• “The function of education is to teach
one to think intensively and to think
critically... Intelligence plus character –
that is the goal of true education.”
— Martin Luther King Jr.
Educators
“Classroom teachers give young people what
they sometimes get nowhere else in society
– a sense that they have promise, that they
have talents, that they are special. If
you’re a young person who is not quite sure
that you are welcome in this society, one of
the most important people in your life
could be a teacher who accepts you.”
-Parker J. Palmer
Educators
• Our vision for our students future
must be bigger than the vision the
child has for him/herself.
• We are the yeast in our students
lives…
Clifton Taulbert
and his Eight Habits of the
Heart
Building Community… The
Foundation for Excellence!
“No creature can fly with just one wing.
Gifted leadership occurs where heart
and head – feeling and thought –
meet. These are the two wings that
allow a leader to soar.”
– Daniel Goleman, Author, Primal
Leadership: Learning to Lead with
Emotional Intelligence
Building Community… The
Foundation for Excellence!
“No society can remain vital or even survive
without a reasonable base of shared values.
Where community exists, it confers upon
its members, identity, a sense of belonging,
a measure of security. A community has
the power to motivate its members to
exceptional performance. Community can
set standards of expectations for the
individual and provide the climate in which
great things happen.”
– JOHN W. GARDNER, FORMER
PROFESSOR, STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Building A School Community
• Building a positive school community should
be our master plan:
– Our school community is our blueprint
– Clifton Taulbert’s Eight Habits of the Heart
are our construction materials:
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Nurturing Attitude
Responsibility
Dependability
Friendship
Brotherhood
High Expectations
Courage
Hope
In an Ideal School Community…
• There is consistent opportunity to invite,
nurture, achieve, and reach full potential
respectfully.
• Everyone respects others, fosters growth,
and appreciates diversity while being
nurturers and lifelong learners.
• There is an eager exchange of thought,
where values and opinions are respected,
modeled, and accepted.
In an Ideal School Community…
• Diverse groups share goals, knowledge, and
opportunity with support and encouragement
from each other.
• Everyone demonstrates respect and
cooperation, providing for interdependence
among the members, while allowing for
uniqueness and creativity.
• Members foster intrinsic motivation in an
accepting and nurturing environment – one that
values excellence and encourages all to achieve
their maximum potential.
Questions for Reflection:
• How can you make your students feel
welcome in your school?
• How can you boost your students’
view of themselves?
• How do you propose to make each
student in your school feel?
THE
FIRST HABIT
OF THE HEART:
NURTURING ATTITUDE
In the community, a nurturing attitude is
characterized by unselfish caring, supportiveness,
and a willingness to share time.
Strategies for Promoting a
Nurturing Attitude
• Learn at least one personal interest or goal
for each of your students. At least once a
week, talk to each student about this
interest or goal.
• Support your students’ endeavors.
• Visit the cafeteria once a week and sit with
different students each time.
• Look for what is right and how we can grow
it.
Questions for Reflection:
• How can you use your position to build
community?
• What actions can you take to ensure
that you slow down to build
relationships? Everything we do is
about building relationships!
THE
SECOND AND THIRD HABITS OF THE
HEART:
DEPENDABILITY AND
RESPONSIBILITY
Within the community, dependability is being there for
others through all the times of their lives, a steady
influence that makes tomorrow a welcome event; and
responsibility means showing and encouraging a personal
commitment to each task.
Strategies for Promoting
Responsibility
• Enforce established rules that students
are to follow.
• Don’t tell others what to do; show them.
• Arrive at work on time.
• Help students to become in engaged in
their education.
• Hold students accountable for meeting
established deadlines.
• Are we busy or effective?
Questions for Reflection:
• What does responsibility look like to
you?
• How could you allow new staff
members to tap into your wealth of
experience as they become part of
your teaching-learning community?
Strategies for Promoting
Dependability
• Never go into a classroom under prepared.
• Return graded papers when you promised.
• If a student is absent two days in a row,
contact his or her home.
• Be consistent in your educational approach so
that students know what to expect.
• Smile first thing and welcome students to
school every morning – let them know you’re
glad to see them, whether you are in a good
mood or not. Start the day positive!
Questions for Reflection:
• Does circumstance rule the day?
What does circumstance vs.
commitment mean?
• If you become Ma Ponk (Clifton’s
great aunt), what could this type of
commitment mean to a new teacher, a
fellow employee, or a new or shy
student?
THE
FOURTH HABIT
OF THE HEART:
FRIENDSHIP
Within the community, friendship is the habit that
binds people together when they take pleasure in
each other’s company, listen, laugh, and share good
times and bad.
Strategies for Promoting
Friendship
• Be open and display a positive attitude.
• Listen to what the students have to
say and extend support in the
appropriate manner.
• Help students create a community of
Friendship in school by finding that
special talent each child might
contribute to the community.
Questions for Reflection:
• How can you use Friendship to make
all students feel included?
• What happens to the student who
feels like an outsider in class?
THE
FIFTH HABIT
OF THE HEART:
BROTHERHOOD
Within the community, brotherhood is the habit that
reaches beyond comfortable relationships to
extend a welcome to those who may be different
from yourself.
Strategies for Promoting
Brotherhood
• Leave your comfort zone and learn
what each child needs to excel.
• Promote relationships through peer
tutoring or cooperative learning
activates.
• Spend time helping students find out
what they have in common with others
in class. Create common goals and
require groups to work together as a
team to achieve them.
Questions for Reflection:
• When and where did you first
practice Brotherhood? Who was the
beneficiary of your unselfish act?
• What can you do immediately to put
this habit into practice in your
school?
THE
SIXTH HABIT
OF THE HEART:
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Within the community, high expectations involve
believing that others can be successful, telling
them so, and praising their accomplishments.
Strategies for Promoting
High Expectations
• Create a positive-behavior bulletin
board in the classroom, display a list of
children and their positive behaviors.
Catch them doing something good.
• Create a behavior grade by building it
from good behaviors, not by taking
away from it due to negative behaviors.
• Identify why it is possible!
Questions for Reflection:
• How can you help your students to
grow beyond their social and
geographical limitations?
• What is your plan to lift students
higher than they can imagine
themselves to be?
THE
SEVENTH HABIT
OF THE HEART:
COURAGE
Within the community, courage is standing up and
doing the right thing, speaking out on behalf of
others, and making a commitment to excellence in
the face of adversity or the absence of support.
Strategies for Promoting
Courage
• Consider doing what is best for the
child no matter what.
• Plan activities that allow students to
share life experiences that show the
importance of Courage, and share
courageous experiences of your own.
• Portray Courage in the classroom by
not backing down when parents try to
force you to change a grade.
Questions for Reflection:
• When did you last experience an act
of Courage within your school?
• What was your reaction to an act of
Courage demonstrated by one of your
peers?
• How can you be a courageous
educator for your students?
Questions for Reflection:
• Do we operate from what we are
committed to?
• Do we operate out of fear or as a
blessed person?
• Are we victims of decisions or
creators of decisions?
THE
EIGHTH HABIT
OF THE HEART:
HOPE
Within the community, hope is believing in tomorrow
– because you have learned to see with your heart.
Strategies for Promoting
Hope
• Encourage students to set high goals for
themselves.
• Have students keep journals of what they do
each day to achieve their goals.
• Tell students several stories that explain Hope.
• Read biographies that show how someone who
starts in modest circumstances can become a
great person.
• Don’t plan on a bad day; start each day with an
expectation of accomplishment.
Questions for Reflection:
• Do we focus on what’s wrong or what’s
possible?
• What inspires you?
• What have you given up on?
Mr. Meant-To:
(The Book of Virtues)
Mr. Meant-To has a comrade,
And his name is Didn’t Do;
Have you ever chanced to meet them?
Did they ever call on you?
These two fellows live together
In the house of Never-Win,
And I’m told that it is haunted
By the ghost of Might-Have-Been.