Empathy, a time old skill with a new face…
Empathy, the ability to understand the feelings of others, has achieved star status through Brene Brown’s world famous animated video clip here. Brene Brown is a research professor who has spent a large part of her adult life researching the importance of empathy. Sean Covey, successful author of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, devotes an important habit towards empathy skills: Seek first to understand, then to be understood (Habit 5). More effective relationships in life, work, and school can often involve the ability to use empathy. In our last teacher in-service we revisited empathy skills and discussed some useful resources for cross -curricular empathy adeptness.
Nurturing empathy with our children doesn’t have to be difficult. A few ingredients for developing empathy can include:
- Modelling empathy
- Discussing emotions and how others might feel
- Encouraging helping skills at home, locally, and globally
A local initiative for encouraging empathy in Scotland involves awareness of young carers. Do you know someone who is a young carer? Are you a young carer that needs more resources or support? Read about supporting young carers here. If you know someone in this situation, it’s a lovely way to build empathy skills.
Have a super weekend!
Warm regards,
Valerie DeGraw
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