3 Ways to Promote Empathy in the Classroom

Empathy is an important skill in young people, as it gives them opportunities to connect to other experiences outside of themselves and a greater understanding of the world around them. Empathy can be defined as the action or ability to be aware of or emotionally understand the experiences of others, where the response is one of compassion and care.

The windows and mirrors framework has often been used to enhance young children’s sense of empathy; however, this framework can be limiting, as it relies heavily on picture books and literature that presents storytelling through a diverse and inclusive lens. Additionally, when you express empathy through only a book or a story, the connection may land in an inauthentic way, because it’s seeing the experiences through characters or illustrations, not real people or situations. What if we could go beyond windows and mirrors and seek to develop and build the empathy muscle in young people in real time within the life of the school? 

In my work as an educator, consultant, and school leader, I’ve developed a framework I call Empathy in Action. This framework offers a three-pronged approach to empathy by doing, whereby acts, actions, and movements are key to assessing meaningful learning and growth. 

1. Empathy and The Power of Storytelling

Storytelling is a powerful tool in fostering connection and student growth. Storytelling can also build empathy in young people as they become more proximate to experiences that differ from their own. In 2016, I created a program for our school called Sharing Our Stories, which welcomes elementary students to share their identity and culture through the art of storytelling. At your school, you can invite students to tell stories from their lives within a classroom or assembly. As students share, they receive support and encouragement from their peers. This process allows all students to share, listen, celebrate, and affirm difference. Through Sharing Our Stories, students are able to model and practice the art of listening and respect while building that empathy muscle.

The program instills a healthy sense of pride and self-efficacy in young children who may feel as though they have to conform to the majority, especially if they have a different racial background, family structure, or religious identity that isn’t represented in their classroom or larger school community. Teaching young children to be proud of who they are is essential to their growth as confident people who feel they have a sense of responsibility to others and the world.

When students feel seen and heard, they build strong relationships with their peers and teachers, and they perform better academically and contribute to their communities. Students have to practice active listening and audience etiquette skills—and, more important, deep care for the stories they can listen to and learn from. Sharing Our Stories is also very powerful for the storyteller, as it affirms their experiences, giving them a source of great pride and joy. Overall, storytelling is an important tool that builds more connection, understanding, and empathy for all who are able to learn so much from each other, since each story is personal and heartfelt. 

2. Empathy for Problem-Solving 

Whether it be problem-solving in the classroom or the real world, children are very attuned to fairness. Children are apt problem-solvers who see things as they are and immediately come up with solutions. By using problem-solving as a way to drive empathy, teachers can present a problem or challenge to the class, and students can work in collaborative groups to come up with solutions that foster belonging and inclusion.

Teachers can share with students that their role is to apply empathy to their problem-solving, and students will brainstorm and create the most amazing solutions. Doing this practice weekly is a wonderful way to build the empathy muscle, and it also develops a more inclusive community, where students are always valuing ways to uplift and affirm. For example, I recently worked with third-grade students to discuss and design an equitable recess schedule, where they made sure that students had enough time to play. Fifth graders at our school created an appreciation and gratitude jar where students ended the week sharing these with the class.

3. Empathy-driven projects 

Teachers utilize small groups or pair projects to get students collaborating and connecting. We can also do this by offering empathy-driven projects that students get to collaborate on. These projects can include field trips and experiential learning inside or outside of the classroom.

For example, students’ learning about the environment, climate change, or food scarcity in local communities can result in projects that focus on campus conservation; a field trip off campus that focuses efforts within a local community; or projects that care for Mother Earth, including gardening. Doing projects such as these helps students build empathy for the environment, which then translates into how students think about their campus and what they can do to be a part of driving change. 

Everyday empathy

Empathy in Action can also become a daily practice in the classroom. Each week, consider gathering students for an empathy circle to reflect on the lessons learned, the stories listened to, and the actions taken in service to empathy. Empathy is heart work, and seeing the joy on students’ faces is an important reminder that empathy is more than a state of being. Instead, empathy is expressed through a series of constant actions that expand our awareness, understanding, and compassion for the lived experiences and stories of others that differ from our own. 

For me, empathy is more than a buzzword. It is a tool that when utilized can build bridges of belonging, which is at the heart of empathy. But empathy has to be cultivated, informed, and harnessed through actions that teach children that we have a responsibility to and for each other—and that in small and big ways, our efforts make a difference in a more just world.