14/09/2025
Come on over and see what I’m doing at CLC! Taking a slower, considered approach to all things wellbeing for Educators. New group sessions on in Fife and Dundee this Autumn. Here’s my post for tonight …. ❤️
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/171z4JA9Z6/?mibextid=wwXIfr
EMPATHY IS THE CURE…
Events in the news can affect us all. They can also affect the emotional lives and wellbeing of the children and young people we work with. None of us are immune to the changes that take place at a political, cultural or societal level, especially in an era of social media and 24/7 exposure to world news.
I’ve recently become very aware of themes from overheard conversations in cafes, on trains, in shops, even in an airport departure lounge. Many focused on conflicts around the world; immigration; the impotence of world leaders; the threat of “far right” or “woke” leaders. I have heard a lot of polarised views. You will have heard a lot of polarised views. And we have heard a lot of these views coming from a place of fear, misinformation and heightened anxiety about the world we are currently in and the future.
Amidst this tumult, I came across a view about empathy, that I believe to be untrue: that empathy is a “woke” or leftist idea. Empathy is neither. Empathy is critical to our humanity in allowing us to connect meaningfully with others; in experiencing and understanding the experiences of others and how this might feel for us in their context; and in creating supportive connections of trust leading to positive action. As humans, we possess mirror-neurons which are considered by many scientists to be the basis of empathic attunement.
What has this got to do with education and educators? Everything! At a time when we may feel overwhelmed by demand and expectations, we must hold onto and cherish our capacity for empathy. We need empathic educators as the antidote to the confusion and misinformation that exists out there for our young people. We also need empathy for our own wellbeing. Our mirror neurons allow us to experience joy and happiness when we witness others experiencing this. Empathy nourishes us too.
Daniel Kahneman warned us about the pitfalls of “fast thinking” and where confirmation biases lead to prejudices which impact societal relationships negatively. As educators with a capacity for empathy, we need to engage our young people, as well as some of our colleagues and parents perhaps, in some “slow thinking”: creating an empathic space, getting really curious about why they believe what they believe, and ask them to consider other perspectives with a healthy critical evaluation. No focus on the need for an outcome; but just simply having an experience of an empathic conversation.
This may feel too much. Start with one person and one conversation to practise some “slow thinking” where the individual has to really engage their thinking at a deeper level and in an atmosphere of support and non-judgement. One young person, one conversation; a demonstration of your empathy and humanity in a time of polarisation and confusion.
Rumi’s quote: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” Let’s slow this week down and find our own field with someone to sow some seeds of empathy, humanity and hope. ❤️