Question

Suggest classroom activities to nurture empathy.

Answer 1

• Empathize with the child: Acknowledge what a child is experiencing and share your own experience of dealing with a similar situation. This will enable the child to take perspective that he/she is not alone in feeling the way they do. For example, "Are you feeling sad because your toy broke? I also felt the same when my pen was broken. Let's try to fix it, come on!"
• Express your feelings: The way you express feelings will provide children an opportunity to not only share their own feelings but also give them the vocabulary to express themselves in future. For example, in circle time Ms Meenu sings the rhyme 'If you are happy' daily and has introduced feelings like happy, sad, angry, scared. In order to encourage children to talk about themselves, one day she shares how she feels sad when Dhruv and Raghav fight. This opened a forum of discussion to all and children started sharing when they too felt sad and also discussied ways on what they would like to do to feel better at that time. Piya shared that she cries in the morning as she doesn't like to leave her mummy alone at home.
• Talk about others' feelings: Teachers must share their own feelings to give words to express others feelings and communicate it to children. Saying, "Simran looks sad as you took the car out of her hand without her permission. Would you like to return it to her and request her to give it to you once she's done playing with it?" will have a far greater and lasting impact on a child's mind rather than snatching the car and giving it back to Simran. Also, asking questions like "How do you think Simran feels when you take away the car she is playing with?" will provide a chance for the child to reflect on the situation, talk about feelings and empathize.
• Model empathetic behavior: In the book 'Developing Empathy in the Early Years: A Guide for Practitioners', Garnett mentions that "empathy is caught not taught". From imitating expressions of primary caregivers in the first year of life to adopting habits and values in the second and third year of life, children learn majorly through imitation. Parents,caregivers and siblings unconsciously teach empathy to young children by modeling. The way primary caregivers respond empathetically to others influences empathy of young children and it is reflected in their actions in different situations.
• Read stories about feelings and empathy: Stories are one of the most powerful media to discuss human values. Children given meaning to their lives and make sense of the word around them through stories. Realistic literature for children can provide an opportunity for teachers and parents to discuss social skills and nurture them in young children. The books about feelings and emotions should be part of classroom libraries. Suggested books are mentioned as part of appendices to this unit.