Aloha Mai Kakoū-
This month our Kula has been teaching the keiki about Aloha Pumehana, or empathy. By definition empathy means “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” As I contemplate how to teach my students to become empathetic I hear from a co-worker about a book titled “UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World.” I decided to order a copy and give it a shot. After reading just the first few pages I was hooked. I highly recommend this book to fellow educators and parents. Here is a snippet of the type of information you will find within this text.
“According to Borba, low levels of empathy are rampant in our culture, and in kids that’s associated with bullying, cheating, weak moral reasoning, and mental health issues, like anxiety and depression. Her book is a call to parents, teachers, and other caring adults to help encourage children to develop empathy and generosity toward others, and it’s full of research-based tips on how to do so.
Some tips are focused on increasing emotional literacy in general, by helping kids to better understand their own emotions and the emotions of others. Others involve helping kids to foster a sense of themselves as caring people, by engaging them in activities where they can be generous and by modeling generosity toward others ourselves. Still others involve helping kids to become moral heroes, in school and out of it.”
If you order the book and have any thoughts or questions or just have ideas about empathy and teaching children how to become empathetic individuals please let me know. I would love to talk story with you.
Mahalo Nui,
Miss Everett
