Who doesn’t love a professional development day? It’s a respite from the daily routine of working with children and an opportunity to learn. Did I just reference learning on a potential blow off day? If only my elementary school teachers could see me now. I’ve turned into the productive citizen and lifelong learner that they had so long ago asked me to be. Too bad it wasn’t on their watch. I missed out on a lot of candy.
Anyways….
The admin from my school district invited a gentleman named Hanoch McCarty to keynote at our professional development day. Boy, did they hit a homerun with this guy. If you’re unaware of Hanoch McCarty, he is the author of many of the extremely popular Chicken Soup for the… books. Did you know that the idea for the Chicken Soup books had gotten rejected 45 times before one publisher took a chance on the idea? Not four or five times, fourty five times. Imagine submitting something for publication 45 times? I give up after 1 attempt if my blog won’t publish after a few mouse clicks.
Hanoch’s two-hour presentation was tremendous. What stuck with me the most was Hanoch’s understanding of empathy and its place in education. He elaborated on safety, identity, connectedness, power and fun & laughter as the building blocks of education. After reading Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind, I couldn’t agree more. Empathy and character matter the most, because in the long run, people work for people. The relationships that evolve in a school where empathic behaviors are practiced make learning environments meaningful and emotionally safe.
As he was keynoting, I couldn’t help but think that we need more big picture thinkers like Hanoch out there spreading the good word. Keep at it Hanoch!
