Activity 1: (5 minutes) SYNONYMS & ANTONYMS FOR EMPATHY

Have a discussion:

• What does the word “empathy” mean? (Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person).
• What words would you use to describe the opposite of empathy? (Words such as apathy, indifference, neglect, listlessness, detachment, insensitivity, disregard, unconcern, etc.)

Activity 2: (10 minutes) EMPATHY QUOTES

Read various quotes about empathy. Educators can silently reflect on the words or consider them together.

• “Empathy is walking a mile in someone else’s shoes. Sympathy is being sorry their feet hurt.” (Rebecca O’Donnell)
• “Empathy fuels connection, sympathy drives disconnection.” (Brene Brown)
• “Rarely does an empathetic response begin with “at least.” Someone just shared something with us that’s incredibly painful, and we’re trying to put the silver lining around it.” (Brene Brown)
• “Empathy has no script. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. It’s simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘you’re not alone.’” (Brene Brown)
• “Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.” (Alfred Adler)
• “The highest form of knowledge is empathy.” (Bill Bullard)
• “The nature of humanity is to feel another’s pain as one’s own and to act to take that pain away. There is nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness.” (John Connolly)
• “It seems like we got an empathy shortage, an empathy deficit. More serious than the federal budget deficit. We’ve become so cynical that it almost seems naive to believe that we can understand each other across the gulf of race, or class or region or religion.” (Barack Obama)
• “Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It’s the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost and that someone else’s pain is as meaningful as your own.” (Barbara Kingsolver)

Have a discussion:

What do you think the difference between sympathy and empathy is?

Watch the video, “Brené Brown on Empathy,” by The Royal Society for Arts. Then discuss the comic and read through the comparison chart together.

Image Source: https://lkwfamilymediation.co.uk/the-power-of-empathy/

Empathy helps you build relationships by increasing your understanding of others and their circumstances, while also allowing you to connect to feelings or emotions they may be having.

Have a discussion.

• Why do you think empathy is more effective than sympathy?
• What do you experience more often at school: empathy or sympathy? From students? parents? teachers? administration? district leadership?
• How have you seen staff members showing empathy at our school?

Activity 3: (15 minutes) EMPATHY MAP

Pass out the Empathy Map handout to each teacher. This map was originally developed by Dave Gray. Have a class discussion and examine various parts of the empathy map:

• What part of the map do you consider to be the most important?
• Does the order matter?
• What do we gain when we observe before we infer?

Discuss the following scenario. As a group go through the scenario together with the see, say, do, and hear steps. Teachers can write on the handout or just discuss. Look through the images together and focus on the boy in the blue shirt. Talk through the empathy map.

1. WHO are we empathizing with? Who is the person we are trying to understand? What is the situation they are in? What is their role in the situation?
2. What do they need to DO? What do they need to do differently? What are they trying to do? What decisions do they need to make? How will we know they are successful?
3. What do they SEE? What do they see in their immediate environment? What do they see others are saying and doing? What are they watching or reading?
4. What do they SAY? What have we heard them say? What can we imagine them saying?
5. What do they DO? What do they do today? What behavior have we observed? What can we imagine them doing?
6. What do they HEAR? What are they hearing others saying? What do they hear from friends? What are they hearing from colleagues? What are they hearing second-hand?
7. What do they think and feel?
   1. Pains: What are their fears, frustrations, anxieties?
   2. Gains: What are their wants, needs, hopes, and dreams?
   3. What other thoughts and feelings might motivate their behavior?

Extension (Extra Practice): Divide the class up into groups. Give each group an image from the Empathy Practice handout and have them practice using the Empathy Map handout. (Note: While the groups are working, monitor the conversations to gain insights of difficulties, etc).

Have a class discussion:

• What went well?
• Was it easy or hard?
• What did you learn about empathy?
• What was difficult?

Activity 4: (20 minutes) EMPATHY WITH COLLEAGUES

There are many different perspectives present in schools and each role has its own perks and challenges. Despite the differences in roles, situations that occur in schools can cause ripple effects, impacting every person.

In small groups, practice empathy by discussing the impact of different school scenarios on each of the following school roles: students, teachers, office staff, janitors, special ed teachers, speech pathologists, school psychologists, occupational therapists, administration, district leaders, etc.

Have teachers sit in small groups. Teams should discuss the impact of different roles based on the different scenarios.

Scenario:

1. A student is failing a class.
2. A teacher just experienced a loss in their family.
3. The computers in the classroom stopped working.
4. A struggling student aced their last exam.
5. Someone graffitied the school the night before.
6. A student forgot their permission form for a field trip.
7. The state board of education canceled school suddenly.
8. A parent or student made a suicide attempt.
9. A local business just donated lunch to teachers and staff.
10. Extreme bullying is happening before and after school.

Extension: Pick a current community or global issue and discuss the populations that are affected.

Have a discussion:

• How can we better empathize with district leaders? administration? parents? students? other school staff?
• What is the climate of empathy like in our school?
• What are the barriers to empathy within our school?

Activity 5: (20 minutes) TED TALK & DISCUSSION

Teachers are typically excellent empathizers; however, their constant demand for empathy can also be draining. Watch the video, “How can we support the emotional well-being of teachers?” by Sydney Jensen at TED.

Have a discussion:

• When you are carrying a heavy load, who can you turn to for help?
• Who has shown you empathy in our school?
• Is there anything we can do to increase empathy from our community for schools and teachers?
• Are there any systems or norms that we can put in place to increase empathy and increase the number of check-ins that we experience?

Activity 6: (20 minutes) EMPATHY FOR OURSELVES

Have a class discussion about showing empathy for ourselves.

Ask the group to define the term “compassion fatigue.”

• What are the professions that experience compassion fatigue? (Teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, military, etc.)
• What is similar between these professions?

Because teachers are trained to demonstrate empathy for our students, we are particularly vulnerable to emotional burnout or compassion fatigue. The symptoms of compassion fatigue include:

• Chronic physical and emotional exhaustion
• Depersonalization
• Feelings of inequity toward your teaching role, your job, your students, your peers
• Irritability
• Feelings of self-contempt
• Difficulty sleeping
• Weight loss
• Headaches

Pass out the Compassion Fatigue Reflection handout. Give educators time to complete the self-reflection by themselves using the following questions:

1. How would you rate your physical exhaustion?
2. How would you rate your emotional exhaustion?
3. Do you find you are avoiding students with trauma or difficulties?
4. How would you rate your tendency towards irritability?
5. How do you feel about your role as a teacher?
6. How would you rate your ability to sleep?
7. Have you had any changes in your diet? Weight gain? Weight loss?
8. Are you experiencing headaches more often than usual?
9. How are you feeling about yourself as a teacher?
10. How are you feeling about yourself as a friend?

If you feel worn out after practicing empathy, you need to utilize some of your self-care strategies and take a break, create some distance, and reach out to others to help carry the burden. Practicing empathy does not mean taking on the responsibility of other people’s problems. It does mean being kind and patient with others.

The American Institute of Stress provides several tips for managing compassion fatigue. They recommend the following:

Do:

• Find someone to talk to.
• Understand that the pain you feel is normal.
• Exercise and eat properly.
• Get enough sleep.
• Take some time off.
• Develop additional interests.
• Identify what’s important to you.

Don’t:

• Blame others.
• Make drastic changes to your job, your relationships, or lifestyle.
• Fall into the habit of complaining with your colleagues.
• Work harder and longer.
• Neglect your own needs and interests.

Have a discussion:

• How have you (or a fellow teacher) experienced compassion fatigue?
• What part of your job requires the most empathy or compassion?
• Have you seen staff members reach out to carry the burden of others?