What is Compassion?
Compassion can be defined as an innate sensitivity to the suffering of another person. Not only is it an ability to feel genuine concern for another but it is an ability to actually feel that person's pain. Compassion can often result in a conscious action taken to help alleviate another's pain.
The etymology of the word compassion dates back to fourteenth century Anglo-French and Latin. The Latin stem com which means "together" while pati or passion means "to suffer". When combined, “compati” means “suffer with or feel pity”.
Why Teach Compassion?
Anyone who teaches children and/or youth has the unique privilege to encourage and to foster compassion in the classroom and ultimately the community. Teaching compassion is a powerful process which results in continued regeneration of further compassion. This alone is reason enough to justify lessons on this powerful character trait. As an additional byproduct, studies are beginning to reveal that schools called Compassionate Schools support a climate and culture conducive to improved learning.
What are Compassionate Schools?
Simply put, a school of compassion is one that follows a curriculum which integrates lessons promoting empathy and which includes activities where students help others students in some way.
The Compassionate Schools Initiative first began in 1987 as a result of findings Gertrude Morrow M.A. wrote in her book, The Compassionate School: A Practical Guide to Educating Abused and Traumatized Children. Morrow recommended the following keys to improving education.
- Schools need to embrace the philosophy of community education where schools and communities cooperate in the education of students.
- Schools need to promote not only intellectual development but social development as well by instilling altruistic attitudes and by fostering acceptance and respect for all students.
- Compassionate School classrooms need to be developed and organized in a cooperative learning environment. This means with students of varying abilities, backgrounds and interests work together as teams to support one another in accomplishing learning goals and objectives.
Many school administrators, psychologists, counselors and teachers embraced the concept and potential reality of a school of compassion and began to integrate strategies within the school environment as researchers continued to investigate its impact.
Current research reveals that while Compassionate Schools benefit all students, they especially impact students who encounter stress and trauma in their daily lives. In their book, The Heart of Learning and Teaching: Compassion, Resiliency, and Academic Success, researchers from Western Washington University partnered with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Schools in the State of Washington and found that Compassionate Schools engage students and staff in creating a supportive community culture where everyone can learn. Together, students and teachers develop strategies to become more empathetic and to develop better social responsibility. Ultimately, the goal of these schools is to create a more peaceable and humane world.
The Science of Compassion
Compassion just may be a natural state of mind according to scientists who study the brain. A new science reveals that human beings have DNA and brain structures devoted to emotion. This means that humans are, by nature, a compassionate, caring species. As research continues, today’s schools can encourage and provide strategies that help students recognize their ability to imagine the needs of others, to think about others' welfare, and to take action that benefit others. Compassion may very well be a new science of the brain.
5 Benefits to Teaching Compassion
- It fosters open and regular communication for all students and adults.
- It focuses on a strengths based approach for students.
- It ensures effective discipline policies that are compassionate and healing.
- It helps teachers support students based upon their individual needs.
- It helps administration identify vulnerable students.
Compassionate Schools can become vital to a child's development of empathy and caring.
Sources:
- Gertrude Morrow, M.A.,The Compassionate School: A Practical Guide to Educating Abused and Traumatized Children , Prentice Hall, N.J., 1987
- Ray Wolpow, Ph.D., Mona M. Johnson, M.A., CPP, CDP., Ron Hertel, B.S., Susan O. Kincaid, Ph.D., The Heart of Learning: Compassion, Resiliency, and Academic Success, Print at: http://www.k12.wa.us/CompassionateSchools/Resources.aspx , 2009, 2011
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