"Dr. Brené Brown has become famous for her speaking and writing about vulnerability, worthiness, shame and the other important emotions running underneath daily life all the time. One theme she returns to over and over is the importance of cultivating empathy, a very different reaction than sympathy. Dr. Brown says empathy consists of four qualities: the ability to take the perspective of another person, staying away from judgment, recognizing emotion in others, and communicating it. She defines empathy as “feeling with people,” and notes that it’s a “vulnerable choice” because it requires a person to tap into something personal that identifies with the struggle of another." - (MindShift website) Since starting (back) at OGHS, I've been feeling and thinking all the things that people generally do when starting a new job; excitement, optimism, wonder, awe, "brain-drain", exhaustion, confidence, uncertainty, confusion, camaraderie, happiness and more... often all at the same time! Having been in the position of being the "new person" a few times in recent years, I have become familiar with this roller-coaster of emotion, and was mentally prepared for it. I have learnt to be ok with knowing that I don't know everything and needn't have an immediate answer for everything at first, or even ever. In previous roles in schools, I had become very used to having to do everything on my own because that was the way things were. It forced me to be very independent and helped me to become very resilient in the face of challenge and change. In recent years, I have learnt about, and benefited from, the power of working collaboratively. At first, I thought people would think I was not good at my job or was weak somehow if I asked for support / help / input into any projects I was working on. I was so accustomed to only having myself and my own ideas and opinions to rely upon at crunch times, that I kept forgetting that I could draw upon the support from my team to achieve our goals. Now, having others' ideas, perspectives, skill-sets, backgrounds and experiences to draw upon when working on any project, is something I count on, and know is essential to improved and desirable outcomes for everyone. My personal goal this term has been to make/take the opportunity to empathise with as many people and their roles, situations, experiences as possible. I have met with each HOD to hear what it's like for them to be in their role at this school, and I'd like to be able to meet with Deans, classroom teachers, support staff and students in various ways too. "Empathy is about finding echoes of another person inside yourself" - Mohsin Hamid For me to be an effective Deputy Principal, it is important to me to have a sound understanding of what it is like to be in your shoes on a daily basis in order for me to find patterns/trends in areas of strength for us to celebrate, and areas for focus and improvement or transformation. I am not here to make judgements, but wish to listen, empathise and understand in order to support you to be able to achieve your goals. I am very aware that I am new and possibly quite "different" (I prefer this euphemism to "weird" / "out there" or other such terms) to what you may be used to, but I hope that you'll feel comfortable enough to approach me with any concerns, ideas, and wonderings, as well as letting me know if what I'm doing is on the right track for you and what you need. Thank you for your warm and supportive welcome. I have appreciated the way you have embraced my (often collaborative) approach to things. I already feel like I'm home again. ~Rowan Taigel
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AuthorsWe'll have a variety of authors from OGHS over the year sharing their thoughts and experiences about education, teaching and learning Archives
June 2019
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