Over this Christmas break, I finished reading Brene Brown’s latest book, Dare to Lead.  The guiding thesis of this text is that successful leadership develops potential in others, shares power, and stays open and vulnerable, guiding with one’s heart.  In many ways, Brown’s ideas resonate with our CSJ values of heart, faith, and courage.  Since finishing the book, I have been mulling over many of its ideas and thinking about how they apply to my work and my relationships.  One of the ideas that connects with what we are doing is curiosity.  Staying curious opens a person up to learn new things, solve problems, and reach out to new people and experiences.  When turning that curiosity inward, one can develop introspection leading to self regulation and compassion.  When I think about all the innovation and work that our school community has completed in the past year, I think that curiosity has fueled much of it.  The openness that teachers have shown by trying new strategies in the classroom is an example of this curiosity.  The willingness of faculty and staff to listen to student ideas and feedback is an example.  The thoughtful introspection that I read on this blog into teaching pedagogy, successes, failures, exposing and analyzing fears and uncertainties is another example.  The students who have begun to use a growth mindset cultivate curiosity as well.  Brown would argue that all of these things show courage and a community willing to guide and lead through heart.

I encourage anyone interested by this idea to read Brown’s book.  For those who would like to get a different glimpse of her book and how it may apply to the classroom, check out the video filmed at SXSW EDU 2017.