Speakers

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of morality. His early research radically transformed the field, pulling it away from its earlier focus on moral reasoning. Haidt showed that moral intuitions and emotions come first—flashes of gut feelings that people then strive to justify, after the fact. This explains why it is so difficult to win a moral argument with good reasoning. Haidt’s research has helped people to understand those who differ from them morally—not just across nations, but across the political divide within each nation. In his latest work, he is applying his research on moral psychology to the study of business ethics. He is developing tools and techniques that leaders can use to improve the ethical functioning, trust and ultimately profitability of their companies.

Haidt is the author of more than 90 academic articles and two books: The Righteous Mind and The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom.

Join Irshad Manji, Idriss Aberkane, and Yong Zhao for Three Perspectives on the Future of Education on Thursday afternoon at the conference. 

Irshad Manji is the winner of Oprah Winfrey’s first Chutzpah Award for boldness. As the founder of Moral Courage College, she partners with independent schools to teach gutsy global citizenship. Irshad is also the Director for Courage, Curiosity, and Character at Let Grow, a nonprofit that promotes resilience in kids. Her latest book is Don't Label Me: How to Do Diversity Without Inflaming the Culture Wars. 

Idriss Aberkane is President of the Bioniria Foundation (Swiss Foundation for Bioinspiration), President of General Bionics SA, President of Chréage SA and Founder of the zero interest microcredit operator Eirin International in Senegal (which planted more than 20,000 trees and accompanies more than 40 families in the Senegal River Valley).

Yong Zhao is Foundations Distinguished Professor in the School of Education with an appointment in the School of Business at the University of Kansas. He is also the Global Chair Professor of Education at East China Normal University, a global chair professor at the University of Bath in the U.K., and a Professorial Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Education Policy at Victoria University, Australia.

Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi as indicated by her accent. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine with a picture included. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She can also still rap if needed.

She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Her award-winning, acclaimed debut novel, The Hate U Give, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and major motion picture from Fox 2000, starring Amandla Stenberg and directed by George Tillman, Jr. Her second novel, On the Come Up, is on sale now.

Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential and thought-provoking observers of happiness and human nature. She’s known for her ability to distill and convey complex ideas with humor and clarity, in a way that’s accessible to a wide audience.

She’s the author of many books, including the blockbuster The New York Times bestsellers The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before, and The Happiness Project. She has an enormous readership, both in print and online, and her books have sold almost three million copies worldwide, in more than thirty languages. (The Happiness Project spent two years on the bestseller list.)

In this two-hour master class, we will dig deeper into the ideas from Haidt’s earlier keynote. The session will be aimed at administrators and teachers who sit in the crossfire of many stakeholders who make conflicting demands, many of which are impossible to satisfy. We will cover topics including identifying your purpose and crafting a moral narrative about your school that can anchor your policies and your responses to conflicts and challenges; identifying the various “moral matrices” and sacred values of various stakeholders; making “antifragility” a guiding principle of policies and pedagogy; understanding the causes of the epidemic of teen anxiety and depression, investigating social media’s role in exacerbating issues, and inviting your Gen Z students to draft policies with you.  

Research shows that students who feel a strong sense of belonging among their peers and feel valued by their teachers are able to engage more fully in learning. However, a recent study indicates that one out of every five students report that they have a problem fitting in at school, and only half the students surveyed enjoy being at school. This master class will help you foster a belonging mindset and learn more about the impact belonging has on students’ academic achievement and general level of happiness. You will leave with immediately usable activities and protocols specifically created for this purpose.
Presenters: Michele Mattoon, Luci Englert McKean, and Laura Beth Wayne, National School Reform Faculty