The Institute for Habits of Mind
"Educating for a more thoughtful world."
By Allison Zmuda, Bena Kallick and Art Costa Empathy is a foundational part of healing from the political and social issues we are currently facing. Empathy can also be a response to a joyful experience. This newsletter focuses on the powerful experience people have experienced when they have been Read More …
By Jaime Crane and Lisa Bradley 1st-grade teachers, North Canaan Elementary School How do we grow the capacity of our young students for empathy? Last year, the first grade teachers focused on the Habit of Mind animation “Listening with Understanding and Empathy” in their classes. This was part Read More …
By Jennifer Norman Empathy is an invitation to discover yourself by connecting with others in a symbiosis and bonding that heals us. Empathy is the recognition that the meaningful connection to others is where healing takes place, where we can find one another and resonate. Five years ago I Read More …
By Arthur L. Costa, Bena Kallick, and Allison Zmuda “To listen fully means to pay close attention to what is being said beneath the words. You listen not only for what someone knows, but for what he or she is. Generative listening is the art of developing deeper silences Read More …
By Art Costa and Bena Kallick While we can all agree that the Habits of Mind pervade all subject areas and can be infused throughout most of all the activities in learning, we may never have thought of putting them to the test of being challenged during this COVID-19 Read More …
By Bill Sommers So, as I sit here in my home under COVID19 stay at home restrictions, one question keeps reverberating with me in how to lead during this time: “How do we respond in a VUCA world that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon?” When Read More …
By Craig Gastauer March 13, 2020 was the day we received the news that all districts in San Diego County were shutting down physical operations due to COVID-19. A week later, our teachers were directed to begin thinking in terms of what was essential for students to learn between Read More …
By Dr. Nick Bruski “The Easter Bunny came! He took a responsible risk!” (heard from a 3rd grade student) The Institute for the Habits of Mind has a vision, “To create a more thoughtful, cooperative, compassionate generation of people who skillfully work to resolve social, environmental, economic and political Read More …
For many individuals the ability to select a topic, conjure up ideas, and then write about it is a tough process. Even more arduous is the action of physically building focused behaviors to continue writing with reader appeal in mind. It takes persistence, focus, pacing, planning, questioning yourself, developing your Read More …
Daniel Vollrath (@HabitsofMindInc) is a special education teacher at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in New Jersey, and a United States Professional Development Trainer for the Habits of Mind Institute, with a strong passion for developing curriculum, classroom culture, and mindfulness based on the Habits of Mind. Over the Read More …