SOUL!: Fulfilling the Promise of Your Professional Life as a Teacher and Leader (A professional wellness and self-reflection resource for educators at every grade level)

by Timothy D. Kanold, Robert Eaker (Foreword by)

Overview

A long-awaited companion to the wildly popular HEART!, SOUL! empowers educators take another giant leap toward fulfilling their professional promise. Refreshing and uplifting, this resource leads readers on a deeply rewarding journey toward discovering their soul story—the pursuit of their moral good in order to create good in others. It also includes dozens of stories from real educators, as well as ample space for journaling and self-reflection.

Use this resource to examine and reflect with provided journaling spaces:

• Become more confident, joyful, whole, and healthy in your professional life.
• Explore the four actions of SOUL—searching, overcoming, unifying, and living—that will help you sustain a fulfilling professional life.
• Learn the concept of a soul story, diving into what it is and why it should matter deeply to all educators.
• Understand your own soul story, and reflect on how you can use it to create good in others.
• Learn how to overcome challenges and obstacles that hinder you from fulfilling your soul story.
• Discover how to create a positive school culture focused on meaningful relationships and collaboration.

Follow the discussion of SOUL! on Twitter by using the hashtag #heartandsoul4Ed

Contents:
Table of Contents
About the Author
Foreword
A Note to Readers
Introduction
Part 1: Developing Your Soul Story
Chapter 1: The Soul Asks, "Now What?"
Chapter 2: A Perfect Pair: Heart and Soul
Chapter 3: In Loco Parentis
Chapter 4: In the Name of Social Justice
Chapter 5: The Second Mountain
Chapter 6: No Compassion, No Soul
Chapter 7: The Soul Story Whisperers
Final Thoughts: The PLC Life is a Seeking-System Life
Part 2: Developing Your SOUL Story
Chapter 8: Lost and Overwhelmed
Chapter 9: The Shallows
Chapter 10: SASHET
Chapter 11: Anger Never Wins
Chapter 12: Good Enough, For Now
Chapter 13: The Road Less Hardened
Chapter 14: A Season for Obstacles
Final Thoughts: Hatred Corrodes Your Container
Part 3: Developing Your SOUL Story
Chapter 15: E Pluribus Unum: Thriving in Community
Chapter 16: Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Belonging
Chapter 17: Beyond Collaboration: Intimacy
Chapter 18: Beyond Collegiality: Vulnerability
Chapter 19: Beyond Tolerance: Validation
Chapter 20: Beyond School: Community Engagement
Chapter 21: The Quietude Quest
Final Thoughts: Semper Fidelis
Part 4: Developing Your SOUL Story
Chapter 22: The Date Always Arrives
Chapter 23: Carpe Diem
Chapter 24: Mirror, Mirror
Chapter 25: Soul Story Courage
Chapter 26: Joy, Gratitude, and Grace
Chapter 27: One More Trip Around the Sun
Final Thoughts: Social Justice Is the PLC Life
Epilogue
Finding Our Slack Tide
Acknowledgments
Notes

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951075651
Publisher:	Solution Tree Press
Publication date:	02/19/2021
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.00(d)

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Shout this from the mountaintop: If you touch the life of a child as a teacher, paraprofessional, coach, principal, or counselor, you must read this book! SOUL! Fulfilling the Promise of Your Professional Life as a Teacher and Leader will nurture, stretch, challenge, and grow the soul of every reader and everyone readers engage with in their personal and professional lives."

—Thomasenia Lott Adams, associate dean for research and faculty development, College of Education, University of Florida

"After thirty-two years of serving public school students, reading Timothy D. Kanold's SOUL! triggered a healthy and much-needed sense of nostalgia. Many have shared their soul stories with me, including Rick DuFour, who felt confident I could be part of a team traveling around the world teaching educators how to best promote optimal learning for the students we serve. SOUL! reminds us all of the positive interactions that have impacted each of us and the responsibility we have to continue to positively impact others."

—Luis F. Cruz, educational consultant, speaker, coach, and best-selling author

"SOUL! by Timothy D. Kanold is one of those books that will truly make you think and reflect, not just as an educator but also as a person. Throughout the book, I paused and reflected on how I've grown over the years but, more importantly, how much I still need to grow. The personal stories embedded throughout this book will resonate with every reader because we have all had similar experiences, whether it's losing a loved one or experiencing a failure. Dr. Kanold brings those personal stories back to the message of each chapter. This book is definitely worth reading and sharing with colleagues in order to help each of us grow as educators and as people."

—Jasmine K. Kullar, assistant superintendent, Cobb County School District, Georgia

"SOUL! will resonate with every educator, as it deeply goes to the heart of why we entered this profession. It is quite simply a masterpiece of storytelling. Author Timothy D. Kanold challenges readers to write their own soul stories, which gives them a mirror to who they are and a window into the opportunities still out there. Tim's focuses on grace, compassion, empathy, vulnerability, and equity are woven throughout the book as uniting and powerful themes, reminding educators to hold firm to these qualities and continue their beautiful but challenging journey through this profession. SOUL! is quite simply the best educational book of its kind that I have ever read!"

—Brian K. Butler, author and educational consultant

"In SOUL!, Dr. Timothy D. Kanold has created a compelling and timely companion to his best-selling book HEART! Dr. Kanold connects our journey as educators to our inherent desire for purpose and impact. His personal stories and reflections shine a light on the importance of investing in our purpose. While HEART! shows us how to have a positive impact on others and leave our "heartprint," SOUL! encourages us to turn inward and check our own healthy and sometimes unhealthy reactions and decisions that drive the why behind our impact. Dr. Kanold uses an effective balance of research and relatable personal experiences to help readers develop strategies to cope with obstacles that can block their ability to be effective at building personal and professional relationships. As a school leader, I will encourage my staff to use SOUL! as a tool to improve their professional collaboration with peers and improve their impact with students."

—Scott Carr, principal, Heritage Middle School, Liberty, Missouri

"SOUL! asks readers to embark on a journey that guides them toward a more purpose-driven professional life. During this journey, readers are catapulted to the promise and reality of a life that results from embracing compassion, empathy, equity, and joy, leaving a lasting imprint that benefits students, parents, and colleagues. Through personal stories and opportunities for reflection, Timothy D. Kanold makes readers conscious of the things they do not see about themselves. This amazing book touches the core of our being and helps us fulfill the promise of our professional lives."

—Denise M. Walston, director of mathematics, Council of the Great City Schools

"The work of successful educators and professionals is hard. It takes passion, dedication, and sacrifice. SOUL! is a must-read for school and district staff, but it also contributes to fields outside of education. It encourages readers to reach their full potential by engaging deeply in the best practices of their work and to create strong connections with colleagues, students, and families. SOUL! navigates readers through this overarching question: 'What drives us to find complete fulfillment in our vocation?' Like Dr. Kanold's prequel, HEART!, this book serves as a guide along this important and impactful journey."

—Daniel Cohan, chief of secondary schools, Jeffco Public Schools, Jefferson County, Colorado

"When Timothy D. Kanold's HEART! was published in 2017, I remember how deeply it spoke to me, and how desperately I needed to focus on the very essence of the book as an educator. Four years later, my sense of urgency has escalated beyond belief. Who in education doesn't need to develop his or her soul story by searching, overcoming, unifying, and living? In SOUL!, Dr. Kanold gives us yet another opportunity to learn, listen, reflect, and record our journey during a time of disruption, resilience, and challenge, not only in education but in society. We need to take this journey for ourselves, for our students, and for each other."

—Julie A. Schmidt, superintendent of schools, Kildeer Countryside Community Consolidated School District 96, Buffalo Grove, Illinois

"In SOUL!, Timothy D. Kanold takes us on a powerful journey that encourages us to reflect on both our personal stories and our impact on others. He recognizes that as educators, we dedicate incredible amounts of our time, energy, and talents in service to our school communities. As educators, we will undoubtedly connect to the real and relatable accounts of his soul story and feel empowered by his guidance as we seek to understand our own journeys. SOUL! is engaging, emotionally healing, and truly a gift for all educators."

—Jennifer Deinhart, K-8 mathematics specialist and Solution Tree author and associate

"In SOUL!, author Timothy D. Kanold asks us to reflect on the very soul of what it means to be an educator. He is one of those people who asks questions and then listens intently to the answers. He shows you that he is interested in and cares about you and your answers. You leave the conversation feeling heard and feeling confirmed. Dr. Kanold's book SOUL! makes you feel the same way. He reminds us of why we chose education as our profession and digs deep into the source of what ignites us. SOUL! is a must-read for all educators!"

—Janel Keating Hambly, superintendent, White River School District, Buckley, Washington