Leading with Heart and Soul

IRVIN L. SCOTT, Ed.D. is senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and founder of its Leadership Institute for Faith and Education, an initiative that brings education and faith communities together. Before serving as deputy director of K–12 education for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Scott spent more than twenty years as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and chief academic officer.

Preface xiii

Introduction xvii

Chapter 1 “Without a vision the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18) 1

A Vision for Life 1

In the Church Pew 5

Act from Where You Are 7

“The way you start has a lot to do with the way you end.” (Bishop Edgar L. Scott) 8

“Educators make a lot of withdrawals.” (Beverly Daniel Tatum) 11

A Walking Vision 14

Chapter 2 “These are other people’s children.” (Lisa Delpit) 17

Students at Home 17

Visiting Daquan 23

A Weighty Request 26

Driving Daquan 28

The Fast- Food Poet 32

“They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” (Anonymous) 36

“I will not steal your students’ struggles.” (A Fairfax Math Teacher) 39

Chapter 3 “Trust God; move on.” (I. L. Scott) 43

Waiting for Hezekiah 43

Starting a Choir 45

The Day We Were All Waiting for 49

“Fore!” (Golfers) 58

“Love Lifted Me” (James Rowe and Howard E. Smith) 61

Chapter 4 “You can’t raise America’s children if yours don’t know you.” (I. L. Scott) 65

Car Seats 65

“My Life Is in Your Hands.” (Kirk Franklin) 70

“Suck it up and get it done!” (Coach Joseph McCoskey) 72

Goodnight, Leon 75

Chapter 5 “Cherish the person; challenge the employee.” (I. L. Scott) 83

The Third Person 83

Cherish the Person 88

Challenge the Employee 91

“What the . . . parent wants for his child, that must we want for all the children of the community.” (John Dewey) 92

 “Does it pass the ILN test?” (I. L. Scott) 94

Chapter 6“Don’t work for a jerk.” (A Harvard Professor) 101

A Principal’s Story: Groove, off! 101

Servant-Leadership 109

Please, Don’t Go 111

“No one knows teaching like teachers.” (Vicki Phillips) 116

“Leadership Matters.” (I. L. Scott) 118

Chapter 7 “Shoot for the stars, even if you only hit the treetops.” (Bishop Edgar L. Scott) 121

The Principal’s Center 121

Flying Away 125

Shoot for the Stars 126

“. . . smart is something you get.” (Jeff Howard) 127

“You can’t lead if you don’t read.” (Phillip Schlechty) 132

Thank You, but. . . 134

Chapter 8 “People don’t think their way into a new way of acting . . .” (Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan) 139

“Yes, We Can!” (President Barack Obama) 139

I Don’t Need This Class 141

“Politics are in education to stay.” (Richard Elmore) 151

Fighting for Dropouts in Boston 157

Chapter 9 “If I could save time in a bottle . . .” (Jim Croce) 165

Time in a Bottle 165

The Offer 168

We Need a Name 173

Treat Them Like Royalty 175

“Know your story; share your story.” (ECET2 Teachers) 177

“I knock unbidden . . .” (John Ingalls) 181

Chapter 10 “Never forget the bridge that brought you over.” (Mother Minnie P. Scott) 185

Pictures on the Wall 185

A Love Story 190

“. . . pass on to others what [you] have learned.” (Robert Evans) 196

“Period. New paragraph.” (Richard Elmore) 199

Acknowledgments 203

About the Author 207

Index 209