From the Desk of the Head of School- September 28, 2018

9/28/2018

Emotional intelligence - the ability to identify an emotion in yourself or others…[is] the first, and arguably most crucial, of the nine essential habits of empathy...that will give your child the Empathy Advantage for future happiness and success.”

Michele Borba, UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World

Dear Parents,

I am excited to announce that our first speaker of The Insight Series will be Shayna Humphrey, adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management and instructor for The Work Institute. Shayna’s work focuses on leadership development through emotional intelligence and is a highly sought after speaker on this topic, having worked with clients like HCA, Johnson & Johnson, Amsurg, Exxon-Mobil, AIG, and Sony Music.

More importantly, however, she is a mother to twin daughters who graduated from Harding Academy in 2017, having spent nine years at our school. Over the course of her daughters’ time at Harding, the work Shayna was doing with budding and current CEOs around emotional intelligence was being applied in developmentally appropriate ways with her daughters. As Borba explains, “The great news is that emotional intelligence is not just a gift; it’s actually an ability that can be taught to our children, starting when they are young as toddlers….Identifying, understanding, and expressing emotions are the skills kids need to activate empathy.” When you meet her daughters, you’ll know instantly: the work of Shayna and her husband Steve paid off big time.

Knowing she is addressing us as we journey through the ten most formative learning years of our children’s lives and the ten most formative parenting years of our lives, Shayna will present on what emotional intelligence is and what it is not, quick tips to take home to help foster emotional intelligence in our children, and resources we can continue to call upon in helping us keep the empathy development front of mind in our interactions with our children. She gave a similar presentation at Harding five years ago and it was very well received.

I encourage you to sign up for our first Insight Series speaker during our Pursuit Night Out on Friday, October 19, at 6:30 PM. Remember, if you register for Shayna’s talk, your children who are eligible for Pursuit Night Out can attend free of charge. Seems like a great excuse to organize a date night, mom’s night/dad’s night, or night out with friends and let us at Harding watch the kids. I am certain, too, that Shayna will offer plenty for you all to discuss at the dinner table!

Back