Last week I was the speaker for Tree of Knowledge here in Cleveland.
The topic: Encouraging Responsibility and Good Feeling In The Classroom and Beyond
We spoke about using empathy to help kids become responsible for their feelings and then be accountable for their behavior. We also discussed how being empathetic helps you connect with your students and be a more effective communicator.
I have gotten some feedback from the class. One special-ed tutor told me how she used empathy the very next day to deal with a student. She told me the following story:
I was seeing a new student for the first time. I went to pick her up from the classroom. It seems as if no one had told this child that she would be receiving tutoring services and she was reluctant to come with me. She was dragging her feet as we walked from her classroom to my office. I was starting to get annoyed with her but I stopped myself. Instead I empathized and said, “You weren’t expecting to come to tutoring today. This came as a surprise to you. You wish someone would have told you before hand.”
She still wasn’t thrilled about coming with me, but she was more cooperative. I saw that she really appreciated me seeing her perspective.
Thanks so much for reminding me to be empathetic with my students. I will be using empathy a lot more in the future with my students and my own children.
Want to learn more about how to be empathetic, connect with your kids and help your kids be responsible?
You can get our Parenting Simply audios.
Click here for more info.