Empathy is an interesting and important part of life.
Explaining it can be fun and funny to 8 and 9 year olds.
Just saying “Imagine yourself walking in someone’s else’s shoes.”
Puts a literal twist on the class discussion.
You hear…“I don’t get it.”
“‘Why do I want to walk in someone else’s shoes?”
“Am I in trouble?”
“It wasn’t my fault.”
The many shades of “ME” pop out.
By the end of the day…
Maybe, just maybe we start to understand empathy.
Now, if we could only apply it as necessary and as often as we do band-aids.
Will it stick?
I love the literal takes on empathy – very funny. And I love the metaphor of the band-aid. Here’s hoping that if teachers like you keep teaching this, more empathy band-aids will stick.
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Well and if nothing else, I’ve got more band-aids you can borrow! 😉
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I’ve often wondered about how to really teach empathy. I love the comparison to a bandaid.
I think (hope) that eventually these lessons stick!
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