Empathy

Good morning,

Last week I attended a Professional Development. Although everything was valuable, one specific word the presenter shared stuck out to me-Empathy. 

"Empathy is the ability to experience and relate to the thoughts, emotions or experience of others. Empathy is more than simple sympathy, which is being able to understand and support others with compassion or sensitivity."

Empathy is extremely valuable in and out of the workplace. One of the most important skills that you can practice is empathy. When empathy is present it leads to great success personally and professionally. All in all, when empathy is practiced more and more you will become happier. 

With anything we ask WHY...so, why should we practice empathy?

• You will be more likely to treat the people you care about the way they wish you would treat them.
• You will better understand the needs of people around you.
• You will more clearly understand the perception you create in others with your words and actions.
• You will understand the unspoken parts of your communication with others.
• You will better understand the needs of your co workers at work.
• You will have less trouble dealing with interpersonal conflict both at home and at work.
• You will be able to more accurately predict the actions and reactions of people you interact with.
• You will learn how to motivate the people around you.
• You will more effectively convince others of your point of view.
• You will experience the world in higher resolution as you perceive through not only your perspective but the perspectives of those around you.
• You will find it easier to deal with the negativity of others if you can better understand their motivations and fears. Lately when I find myself personally struggling with someone, I remind myself to empathize and I immediately calm myself and accept the situation for what it is.

You will be a better leader, a better follower, and most important, a better friend.

I think the last sentence put this into perspective. We all want to better ourselves and this is a perfect way to do so. We all shine and lead in our own way. We all are important, whether we feel it or not. We all are friends, we care, love and support one another more than we know. We are a family and should practice, teach, and share empathy.

“Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”

How true is this quote? This is VERY true for our relationships in and out of school.

Please take a few minutes to read the article below. It has alot of useful information about empathy within our school and classroom. 

A small snapshot of this powerful article: 

With a full plate every day, what do we often dismiss first? Empathy—for our students, our colleagues, and ourselves. But without empathy, we cannot understand the diverse students and communities we serve. That lack of understanding may limit our focus to generalizations and assumptions. A mindset without intentional empathy narrows focus, and prevents us from accurately identifying the barriers to learning for our students. In turn, students come to be viewed as academic producers rather than social-emotional beings.

In our educational roles, it is vitally important that we model how empathy has power to influence a variety of contexts and interactions. Investing in the well-being of both our students and our colleagues promotes a positive, empathic culture that makes classrooms and school a safe haven. If we want to make a lasting impact on our students and prepare them to for success in college, career, and citizenship, we must prioritize empathy as an essential mindset.

This all takes strength, which we all have. Even in those tough situation we are strong. We push through, we tackle our students every day needs, we are the shoulder for our co workers, we inspire, motivate, and encourage others in a way we never knew we could. I challenge you to be strong, and promote positive empathy in and out of the classroom. 

http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2016/01/20/building-empathy-in-classrooms-and-schools.html