Brian M. Stack's School Leadership Blog

This article was written originally for MultiBriefs Education . We’ve all had those moments where as educators, we wish we could have handled a student behavior issue differently after it was all over. My moments, although extremely rare, often come when I let my emotions get the best of me when working with a student. It could be a raised voice, or it could be making the wrong comment at the wrong time which can lead to a loss of control of a situation in the moment. Over the years, I have come to understand that I can achieve far better results when I can exhibit compassion, empathy, and care when working with students through a difficult behavioral situation. I have made it my mission to utilize this approach with every student interaction, and implore my teachers to do the same. Amanda Morin, of Understood, wrote recently about the importance of teachers practicing empathy when addressing student behavior. “ It’s not always easy to respond to student behavior with empa

This article was written originally for MultiBriefs Education . My wife Erica recently returned to the elementary classroom after a decade-long hiatus to raise our young family. In late January, she succumbed to her first multi-day battle with the flu. She knew she was going to be in trouble when the aches and pains started to set in, then the cough followed almost immediately after. Twenty-four hours later, and she was laid up on the couch and miserable. Ironically, for as bad as she felt physically, the guilt she felt from missing her students and her team was significantly more impactful than anything else. “I don’t need this right now,” she told me. “I’ve got several IEP meetings this week that I need to be at, and I have testing that needs to get done for two of my students.” There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to get it all done, and being down for the count with the flu certainly didn’t help her cause. My wife’s guilt is a common feeling that millions of teac