Exploring Leadership through Global Empathy

Being a leader in education today no longer is attributed to one's classroom experiences alone. It means being able to see the world through the eyes of others, and understanding our interconnections as part of a global society, and the common problems we must work together to solve.

"California schools are no longer the neighborhood kids – they're kids from all around the world," says Dr. Linda Rose Martinez, co-director of the Educational Leadership Development Academy (ELDA), and head of the "WELL" program. "It's critical for educators to have a really deep sense of the world; a sense of global empathy."

Earlier this year, Martinez spearheaded the development of the WELL program, which also represents the "well of knowledge [that we draw from]." The program starts with ELDA, a 24 credit hour professional credential program for master teachers and educational leaders throughout the community.

The purpose of the WELL program is to take an educator from Poway or Santee, for example, and pair them up with an international counterpart. After Martinez and SOLES' Dean, Paula Cordeiro, found suitable matches for the ELDA students, they created a list of "critical discoveries" where the student had to go online and find out everything about the country in which their counterpart resided.

"We want them to know what are the demographics of the students, demographics of the educators, economics of the country, American role in that country, arethere any secular issues in the country, what are the demographics of the parents whose children are enrolled in the school, etc, " explained Martinez.

After the students went through the global learning component of ELDA, students started the WELL program by writing an introductory letter to their new counterpart, explaining who they were, what their learning environment was like, etc. Despite the language, cultural, and geographic barriers between ELDA students and their counterparts, students need to "develop methods for clear communication," said Martinez. "It's a leadership capacity – being able to communicate and be empathetic."

After introductions, students setup regular interactions with their international counterpart. Communication is facilitated by email, telephone, and Skype, and when necessary, translation is facilitated by Babblefish and Google Translator.

As the program moves into its second semester, students will regularly assess complications, feedback and accomplishments, and at the end of the semester, Martinez hopes to hold an open forum in the SOLES Warren Auditorium where participants can speak. Next year, the program also plans to pair up with the SOLES Global Center and do a trip to one of the foreign locations, like Mexico, Canada, Bolivia, or even the Daraja Academy in Africa.

Many schools now have 10, 15, even more than 20 different languages spoken in their students' homes. It is critical for school leaders to develop cultural competency, cultural empathy and a greater understanding of the world, since so much of it is now represented in our schools. For more information on the WELL program, ELDA, or any of our leadership studies programs, please contact Anne Mumford, interim director of Admissions and Outreach.