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Babies vs. Bullying
November 29, 2010
Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.
-Marian Wright Edelman
-Marian Wright Edelman
"We know that humans are hardwired to be aggressive and selfish. But a growing body of research is demonstrating that there is also a biological basis for human compassion. ... More importantly, we are beginning to understand how to nurture this biological potential. It seems like it is not only possible to make people kinder, it's possible to do it systematically at scale — at least with school children. That's what one organization, based in Toronto, called Roots of Empathy has done.
"Roots of Empathy was founded in 1996 by Mary Gordon. ... She envisioned Roots as a seriously proactive parent education program — one that could begin when the mothers- and fathers-to-be were in kindergarten.
"Here's how it works: Roots arranges monthly class visits by a mother and her baby. ... Each month for nine months, a trained instructor guides a classroom using a standard curriculum that involves three 40-minute visits — a pre-visit, a baby visit, and a post-visit. The program runs from kindergarten to seventh grade. During the visits, the children sit around the baby and mother (sometimes it is the father) ... and they try to understand the baby's feelings.
"[I have observed Root of Empathy's work.] What I find most fascinating is how the baby actually changes children's behavior. Teachers have confirmed my impressions: tough kids smile, disruptive kids focus, shy kids open up."
Dance with Me in the Heart is written for parents and caregivers as a guide to the most important dance in every baby's life — the partnership dance. The book provides very practical and thoughtful advice on all aspects of caring for infants — nurturing, playing, feeding, toileting, sleeping, stimulating, and comforting. A great handout for new parents and it's also a non-threatening resource for infant caregivers.ExchangeEveryDay
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Comments (3)
Displaying All 3 CommentsCountry Childrens Center
United States
Very nice, heart warming, and encouraging. I work with children 6 weeks through five and know that we encourage empathy and have seen it emerge some children before as they reach approx. 12 months. We must continue to strive to be kind to our fellow man/woman. Without empathy we are nowhere.
UCCC Society
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Thank you for bringing the Roots of Empathy to the limelight. Currently our centres are part of the Seeds of Empathy project that has been launched in the province of Alberta, Canada.
Seeds is a literacy based program that helps preschoolers learn about feelings and empathy, with the help of a 2 - 4 month old infant.
Thanks for all of the hard work you do at the Exchange!
United States
This article makes me curious about the potential impact concerning how the new anti-bullying law enacted in New Jersey will be implemented in NJDOE and school district funded PreK programs for 3 & 4 year olds. More expulsions and suspensions, perhaps? Who is watching? Who will be monitoring?
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