Rooted in Compassion

A recent Edutopia article by educator and author Andrew Boryga points out,
“…students who are frequently called out for low-level misbehavior, such as not paying attention or chatting with a friend, are more likely to become disengaged and apathetic in the classroom—leading to more behavioral issues in the future. Research suggests that to keep students motivated, teachers are better off picking their battles and keeping in mind that the most effective classroom management strategies are based on building relationships.”

Boryga goes on, “Getting to a place of compassion—sustaining a reservoir of patience and calmness you can tap into when things get rough—doesn’t happen of its own accord. That’s especially true over the course of a long school year... According to educator Emily Terwilliger, teachers need to prepare for empathy: It’s important to practice by playing out responses to heated moments ahead of time.”

In the Out of the Box training “Developing Empathy to Promote Equity,” educators Lea Ann Christenson, Leah S. Muccio, and Kevin McGowan remind us, “The ability to take the perspective of children and their families and respond to their perspectives should be at the heart of our work.”

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