Blog Posts
Multiple Intelligences Newsletter, Vol 30, No 1
July 14, 2020
Hi MI Friends, These times are unique, uncertain, and dangerous. How’s that for a formula for stress! I hope you are safe and healthy. Recently I was Zooming with hundreds of educators in Argentina, and at the end of the presentation, the host, Alastair Grant, asked me what advice I had for teachers. First, I replied, we all need to step back and take a deep breath and make sure […]
Multiple Intelligences Newsletter, Vol 29, No 8
June 13, 2020
Hello to MI Friends, We are experiencing two pandemics. COVID-19 has changed our lives for months, inhibiting our actions and causing illness and death. And now a racial pandemic engulfs us. The Coronavirus is a relatively new phenomenon; it has been around less than a year and has spread exponentially for months. The racial virus, “a harmful or corrupting agency,” is even more pernicious. Racism in this country goes back […]
Microsoft’s Teaching Happiness Team
June 10, 2020
In early February, Tom was interviewed about empathy by Microsoft’s Teaching Happiness team. He recently commented “The need for more empathy in our society has been vividly illustrated by the dual pandemics of Covid-19 and racism that we confront today. While their causes and costs are very different, yet both terribly deleterious, a big step in addressing them begins with taking the time to understand others and appreciate how they […]
Steve Barkley Podcast: Examining Learner Grit
June 9, 2020
Listen to Tom’s conversation with Steve Barkley on an episode of the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast to examine learner grit. Grit is an important success skill for school and life. Determination and the ability to continue through failure and challenging moments are elements of grit. In this episode, Steve and Tom examine ways to build your child’s grit. Listen Now
Multiple Intelligences Newsletter, Vol 29, No 7
May 27, 2020
Hi MI Friends, Years ago, Pat Bolanos, the visionary principal of the Key School in Indianapolis, the first MI school, and I were on a panel, discussing MI implementation. In her opening remarks, she stated that they arranged their school schedule so that each intelligence received an equal number of instructional minutes during the school day. I expressed admiration because I knew how difficult this would be to do and […]
Multiple Intelligences Newsletter, Vol 29, No 6
April 2, 2020
Hi MI Friends, These are strange and scary times. Covid-19 continues to take its toll in actual lives and in the emotional distress and angst that we all share. As in any crisis – fortunately, as in every crisis – some people and roles step forward as heroes, even though they neither sought fame nor are comfortable with our praise. Gratitude and admiration go to everyone working in health care, […]
Principal Center Radio Podcast: Tom Hoerr
March 3, 2020
Tom was a guest on the Principal Center Radio Podcast talking about his new book Taking Social Emotional Learning Schoolwide: The Formative Five Success Skills for Students and Staff. Listen Now
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Thomas R. Hoerr – The Importance of Reaching All Communities
February 17, 2020
The most important educational factor in a child’s learning is the quality of the teacher. (Parents matter most, but classroom educators come in a close second.) Good teachers go beyond knowing content and pedagogy — they respect, understand and appreciate their students. Those are the teachers we remember; they knew us, cared for us and pushed us. Consequently, an important part of teacher preparation stems from the context in which […]
UMSL Daily: New Education Course Promotes Servant Leadership Model
February 11, 2020
Mindy Bier and Tom Hoerr are teaching a new graduate-level education course called “Leaders Cultivating Virtues,” which utilizes a servant leadership model. It’s designed to give education leaders the tools to fight against empathy fatigue in teachers and to promote social-emotional learning in students. (photo by August Jennewein) Empathy fatigue is an issue for many people. The phenomenon was first widely observed in the medical field, particularly in ICU nurses […]
Multiple Intelligences Newsletter, Vol 29, No 4
January 29, 2020
Greetings MI Fans, Are you ready for spring? Soon, schools in the northern hemisphere will have to confront the February Doldrums. Winter break was ages ago, spring break is too far away to contemplate, the weather is cold, and the skies are gray. Is it any wonder that students – and staff members – get a bit restless? Well, one strategy to de-doldrum (sorry!) is to ensure that people of […]