Empathy program teaches kids to care
Never has such a small teacher so easily commanded the attention of so many students. With just a bounce and a smile, Anna Ashworth has "her kids" in the palm of her hand and if she laughs, they are delighted.
Although she's only nine-months-old, Anna is a busy girl who has a lot to teach a class of Grade 3 and 4 students. Anna and her mom, Lisa Ashworth, make monthly visits to Donald Fraser Memorial School as volunteers in the Roots of Empathy program. Its goal is to instill in the elementary students the vital ability to feel empathy for others.
"We want the students to know how to tell what other people are feeling, even those that can't tell us," Sheila Cummings, school principal and Roots of Empathy teacher, explained.
Lisa Ashworth started taking Anna to the class when she was just a few months old. Over the past six months, the students have seen huge changes in Anna as she went from a helpless infant to a baby that can sit up, likes to play with toys, says "dada" and giggles when she plays peek-a-boo.
"Each visit has a different theme," Cummings noted of the children's exploration of a baby's world over a period of nine months. "This month it was sleep and we've also done crying and growth. We've also looked at what mom has to take with her when she goes out with baby Anna and that worked well because they were going on a trip and the children could ask about what they would take on the airplane."
Little Anna has two siblings in classrooms at Donald Fraser and on this occasion, they visited with the group to demonstrate how the baby reacts to seeing people she knows well. Both received big, open-mouthed "kisses" from their baby sister to the amusement of the students.
Cummings noted when Lisa and Anna visit the class the students sit around the edge of a large green blanket that is designated as the baby's space. The children approach the baby only if invited to do so by the teacher but everyone can clearly see her and can respond to questions or make comments. On this day, Anna is cutting teeth and feeling a little tired so the group talks about how they feel if they don't get enough sleep.
"I get really cranky and sometimes I cry," one student admitted and the group talks about how Anna rubs her eyes, pulls on her ear and may cry if she needs to sleep.
Cummings noted while some of the children have younger siblings at home, others rarely see a baby and have learned a lot. In future sessions, they will talk about safety and communication and at the end of the year they are planning a celebration that will coincide with Anna's first birthday. The students are proud and protective of "their Anna" and Cummings said she has seen how the program has had an impact on them. In a situation when students may have been tempted to be unkind to another student, a classmate stepped in and said, "You wouldn't do that if that was our Anna".
"It really does make a difference," Cummings affirmed.
Mom Lisa Ashworth said she thinks the program has been good for Anna too. She loves watching the faces of "her kids" and wiggles happily as they sing her a special welcome song when she arrives and another at the end of the session to wish her goodbye. When she gets older and starts kindergarten, there will be children on the school bus that will remember her from the program and hopefully still want to protect her.
Roots of Empathy was started in 1996 by educator, child advocate and parenting advisor Mary Gordon. It has been brought to classrooms in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia and has consistently resulted in reducing aggression and increasing social behaviour in participating students.
"Our mission is to build caring, peaceful and civil societies through the development of empathy in children and adults," an information pamphlet on the program states. "The focus of Roots of Empathy in the long term is to build the capacity of the next generation for responsible citizenship and responsive parenting. In the short term, Roots of Empathy focuses on raising levels of empathy, resulting in more respectful and caring relationships and reduced levels of bullying and aggression."
Children in the program are encouraged to see themselves as "changers" who can recognize the feelings of others and be caring towards them. According to the program literature, "they are less likely to physically, psychologically or emotionally hurt others through bullying or other emotional cruelties".
Several schools in District 14 have Roots of Empathy programs, including Andover Elementary School. In May, the district is hosting a celebration in Woodstock for the participating moms and babies where they will reflect on the success of the program.
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