I just started reading Mary Gordon's Roots of Empathy: Changing the world child by child. The book outlines her program for developing empathy in students and thus creating a more harmonious community of people who stand up for what is right because they can understand how others feel when treated poorly.
I first heard about it on CBC radio and had an instant "Of course!" reaction to her concept of having babies visit classrooms to teach students to read cues, understand the challenges of learning and growing and become more empathetic toward each other by recognizing similarities in themselves. Then I thought, "I want to know more."
I first heard about it on CBC radio and had an instant "Of course!" reaction to her concept of having babies visit classrooms to teach students to read cues, understand the challenges of learning and growing and become more empathetic toward each other by recognizing similarities in themselves. Then I thought, "I want to know more."
Bullying is one of the foremost issues on the minds of educators these days. There are plenty of programs designed to help kids recognize, diffuse and prevent bullying, but this program takes it further, and to a logical beginning. If you can teach kids in the classroom how to read what the baby is feeling, have them suggest ways to help the baby through difficult moments and celebrate the baby's milestones, they will take that understanding and apply it to themselves, their classmates, their family members and others they may encounter on a daily basis throughout their lives. When children can begin to see, understand and celebrate the innate emotional, physical and cognitive qualities we all possess (albeit in different amounts and combinations) they learn to be patient, to understand before reacting and to be more mindful of their influence on other people. This is especially important for kids who might not experience this level of connection and understanding at home.
I'm not quite halfway through the book yet, but I'm eagerly reading each day to understand how and why the program works and think about how I can integrate it into my teaching in the future. I keep thinking how much I'd love to be a Roots of Empathy facilitator -- what a wonderful job that would be!
You can find out more about the program here: http://www.rootsofempathy.org/
I'm not quite halfway through the book yet, but I'm eagerly reading each day to understand how and why the program works and think about how I can integrate it into my teaching in the future. I keep thinking how much I'd love to be a Roots of Empathy facilitator -- what a wonderful job that would be!
You can find out more about the program here: http://www.rootsofempathy.org/
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