Paramita Roy
Virtual School Australia
Edwin and Paramita discussed a collaborative project to create an open-source empathy training curriculum. Edwin presented his initiative to develop a publicly available curriculum for empathy training, with a focus on making materials accessible while allowing trainers to charge for services. Paramita shared her research on empathy-driven education and her work with students, including performances at fringe festivals.Â
They discussed the importance of educating educators about empathy and the potential to incorporate empathy into all areas of curriculum, particularly in schools. The conversation covered various aspects of empathy training, including the use of empathy circles, performing arts, and professional development for teachers. They also discussed funding challenges for conferences and the potential for continuing education units as a revenue source.Â
The conversation ended with plans to collaborate further and explore ways to promote the project through LinkedIn events and other platforms.
Outline
Review project website
What are your thoughts on this?
What have been VSA empathy trainings been?
Would Virtual School Australia be a partner? add logo to website.
Looking for a core team to start, 3 or 5 people. Â
expand team from there.
2027 Empathy Training Summit
How to proceed
Sign up for email group.
Paramita working on empathy in schools - Action - with experiencing impact
empathy in the arts
give teachers ideas about activities
create a training for CEUs
Meeting summary
Add Paramita to the project email group for ongoing communications.
Review any curriculum materials sent by Paramita and discuss collaboratively over time.
Send Virtual School logo to Edwin for inclusion on the project website/team page.
Create a LinkedIn event for the Global Empathy Conference and send Edwin an invitation.
Share Edwin's project information in the Global Empathy Conference LinkedIn group.
Coordinate with University of Sussex to invite people to the Global Empathy Conference event.
Edwin presented his proposal for creating an open-source empathy training curriculum, seeking to build a consortium of organizations and experts to develop publicly available materials. He has already created a website and LinkedIn event to gather interest, with about nine people showing preliminary interest. The core team includes several experts in empathy training and curriculum development, with roles ranging from facilitation training to community building and wildlife education.
Edwin presented ideas for empathy modules, including Empathy Circles, movement presentations, and a 10-hour facilitator training program. Paramita expressed strong support for the initiative, sharing her experience teaching educators about empathy-driven curriculum and its impact on student engagement and innovation. Paramita mentioned her ongoing research on empathy in education and plans to publish findings, including presenting at the Global Empathy Conference at the University of Sussex.
Paramita and Edwin discussed developing an empathy-driven curriculum for schools, focusing on creating engaging learning experiences that address real-life issues like bullying. Paramita shared her plans to compile a comprehensive curriculum by September, incorporating proven strategies and examples from past classroom activities, including student performances at festivals. They agreed on the importance of running workshops for educators to demonstrate the effectiveness of empathy-based learning approaches. The discussion highlighted the potential for such a curriculum to foster intrinsic motivation and deeper thinking beyond traditional academic skills.
Edwin proposed organizing a series of four summits on training curriculums next year as a way to connect with the training community and showcase the project. Paramita discussed her work bringing empathy education into schools, emphasizing the impact on both students and families. They discussed the potential for creating a prototype school that incorporates empathy circles and conflict mediation, with Paramita sharing her experience of connecting students' workshops with Edwin's sessions at the Global Empathy Conference. Paramita invited Edwin to promote the Elen Hobson Memorial Literacy Festival, part of the Global Empathy Conference, to his community, noting that it provides an opportunity for global student story sharing.
Paramita and Edwin discussed expanding their empathy education initiative to involve students globally, with Paramita suggesting they leverage performing arts within STEAM curriculum to foster emotional empathy before moving to cognitive empathy. They explored the concept of "imaginative empathy" as an alternative to "cognitive empathy," with Paramita emphasizing the importance of emotional empathy using examples like the Goldilocks story. Edwin mentioned his work on a training module about empathy definitions, drawing from Carl Rogers' concept of listening to the whole person, and noted the need to further develop curriculum details around empathy definitions and the cognitive-affective model.
Edwin and Paramita discussed the challenges with the current cognitive affective model of empathy, particularly its complexity and academic nature. Edwin expressed a desire to create a course to simplify and make empathy concepts more accessible, especially to educators. Paramita suggested involving educators from elementary schools to help spread empathy education, providing an example of a young child demonstrating empathy through problem-solving. They agreed that training teachers could be an effective way to integrate empathy into education systems.
Paramita and Edwin discussed organizing educational conferences and workshops for teachers. They explored the possibility of offering Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to participants, which could help generate income to cover costs while making training accessible to educators. Paramita expressed concern about the financial burden on teachers and mentioned that conference funding currently comes from limited registration fees and personal contributions, with plans to hire professional technicians for better event management. Both agreed on the importance of sharing resources with educators freely while finding sustainable funding methods for their initiatives.
Edwin and Paramita discussed plans to develop a comprehensive empathy curriculum with paid training levels to support trainers and create income opportunities. They explored different approaches to empathy training, including business applications and educational programs, with Paramita sharing insights about established practitioners like Maria Ross and Dr. Helen Reese. The conversation focused on curriculum design principles, with Edwin explaining their approach of starting with basic empathy circle training and building toward more advanced skills, while Paramita shared her research-based approach to educational curriculum development. They agreed to continue collaborating, with Edwin planning to identify 3-4 core team members skilled in curriculum design and Paramita offering to share opportunities in their LinkedIn group.
Edwin demonstrated to Paramita how to create and promote a LinkedIn event for the Global Empathy Conference, showing how to invite contacts and leverage the platform's networking features. Paramita experienced technical difficulties logging into and accessing the conference page due to account authentication issues, but agreed to create the event in her own account. They confirmed that Edwin's presentation is scheduled for September 26th (a Saturday) during the two-day conference, and Edwin agreed to create a Google event page and send the details to Paramita.
Gemini - Here is the comprehensive report based on the video:
This video features a working meeting between Edwin Rutsch, Founding Director of The Empathy Center, and Paramita, an educator involved with the Virtual School and the Global Empathy Conference. The primary purpose of the meeting is to discuss the creation and scaling of an open-source "Empathy Movement Training Curriculum." Edwin's overarching goal is to make mutual empathy a core cultural value by developing accessible, public-domain training materials that anyone can use to become a facilitator or trainer.
A significant portion of their conversation focuses on the intersection of empathy and education. Paramita advocates for an "empathy-driven curriculum," arguing that when students understand the purpose behind their learning (such as raising funds for students in exile through performing arts), they exhibit greater intrinsic motivation and engagement. The two discuss how empathy must be nurtured from early childhood, moving beyond basic literacy to develop deeper human connections and conflict resolution skills within schools and families.
Finally, the meeting serves as a logistical and collaborative session. They discuss cross-promoting upcoming events, specifically the Global Empathy Conference taking place in September, and troubleshoot using LinkedIn Events for marketing. They also touch on the practicalities of funding such initiatives, acknowledging the tension between wanting to provide free, open-source materials while needing to generate income for trainers and cover the hard costs of running global conferences.
[00:00] - Introduction to the Empathy Movement Training Curriculum: Edwin introduces the concept of an open-source, public-domain curriculum to build the empathy movement. He shares a Google Site created to organize experts, educators, and resources.
[04:41] - Collaboration & Team Building: Discussion of key contributors (e.g., Susan Christie, Lou, Jana) and potential participating organizations, including Paramita's Virtual School.
[08:21] - Curriculum Modules & Architecture: Edwin outlines potential training modules, including Empathy Circles for personal growth, conflict resolution, active listening, and a holistic definition of empathy.
[10:07] - Empathy in Education (Paramita's Focus): Paramita shares her focus on educating teachers and implementing an empathy-driven curriculum in schools, emphasizing its power to increase student engagement and intrinsic motivation over grade-driven learning.
[12:02] - Real-World Applications & Performing Arts: Paramita provides an example of students using performing arts to raise money for students in exile, demonstrating "empathy in action" and imaginative empathy.
[14:50] - The Global Empathy Conference: Discussion of the upcoming 8th Global Empathy Conference at the University of Sussex, including invitations to Edwin and the logistics of attending.
[16:10] - The Ripple Effect of Empathy Training: Paramita highlights how teaching empathy in the classroom positively impacts family dynamics and helps address universal issues like bullying.
[23:44] - Connecting the Training Community: Edwin proposes a future Empathy Summit series dedicated entirely to bringing together different empathy trainers (from human-centered design to NVC) to collaborate on the common curriculum.
[30:00] - Engaging Youth & The Literacy Festival: Paramita encourages Edwin's community to participate in the Len Hopson Memorial Literacy Festival, part of the conference, where children write and share stories based on empathy.
[32:59] - The Role of AI in Curriculum Development: A brief discussion on using Artificial Intelligence constructively. Edwin notes its speed in generating materials, while Paramita emphasizes the need for educators to guide students in its proper use.
[36:36] - Defining Empathy (Cognitive vs. Imaginative/Emotional): Edwin critiques the academic "cognitive/affective" model, preferring Carl Rogers' whole-person approach and the term "imaginative empathy" over the dry, academic term "cognitive empathy."
[42:43] - Professional Development & Funding: The conversation shifts to the practicalities of offering CEUs (Continuing Education Units) for teachers, the financial struggles of running volunteer-led nonprofits, and how trainers might generate income using the open-source curriculum.
[54:38] - Going Deeper: Focusing and Nonviolent Communication: Edwin discusses incorporating advanced relational skills into the curriculum, referencing Gene Gendlin's "Focusing" technique (speaking from a "felt sense") and Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication (NVC).
[01:00:43] - Marketing Logistics (LinkedIn Events): Edwin mentors Paramita on how to use LinkedIn Events to invite global contacts to the upcoming conference, navigating screen sharing and account login issues.
[01:12:05] - Scheduling & Conclusion: Confirming Edwin's session at the Global Empathy Conference for September 26th and wrapping up the call for Mother's Day.
The Power of an Empathy-Driven Curriculum: Education is currently too focused on grades and basic literacy. When a curriculum is driven by empathy and a clear, real-world purpose, students develop intrinsic motivation and are more highly engaged.
Imaginative vs. Cognitive Empathy: The academic division of empathy into "cognitive" and "affective" models can be confusing and alienating to the general public. Terms like "imaginative empathy" (role-playing or imagining oneself in another's shoes) are more accessible and appealing.
The "Felt Sense" Accelerates Growth: Drawing on Gene Gendlin's work, people who communicate strictly intellectually experience less personal growth and are harder to connect with. True healing and connection happen when individuals speak from their "felt experience" in the body.
The Ripple Effect: Teaching empathy to children doesn't stay in the classroom. Through exercises like Empathy Circles, students take these conflict resolution skills home, which strengthens family relationships and addresses broader societal issues like bullying.
The Open-Source Paradox: There is a distinct tension in the empathy movement between making training materials freely available (to maximize cultural impact) and ensuring that dedicated empathy trainers can generate a sustainable income (e.g., through corporate training or offering Continuing Education Units).
For Educators/Schools: Shift the focus from grade-based motivation to purpose-based projects (e.g., using the performing arts to raise awareness/funds for a cause) to naturally build literacy and communication skills through intrinsic motivation.
For Empathy Practitioners: Utilize the term "Active Listening" as the foundational step for introducing Empathy Circles, as it is highly accessible for families and basic conflict mediation.
For Movement Organizers: Consider structuring advanced empathy training so that it qualifies for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for professionals (nurses, teachers), creating a viable income stream for trainers.
For Event Promoters: Utilize LinkedIn Events to scale conference marketing. Create an event, filter contacts by country or industry, and mass-invite them to increase visibility, even if they cannot attend live.