Teachers, counselors, and parents alike want our students to have empathy. It is the quality that helps us relate to one another. Teaching our students empathy creates students that can interact with one another.

This is the trait that helps us stop bullying. We are able to show kindness and compassion to others when we learn how to relate to one another.

Did you know that research has shown that empathy is a trait we are born with? Babies will start crying when they hear another baby crying in distress. Young toddlers will console a caregiver when they see that they are sad.

While we are born with the trait of empathy we must exercise it and help it grow. As with anything, if you don’t use it, you lose it.

How to teach empathy.

Practice practice practice. The key to teaching students empathy is to give them opportunities to practice. Just like any skill, we get better the more we use it.

Model empathy for your students. To take this a step further model empathy and label it.

Talk about emotions. Emotions are the building blocks of empathy. The more we can label them and express how we are feeling the more our students can learn to recognize them. If you are feeling frustrated tell your students. “I am feeling frustrated today because I locked myself out of the house this morning and forgot my coffee sitting on the counter.” “I am so excited today, we have been working so hard and I see that our class is making a lot of progress.”

Use The Mind Trek Program to teach your students empathy!

Try our free lesson SEL lesson here.