Teaching Empathy in the classroom has become the standard. Empathy is being able to relate with how someone else is feeling. It is the quality that keeps us connected to one another. Imagine a world where no one cared about anyone around them. There are times we all feel that way!
What does the research say about teaching empathy?
Researchers have shown that we are born with empathy. Babies will cry when they hear other babies in distress. There was also a study that had babies watch a short 15 second puppet show. Babies would consistently reach for the puppet that was nice during the show as opposed to the mean puppet.
Studies have also shown that young children are quick to console one another when they see that they are hurting or sad. This leads researchers to believe that we are all born with empathy. As kids get older they can lose these empathetic skills when they aren’t practiced. That is why teaching SEL in the classroom is so important!
We have learned that empathy is like any other muscle in our body. When we use and practice it, it grows. When we don’t use it, we lose it. So now that we know what empathy is and that it can be enhanced, what can we do to develop empathy in our children?
How do we teach our students empathy?
Model Empathy.
It can be difficult for children to see the world outside of themselves. The more that we can model empathy the more the students will pick up on it. For example use your words and describe your feelings. “I am feeling excited today that I get to go kayaking after school.” Or “I am feeling frustrated that everyone is talking and we can’t move forward with our lesson.”
Practice Kindness.
Have you ever done something nice for someone? Do you remember that good feeling that it gave you? Acts of kindness actually bring us joy and take the focus off of ourselves and onto others. This is a great way to help students focus on others. The more kindness they do for others, the happier they will feel themselves.
Try having a kindness challenge. You can pass out cards with simple acts of kindness on them. Tell the students that they should perform the act on the card and then pass the card on to someone else.
You could also have a kindness board or chain. Have students post a note on the board or add a chain of paper to the kindness chain every time they perform an act of kindness. Then students can watch as the kindness grows. The key to acts of kindness is to ensure that they are performed face to face. We want students to see the joy that they bring to others when they do something kind. It makes them more connected to the project.
Walk in someone else’s shoes.
Take a moment to have students walk in someone else’s shoes. There are multiple ways you can do this. You can give students an opportunity to share their stories in class.
Students can create a shoebox that describes them and their stories. You can decide to put names on them or not. Display the boxes around the room and allow students to see that everyone has a different walk.
A short activity can be found https://walkinourshoes.org/shoes . Students get online and choose a shoe, then they choose 3 words that describe them. It turns into a cute picture that students can download, print, or add to the Walk in Our Shoes Gallery online.
Teaching empathy in the classroom can be easy and very rewarding with just a few simple tricks to get the ball rolling.
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