The Connection between Empathy and Imagination

I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.

Maya Angelou

What lessons are we teaching our students, our children? Do we even know? Are we stopping and taking the time to reflect, to think, to listen?

I sat in the lunch room, and listened to stories of students taking practice tests, and the repercussions that would follow if they didn’t do well on said standardized test. I felt my heart rate increase, and tears were creeping into my eyes.

What are we doing? Do we understand that we’re telling these kids that they will find success in life only if they can pass a test. A test that guarantees neither success or failure of any kind?

 

I dreamed of being a teacher, until the day that I didn’t want to be one anymore.

 

As a child I looked up to my mom, who was an elementary teacher, I was envious of the piles of papers that she got to grade, the laminating she cut, and the students she was able to teach. I wanted that.

 

And I got it.

 

 

As a high school art teacher, I listen to my students fears. They’re afraid of getting the wrong answer, of trying something new, of asking deep thought provoking questions. They’re afraid of being vulnerable, of being themselves, of going for the “unsafe job” . They’re afraid of going for their dreams.

 

This fear develops as they’re taught there is one right answer, and this is how you find it.  They lose their ability to empathize as they learn that imagination is both bad and a waste of time.

 

We can’t empathize if we don’t have the ability to imagine what a situation might be like for someone else, and vice versa. Once we learn to imagine, it makes it challenging not to empathize.

 

I look at my students, know that they want and deserve more, but don’t even know what that is. Know that they are capable of amazing things, if only we would set them free.

 

In order to achieve greatness we must create a strong foundation. In order for students to reach their full potential they must learn empathy, until then, nothing else matters.

Together we can save our children, by challenging the system, and by demonstrating empathy in our daily lives.

One of my favorite books on empathy,  is Realizing Empathy: An Inquiry Into the Meaning of Making
Seung Chan Lim