Currently in her 32nd year as an educator, Barbara Gruener, a school counselor and character coach at Bales Intermediate school in Friendswood, Texas, has had the pleasure of working with kids from every grade level preK through 12th. Internationally-recognized author of the blog The Corner on Character and the book What’s Under Your Cape? SUPERHEROES of the Character Kind, Barbara enjoys positively influencing change through her inspirational keynotes and interactive workshops. When she’s not working, you can bet Barbara is knitting, baking, writing, reading, walking, gardening, napping, or spending time with her husband and their three children.
Interview Highlights:
Character Traits-Empathy, Compassion and Kindness
Inspiring Empathy, Compassion & Kindness to Help Our SUPERHEROES Soar.
- When showing empathy, make it concrete
- Showing empathy is hard at first but as you make it into a habit, it becomes easy
- Play “switch places” to help understand and appreciate another person’s feelings a
- We are not born with empathy, children need to be taught this character trait
- We are hard wired to feel empathy but it’s dormant and needs to be activated
Barbara’s Book-What’s Under Your Cape?: SUPERHEROES of the Character Kind
Connect with Barbara on Twitter: @BarbaraGruener