A weekly chat covering topics related to teaching with a global perspective. A rotating cast of guest hosts include education experts and influencers. A must-follow for all educators who would like to open their classroom to global opportunities! Hosted by @HSingmaster and sponsored by @AsiaSocietyEDU
Welcome to #GlobalEdChat! Tonight we're discussiong empathy + action with special guests @cookee_jar and @wrldleadership! Please join me in welcoming them and introduce yourself and where in the world you are.
World Leadership School is excited about exploring ways that we can use empathy + action with students to help them begin to develop a deeper sense of #purpose. Thanks for being here! Let's jump in. #globaledchat
A1: The ultimate goal of teaching empathy is creating a populace that considers how their actions impact those around them. Empathetic people are more likely to consider all angles of a situation before acting. In my opinion, it makes our world a better place. #globaledchat
Q2: Empathy is often broken down into two halves: perspective taking and shared emotional response. As teachers, what kind of empathy should we focus on first? Which is more important? Or more difficult to teach? #globaledchat
A1: Empathy is especially important in social studies as empathetic listening is critical to civil discourse. Social studies education seeks to encourage civic participation, and I believe civil discourse is necessary for that! #globaledchat#ssvpln
A2: In my experience, it is easier to teach students how to look at a situation from different angles first. If the shared emotional reaction is not there to begin with, it often comes with the practice of learning perspective. #globaledchat
A2: My guess is shared emotional response is more difficult to teach. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes takes a deeper level of empathy than recognizing perspectives, and sharing an emotional response is another level beyond that. #globaledchat
Perspective taking is critical, but shared emotional response goes deeper br involving our emotion-rich limbic brain, which truly drives our behavior. We spend too much time in school focusing on the cortex, a thin slice of our brain #globaledchat
A1: Ultimate goal of teaching empathy is about connections, understanding, & relationships.
We do not live in silos and when we teach empathy, we help our Ss connect w/ others, gain understanding, & build relationships. #globaledchat
A2 In world languages, I would say we focus on perspective taking - "products, practices, and perspectives" is our mantra of cultural competence, with the first 2 being the "easy" & common in our classes, and the last being the underlying critical foundation #globaledchat
Also I should have mentioned that I am Ross, from @wrldleadership. Very excited to exchange ideas around purpose in learning ahead of our https://t.co/INoMUTQRZ6 conference in New York, 11/9-10 #globaledchat
A2: Similar to what I said in my first answer, but understanding the perspectives of other cultures in a global curriculum can move students from simply knowing about that culture to truly appreciating the history and current context of them. #globaledchat#ssvpln
A3: Design thinking.
The design thinking process helps learners gain the understanding of the importance of empathy - in a curricular & connection-based context. #globaledchat
A3: I have many "favorites," but reading "The Battle of Birmingham," discussing the historical event, author's purpose & how the poem reflects the civil rights movement & the era is one of the most powerful. We also listen to the choral version of the poem. Love it. #globaledchat
A3: As a pre-service teacher I don’t have an example yet of achieving empathy development with my students, though I’m looking forward to working towards that when I’m full-time student teaching in the spring! #globaledchat#ssvpln
There have been many S-initiated projects. Some include new process for the lunch line - particularly on pizza lunch days, a new process for Ss to share concerns w/ admin, & a new garbage & compost collection system #globaledchat
One activity I like is Story Exchange from @narrative4, an organization focused on helping students build empathy. This is a specific process whereby students of diverse backgrounds exchange stories - and then tell their partner's story #globaledchat
Q4: Making goals, and taking action on real world problems, is a major shortcoming in K-12 learning today. We need to harness student empathy for others into small goals that allow students to begin immediate action #biastoaction#globaledchat
A4: Helping students discover a way to take action based on the empathy they feel for a group or person is important. It is terrific to build empathetic responses, but unless we teach people to act on them, it doesn't help our community. #globaledchat
A4: Empathy can help significantly with participation in politics. When talking with individuals with different political views from my own, I always do my best to understand why they believe what they do. #globaledchat#ssvpln
A4: Pt 2: Empathetic listening doesn’t mean you must agree with what they’re saying, but I do believe it is helpful to appreciate their perspective. #globaledchat#ssvpln
Agreed! Often, I think people parallel empathy and kindness...the two are not mutually exclusive. It is important to understand another's perspective but you don't have to concede to it and you don't have to agree with it. Empathy still has a place. #globaledchat
Passion projects, 20Time, mentorship opportunities, shadowing, etc...allowing students to identify where they think they can be useful is a big step in the direction of identifying a sense of #purpose. #globaledchat
A1: I would say that the goal of teaching empathy is to prepare students to be responsible community members, on both a local and global scale. As citizens later in life they will be making decisions that affect the whole world. Empathy is important here. #globaledchat#ssmce
A5
Teach the #sdgs.
Give students the chance to fall in love with one of the goals.
Give them permission to, not *solve* the problem, but make a difference for *someone* somewhere. #globaledchat
A5 Classroom learning, when possible, should have a action component -- write a letter to the editor, create a sample for a product idea. In the end, I think it's the actions that count, allow students to fail -- and help learning stick #globaledchat
A5: For a gov class I think a useful assignment could be for students to research a political issue important to them and reach out to their representative to try to make that change happen! #globaledchat#ssvpln
So glad that you said that! I never ask my kids to "solve" these problems that countries and communities have struggled with for decades but merely offer suggestions for solutions. I think the wording is VERY important if we hope to steer clear of the savior complex.#globaledchat
A5 There are ways I think to make the #sdgs local, specific, bite-sized to that people can see that in fact all is part of the whole, and most of these global issues are here in our backyard. Learning is everywhere around us, once se learn to see it #globaledchat
Exactly. Promoting activism. Allowing them to realize that their voices should be heard too. To be a part of something bigger than themselves. #globaledchat
Exactly. Knowledge without action is useless. Students need to be encouraged to seek out opportunities to put their knowledge to good use! #globaledchat
A6: Students can be extremely passionate about things that are important to them. Finding something that they care about in their local community is the key. #globaledchat
A6 at #KWLA18 last weekend we were learning how @KWLAonline TOY @SrtaDelValle mobilized learners across Spanish classrooms to do something for schools in Puerto Rico after Maria #globaledchat
We live in a time of great student activism, which is amazing. I reread Teju Cole's Atlantic piece on the White Savior complex https://t.co/7nI78jQU7J and was reminded that students need to act locally, and learn to first listen globally #globaledchat
Yes! I think all our kiddos need to head overseas if possible to see what the world is really made of. But it's not possible. That is why we have to be creative as educators. #globaledchat
Do a #WalkforWater! For the past 5 years my Ss have raised $ and more importantly AWARENESS about the global water crisis with help from @h2oschools! Having Ss Walk 3 miles carrying 2-5 gallons of water gives them a sense of empathy no lesson could. #globaledchat
A6 With social entrepreneurship projects, students often focus on the "what" -- their specific solution. I think we should help them explore their deeper why, which sparks a rich conversation about "who we are" rather than "what we know" #globaledchat
A6: With an activity like I mentioned in A5 it would be important to scaffold the assignment for students so that they feel comfortable participating in politics. #globaledchat#ssvpln
I agree that perspective taking seems like the necessary first step towards empathy. It's also the aspect that feels "easiest" to teach since you can help students develop a repertoire of strategies for perspective taking and engage them in ongoing practice #globaledchat
That will build empathy for SURE! Awesome work! I would LOVE to see what suggestions they come up with the eliminate the need to walk that far for communities in the future! #globaledchat
Yes. But also set it up so they can see how it affects their lives. I think a lot of times kids shy away from politics because it's too "grown up". #globaledchat
A6 When helping students explore their deeper "why", I think it's interesting to break down their budding sense of purpose by exploring the two basic dimensions of purpose: what are your natural gifts? What is change you want to bring? Gifts + Impact = Purpose #globaledchat
A6: Actions on small scale can have impact. Students created video for poem about fears of police brutality in their community. Others who had not experienced it questioned the validity. Creators of video used situation as teachable moment. Action led to change. #globaledchat
It’s amazing! We’ve raised $40,000 over the past few years to fund wells, hand washing stations, and other water projects in schools in Africa, Asia, & Latin America. And the impacts it’s made on my Ss to know they can make a difference is awesome! #globaledchat
Travel as much as possible (up Next is 🇮🇱) and connect students together so they can co-create their perspectives and points-of-views for a better world. #globaledchat
A7: It's always a continuous process, and I try to keep my eyes and ears open at all times. I was really fortunate to be able to hear @deray talk about his new book last week (go hear him if you can!), for example. #globaledchat
A7: For this, I believe allowing myself to be vulnerable and honest in the classroom can go a long way towards students empathizing with me and helping them open up and share their beliefs and views as well. #globaledchat#ssvpln
A7 "You can't give away what you don't own." Unless teachers continuously practice perspective taking, and shared emotional response, they can't coach students to do the same. Ditto for telling a story re: "why," your deeper purpose, for being a teacher #globaledchat
A7: I don't pretend that I understand everything about all cultures, and I listen to my students. My students teach me about their cultures, and I am transparent in my learning. I listen to their experiences and don't deny them. #globaledchat
YES! It's so important to dive into our WHY to help us remember who we are and why we do what we do. Teachers are magic makers but it is not easy. #Globaledchat
Thank you to all who were able to join #globaledchat today! And special thanks to @cookee_jar and @wrldleadership for leading such a fantastic conversation.
Brene Brown's talk on Daring Classrooms https://t.co/znOhCFg11l is a great explanation of why teachers need to be vulnerable, put their stories out there, and create the safe space for student to be vulnerable and develop emotional courage #globaledchat
A7: As Plato said, "Those who tell the stories, rule the world." So one thing I ask students to do and try to do myself is to ask: "Who's story ISN'T being told here?" "Whose voice is left out?"
