Can Courage Be Taught? Yes, Inside Courageous Schools!

It’s July once again. As I spend each day catching up on my reading (including my professional reads), extra time with family and friends, and naps in the afternoon, inevitably I also spend time thinking about the start of a new school year and the many things that I’d like to accomplish with my faculty and students.

Like most educators, my goals for the new year include getting to know the new members of my community (adults and students), being more intentional about my work/life balance, exercising more, and getting the proper amount of sleep. While these are important goals, they are not courageous. They don’t push me outside of my routine or force me to go beyond my limitations. They are surface; and thus, do not require me to be vulnerable. This year, I intend to do something different. This year, I plan to be more vulnerable as I lean into discomfort. I intend to listen to my own advice and fail fast. I intend to be a more courageous leader.

The concept of vulnerability in courageous teaching (and living) is so important in the context of the world that we live in today. According to Dr. Brene Brown, author of Dare to Lead and Daring Greatly, courage comes when we have a clarity of values, we can trust, we can be vulnerable, and when we have an abundance of rising skills. This last point is not only important for adults to understand but it is essential for children to learn because these “rising skills” are all about a person’s ability to pick themselves up after failure. What better skill for me to practice in front of my students this year than the act of being courageous enough to fail and try again. I know I will have plenty of examples of failure for my students to see this year. Hopefully, they will be able to see what courage looks like in the face of failure.

How will you model courageous leadership in your school this year? How will you help your school be a courageous place for every child?

TLB

For more information and resources from Dr. Brown, check out her website and Twitter.