Empathic Education

By Sylvia Guinan

A thinkers Guide To Empathy

Humanising education
Emotional & social Intelligence Multiple Intelligences

Mario Rinvulcri Daniel Goleman

Howard Gardner

Teacher appreciation week

My way of celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week is to appreciate my fellow teachers. After my own quick introduction to empathy in education, we will introduce two special guests.

Maria Ines Brumana, Teacher, writer, expert on brain-based education and co-author of ELT Goes To The Movies
and

Andrew Weiler
Author of the soon-to-be published Language Learning Unlocked

Emotional Intelligence
Know yourself

Self-awareness for teachers Recognise your own emotions and feelings Self-management Control impulsive feelings and behaviours

Be a role model

Build Rapport

Social awareness Behaviour management

Empathy through self-appreciation

Is self-praise really No praise?
This is one English expression that comes to mind when I think of the fallacies that prevent us from enjoying our own competencies whether we are students or teachers. Here is something to help keep professional development alive and selfesteem intact at the same time.

What makes an outstanding Teacher?

What we can learn from children

Here is a true story that illustrates empathy at its finest.

My son Daniel was scheduled to go on the end-of year trip to Washington,D.C. He and his friends were really looking forward to it. Two nights before the trip the hotel roommate assignments were announced. I listened to hear which of his friends Daniel would be rooming with.

Dangers of over-caring blindly for our own kids

When I got the information my heart sank. Daniels assigned room-mates were an autistic boy and his aide, a man in his early thirties. My first thought was Daniel is going to get left out of all the cool things he and his buddies were planning. How am I going to break this news to him? I consider myself to be a loving and compassionate person but this was a tough one for me. I was so afraid that Daniel would be disappointed. When I got home I said Daniel, they put you in a room with Ricky and his aide. If you are upset Ill go to the school tomorrow and try to get it changed

Walk a few steps in someone elses shoes

He looked at me quizzically for a moment, not sure if I was kidding him, and then said simply They didnt put me with Ricky; I asked to be with Ricky. I knew that if I wasnt with him, hes get left out, and ,you know, its his eighth-grade class trip too.

How does empathy help learning?

Simply having fun in class increases levels of rapport, collaboration and engagement.
Maria Ines Brumana will speak to us about brain-based fun with movies in the classroom. Andrew Weiler will speak to us about the deeper issues involved in true learning.