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Empathy_Final.mp4
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another. The capacity to place oneself in another person's position. As Atticus Finch explains to Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird, "You can never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view." Empathy makes us feel connected in a disconnected world. Empathy is one of the most crucial traits for youth to develop. Why? When a person has empathy, the benefits are endless as stated from goodstart.org:
1. It helps one build a sense of security and stronger relationships with others.
2. It encourages acceptance of others.
3. It promotes good mental health.
4. It promotes social harmony and reduces the likelihood of bullying.
5. It leads to higher levels of overall happiness.
6. A better ability to understand and work with others.
7. It leads to more satisfying relationships in families, school and the workplace.
8. Less stress.
9. It equips one to be better at dealing with conflict.
10. It equips one to adapt and succeed in an ever-changing world.
How can we help children to develop empathy?
First and foremost, as adults, we must MODEL empathy. Children are always watching. Here are some other ways to develop empathy:
1. Help children to name and identify their feelings. One must understand his/her own feelings before they can understand the feelings of others.
2. Regularly discuss with children how other people may be feeling and why. Help them see events through the eyes and perspectives of others. Use relevant world events as a starting point.
3. Have children care for animals and plants, which helps them "understand the role they play in helping another living thing survive, thrive and be happy."
4. Have children read books together and discuss characters; they will learn to associate feelings and actions with their favorite characters and stories.
Get the lowdown on EMPATHY from happify.com which illustrates how empathy can change/affect one's life.
For elementary aged children, here is a list of books from HuffPost that teach empathy and kindness.
Watch the video, "Offer Empathy." The creator of the video says this "[Many times in school students] feel self conscious and judged. So much is superficial. But what if we could understand what life was really like for someone else? What if we truly understood the struggles of others? What if we accepted that we are all fighting hard battles?
This video explores the themes of empathy; how our lives might be different if we attempted to understand how others might be feeling and treated others the way we would want to be treated."
Did you notice all the different challenges the students were dealing with? What small acts made those challenges a little easier to cope with?
The short clip "Under the Surface" expresses similar themes to the video above with some additional more mature scenarios. Encourage students to see beneath the superficial.
Brene Brown on Empathy: Listen to Ms. Brown describe the difference between empathy and sympathy. While the video is in the form of a cartoon, the content is for older children. Some of the examples used are adult.
Mindful Moments for Empathy
For Middle School: Learn about what empathy is, how it differs from sympathy and engage in an empathetic mindful moment alongside Ms. Ciardullo, Mindfulness Coach.
For Middle School: Learn about what empathy is, how it differs from sympathy and engage in an empathetic mindful moment alongside Ms. Ciardullo, Mindfulness Coach.
For High School: Learn about what empathy is, how it differs from sympathy and engage in an empathetic mindful moment alongside Ms. Ciardullo, Mindfulness Coach.
For High School: Learn about what empathy is, how it differs from sympathy and engage in an empathetic mindful moment alongside Ms. Ciardullo, Mindfulness Coach.
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