Ted Fish, PhD, Executive Director, Gardner Carney Leadership Institute
It’s not often that classroom teachers get to spend not just hours—but whole, successive days—unfolding with Masters of Psychology and Pedagogy. And not just in the lecture hall but in settings that are up close and personal. It’s an ideal learning environment and a stunning opportunity that now presents itself to attendees of gcLi’s Leadership Lab.
For the gcLi has on its resident faculty two world-recognized experts on teaching and learning, psychology and leadership. Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, a Research Associate at Harvard Medical School, and a consultant to over 350 independent and public schools, is our Institute Scholar. And Dr. JoAnn Deak, a Developmental Psychologist who transforms the complexity of brain science into elegant roadmaps for transformative educators, is our Scholar Emerita. Their combined expertise runs across vital disciplines like developmental psychology, adolescent health, digital media, self-esteem, and healthy parenting.
Our blog editor, Jay Parker, caught up with each to explore their views on why leadership matters, how it can best be taught to students, and what teachers can do to become powerful agents of learning and transformation.
-Dr. Ted Fish, Executive Director, gcLi
In your opinion, why is teaching leadership so important in the current climate of education?
Dr. Deak: Students pervasively believe that leadership is narrowly defined as an elected or appointed person. At gcLi, we understand and define leadership as anytime anyone influences another person or group. It is critical that our students understand that they are leaders everyday in their behavior and language; each affect their peers and school culture. If students understand the pervasiveness of their influence, we stand a better chance in helping shape their growth as leaders with integrity and purpose.
Dr. Steiner-Adair: We have a paradigm shift around leadership. We now know that everyone has in them the potential to lead, regardless of title, position, race, class, or body size and shape. We also know from research that we can effectively teach leadership tools and skills. The earlier we do this, the better. We need all teachers to develop and teach leadership in kids, and that needs to be part of every classroom culture.
We desperately need to include leadership education in this moment of political fragility. It is our responsibility to point out to our students all the ways in which the current president and other world leaders are using their power in antisocial and anti-democratic ways. It is a tragedy when our president is the best teaching example of what not to do with social media, but we must not let his office silence the teachable moment.
How did you become passionate about helping teachers to develop leadership in students?
Dr. Deak: I entered my first year of teaching going into a tough inner city school with great shining idealism. In the first weeks, I made untold mistakes because I did not understand the culture of the school. One morning, in total frustration, I asked my students for wisdom so that I could become a meaningful member of the school and their lives. That one request turned a core of them into active leaders. They explained situations and behaviors to me that seemed foreign. They influenced other students to be respectful and responsive. When I had all-school duties such as detention, playground, or bus duty, I would see them telling kids to ‘listen up’ or be quiet. In other words, my one authentic request for them to step up started each of them on a leadership road. Twenty years later at a class reunion, that group of students travelled from many places in hope of seeing me and telling me what they had accomplished. Each referred to their experiences of feeling confident and competent as leaders in our school so many years before.
Since that time, it is a mantra that I share with all educators; everything we say and do influences the adults these kids will become. We must keep the view of their potential leadership constantly in our frontal lobes as we help them shape themselves.
Dr. Steiner-Adair: I first became passionate about helping teachers when I was doing doctoral work at Harvard University with Carol Gilligan in the late seventies. I was researching two questions: the first was. “Why and when do some girls override their vision of themselves as future leaders and become obsessed with the cultural vision of perfection that is so profoundly harmful?” The second question was, “What are the tools and skills girls need to hold on to a vision of themselves as future leaders and how can we not only prevent body dysmorphia and eating disorders but encourage girls to ‘throw their weight around’ in the world?” I looked specifically at why the epidemic of eating disorders initially emerged among independent school girls–the same girls who were the first early contenders to join the ranks of males in leadership positions. When developing the first successful primary prevention program, it became clear to me that teaching leadership to girls and teaching them to deconstruct the messages in the culture that undermines their belief in their leadership potential was a key element in this work. This project got me curious about the messages that undermine all students’ capacity to lead–boys and girls included–and I’ve been in this sandbox ever since.
You both recently began working together as gcLi Institute Scholars. What do you most admire in each other?
Dr. Deak: Catherine has what I call the ‘magic blend’ that makes her an exquisite educator and psychologist: she is wise and has a depth of experience in her field as well as makes everyone feel that she cares deeply about you as a person. In a nutshell, I trust her professional knowledge and judgment; I like and respect her as a person; and I enjoy being with her and working with her. There is synergy there on a personal and professional level.
Dr. Steiner-Adair: JoAnn is a wonder; there is no one like her. She is brilliant, clear, engaging, fun, and a phenomenal and passionate teacher. We have been listening and learning from one another for years, but this was the first time we got to collaborate and riff off each other over several days. We are cut from the same cloth in some ways: we know the primary importance of brain development and psychology; we are both passionate about the interface between education and psychology; we share so many of the same views about education, values, and growth; and we also both like to laugh.
Looking ahead, what is most exciting about your collaboration? How can it enhance gcLi’s program and grow the reach of our mission?
Dr. Deak: What excites me is that we not only work with synergy and seamlessness, but we complement each other’s ideas and thoughts. Working with Catherine makes clear the adage: together we are more than the sum of our parts!
Dr. Steiner-Adair: We compliment each other beautifully. Brain and heart, neurobiology and psychology. JoAnn has the most contagious passion for not just teaching about how we learn, wiring, and emotions, but she also exudes compassion. I have been at many many conferences with JoAnn and I am always excited to listen to her I because as I listen to her I am transformed; I become a better teacher, psychologist, and person. Together we cover a lot of critical terrain. Mine is a deep dive into socioemotional learning, seeking answers to how we can revise and rethink our schools to fully prepare students in the Digital Age for the world they are inheriting. JoAnn and I speak about different ways of understanding the same challenge. And, the energy between us is so much fun!
What is one piece of advice you have for educators seeking to make a difference in their school?
Dr. Deak: I say this to every educator: FIRST GRAB THE AMYGDALA! By that, I mean, if the individual or group with whom you are interacting BELIEVES you care about them and/or are passionate about what you are doing, you will have the best chance of having an impact on that person/group. Add some gcLi training to that and it is a spectacular combination to develop and teach leadership in our schools.
Dr. Steiner-Adair: Continue to educate yourself and practice what you have learned. Take the risks you want your students to take, and learn from successes and failures. In a bigger context, look at your mission, look at what you say you value, do a scope and sequence analysis of how, where, and when you truly do what you say you intend to do with all students. Have the courage to identify where you need to do more, and hold this mirror up for your colleagues with optimism![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Dr. JoAnn Deak began her career as an elementary teacher and then received her Ph.D. from Kent State. She served as the director of the lower school and middle school at the Laurel School in Ohio. She left Laurel in 1999 to expand her role as a consultant to schools worldwide on issues of brain development, gender equity, and optimal learning environments for boys and girls. Dr. Deak has been an advisor to Outward Bound; a past chair of the National Committee for Girls and Women in Independent Schools; and a member of the advisory board for the Center on Research for Girls [Laurel School], the Seattle Girls’ School, Bromley Brook School, the Red Oak School, Power Play, and GOAL.
Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair began her career as a Clinical Psychologist and teacher at Phillips Academy Andover while getting her doctorate at The Harvard Graduate School of Education. For over thirty years, she has consulted with schools worldwide, working with heads, boards, faculty, students, and parents to strengthen the school culture and core curriculum and to create new programs and initiatives in the areas of social and emotional learning, advisory, health and wellness, digital citizenships, ethics and leadership education, and best practices for a healthy and thoughtful approach to technology at school, home, and work. She is the author of the award-winning book, The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age (cited as a Wall Street Journal TOP 10 Best Non-Fiction 2013), and Full of Ourselves: A Wellness Program to Advance Girl Power, Health, and Leadership. Dr Steiner-Adair is on the Board of The Hamlin School and the Education Advisory Board of Common Sense Media.