By Lauren Hitron, LL’18, Director of the Jean Frazier Leadership Institute at Sacred Heart Schools (KY) [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]As I walked into a classroom on a crisp fall morning at Sacred Heart Preschool, I was immediately greeted with an outstretched hand attached to a grinning five-year old, “Hi! I’m *Jessica. Welcome to our junior kindergarten class. Come join us in our circle.” I came to my preschool visit with a little apprehension, as I have worked mainly with high school students in my career. Jessica’s welcome eased my nerves.
I was there to spend the morning observing so that I could better understand how to assist teachers in providing leadership programming to our youngest students. The teachers had little warning that I would be visiting, so what I had just experienced was the norm. By the end of the morning, I was convinced that everything I really need to know about leadership, I learned in preschool.
Social-emotional skills are the very foundation of leadership, and social-emotional learning was frequently discussed as it relates to the Pedagogy of Leadership® at the gcLi Leadership Lab this past summer. Sacred Heart Preschool director, Lisa Houghlin, says preschools can encourage early leadership development by having a curriculum framework that develops the whole child with social-emotional learning as the foundation. She encourages leadership development by “providing students with rich opportunities that build on their innate curiosity to help develop creative thinkers and problem solvers who are compassionate about the world in which they live.”
There were abundant examples of leadership at SHP, and these had me wondering if leadership development is made too complicated. Often, we think of leadership in terms of practical skills that help fulfill a specific role or leadership type: public speaking, facilitation, project management. If a leader lacks emotional intelligence, however, they will likely not succeed at relating to or motivating others, and so will fail at these tasks. My time at the gcLi Leadership Lab helped me to remain focused on social and emotional competence as the foundation of leadership development, and as it turns out, some of the best examples of SEL I have seen come from preschool. Here is what I learned.
Collaboration
My earlier example of being greeted by Jessica attests that at every turn, preschool teachers emphasize reaching out to others, sharing, and cooperation. Learning stations encourage an early understanding of teamwork–an essential skill for leaders. In every classroom I visited, more than one child encouraged me to come “play” and helped me understand the instructions of that specific station. The children helped keep each other on task, shared responsibilities of caring for the class hamster, discussed the best plan for making their Lego fort, and so on. In this way, the children learn to manage conflict when it arises, listen to others, and make decisions as a group. Collaboration is a vital skill for 21st century leaders, so it is easy to understand the concentration on this skill in early childhood education.
Self-Management
During Music in the three-year old room, one little boy name Robert began feeling frustrated and spoke out. One teacher quietly moved Robert to another part of the classroom and led him through a series of questions to help him identify his feelings before he calmed down and rejoined the group. In junior kindergarten, the teacher asked the children, “What color are we on when we are afraid?” referring to the emotion color chart posted on the classroom wall. When a child gets overly anxious or frustrated, teachers have taught the children to name their feelings and determine the behaviors that will help them return to the group. Leaders need to regulate how they express their emotions. Not only do leaders need to be self-aware, but they need to be aware of how their self affects others.
Communication
Spend an hour in a preschool, and you experience nearly every type of communication style: talking, listening, reading, writing, music, and body language. After circle time in one room, the teacher said, “Thumbs up if you felt you were a good communicator today.” Not only are the teachers teaching these skills, they express the importance of being a strong communicator. In JK, children take turns standing in front of the room leading prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Circle time is the preschool version of advisory when the children share about whatever is on their minds while their classmates listen attentively. The ability to communicate effectively is paramount to leadership, and preschools emphasize the basic skills of communication to build a strong foundation.
Empathy
Building empathy is a continuous process, but starting at a young age creates an advanced social awareness. I saw the preschoolers showing empathy towards their classmates in many ways. After a child shared that she was scared to get a flu shot later in the day, her classmates immediately reassured and encouraged her. When Robert returned to the music circle, a classmate reminded the teacher that Robert needs a turn to choose the hand movement that went along with the song. They understood he would feel left out if his turn was skipped. The earlier a child develops empathy the more likely they are to not engage in bullying or anti-social behavior. Empathy is a modern leadership behavior that allows leaders to connect deeply with others and make decisions with the best interests of their team in mind. The earlier a person demonstrates empathy, the more likely they are to lead with empathy.
Integrity
Preschools spend a great deal of time teaching right from wrong, how to act respectfully, and to be accountable. There is something almost refreshing about the honesty of a preschooler. While they are learning what is best to share with others, their truthful reflections and feedback can be of great benefit. We always knows where we stand with a preschooler. Preschoolers are also learning accountability. I watched as the children entered the classrooms; they hugged their parents goodbye before they stepped inside the classroom door. Independently, each put up their coats, bags, and lunch boxes on their designated hooks. This seemingly small task is the beginning step to being accountable for oneself. One cannot be a leader of others unless they are a leader in their own life and stay true to their core values.
The Sacred Heart Preschool director, Lisa Houghlin, empowers the faculty to actively seek out leadership development opportunities. She understands the importance of early exposure, “The earlier children learn about their leadership strengths, the sooner they can make positive differences. In early learners, leadership goes hand in hand with social-emotional learning: resolving conflicts, empathy, compassion, etc. Leadership is a mix of character traits, behaviors, skills, and competencies.” During Houghlin’s tenure, SHP has sought out multi-generational mentorship to provide tangible role models for students through partnerships with the other campus schools and the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville. These mentor opportunities allow for the preschool children to see leadership in action from a broad range of ages, skills, and groups.
Embracing the Pedagogy of Leadership® means fully encompassing social-emotional learning into schools, programs and classrooms at every grade level. The next time you are stumped on how to incorporate leadership into your classroom, just visit Sacred Heart Preschool (or a preschool closer to you that is fully engaged in SEL) for inspiration! Not only can leadership be taught to preschool children, they can teach us about leadership, too.
*Names of the preschoolers have been changed.
Lauren Hitron attended the gcLi Leadership Lab in the summer of 2018. She has served as the director of the Jean Frazier Leadership Institute in Louisville, KY since December of 2017. In only its first full year of implementation, the Jean Frazier Leadership Institute is creating a comprehensive leadership program for preschool through high school students at Sacred Heart Schools. Lauren worked in high school admissions for 14 years before moving to her current position.
Sacred Heart Schools (SHS), sponsored by the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, is a district of four Catholic schools on the 48-acre Ursuline Campus located in Louisville, Kentucky. SHS is dedicated to growing learners to leaders and fostering the Ursuline Core Values of community, leadership, reverence and service. It includes the following member schools: Sacred Heart Academy (girls, grades 9-12), Sacred Heart Model School (coed, grades K-8), Sacred Heart Preschool (coed, ages 1-5) and Sacred Heart School for the Arts (coed, all ages). The total student population is nearly 2,000.