Gavin McCormack sent me an interesting article on the power of empathy in education. He writes about the importance of a teacher bringing her heart into the classroom. When a teacher brings empathy to the students, learning is transformed and everyone is more involved in the learning experience.
If there is a bond of love, trust and empathy between the teachers and the students, there is a deeper form of learning.
Suddenly lessons have meaning, stories are captivating and the experience of each lesson is less of a task and more of a journey, one which everyone enjoys.
McCormack compares education to that of a train journey. Everyone Is on board. You can get off wherever you want but you must come back on the train at some point and we will all meet at the top of the mountain together.
When we show our students that we truly care, when we ask how they’re feeling, realizing that school can be an emotional journey for the child, then education becomes less of a task and more oa mission.
If you ask anyone what their favourite grade was, they always say the grade where the teacher truly and genuinely cared for them.