Saint Stephen

BRADENTON – Dr. Janet S. Pullen, Head of School at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School in Bradenton, was a session speaker this week at the Florida Council of Independent Schools State Conference in Orlando. Pullen spoke about a hot national education topic of Emotional Intelligence (EI), or what she calls powerful positive peer pressure, and relationship building in schools.

Dr. Janet S. Pullen, Head of School at Saint Stephen’s

EI is the notion that schools and businesses are more effective when they incorporate people’s IQ as well as their EQ.

“Teaching students and staff to know themselves and their emotions, and how to read the emotions of others is proven to be beneficial in many ways,” said Pullen.

Pullen, a 2013 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Doctoral Program in Education Leadership and Organization, believes in its value so much that Emotional Intelligence training is an initiative she’s incorporating for staff and students at Saint Stephen’s. 

“No matter how smart a child is, if we can teach from a young age, the importance of balancing out their sense of self with their sense of others, it can be a crucial character building tool,” said Pullen. “The more they have EI to understand who they are and appreciate and respect how others might feel about things, the better they’ll be able to function in the world.”

Such world-based functioning is already something Saint Stephen’s students are being prepared for as part of the school’s Global Initiative, in which they frequently Skype and learn with international students.

“These methods will certainly help our students understand more about themselves while learning about others in the world,” said Pullen, who did her dissertation on Global Education and EI.

“I feel that schools will also be more effective if teachers understand their EI," said Pullen. "It will help them deal better with their students. It’s something that one of my professor’s, Annie McKee, really inspired me about. McKee wrote the book ‘Resonant Leader’. I have always lived my life around these ideas but have never really titled it, until delving deep into the theories behind Emotional Intelligence.”

The 2013 FCIS Conference was hosted by the Tampa Area FCIS Schools at the Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport on Thursday, November 7 and Friday, November 8.