judgment
and criticism.
• Use stillness and silence to create opportunities and a safe place
for individuals in meetings and one-to-one conversations to listen
to their own inner teachers and discern their own truths.
When leaders value and nurture the souls of individuals and the
collective soul of the school community, they lead through learning.
Dennis Sparks
Dennis Sparks is an "itinerant teacher" who assists
leadership teams in developing their capacity to continuously improve
teaching and learning in all classrooms. He is emeritus executive
director of the National Staff Development Council, where he served
as executive director from 1984-2007. He can be reached at thinkingpartner@comcast.net.
[ Back to Top ]
|
> Discipline
