Pink (2006) said,
“Empathy is the ability to imagine yourself in some else’s position and intuit what that person is feeling. It is the ability to stand in others’ shoes, to see with their eyes, and to feel with their hearts” (p.159).
This weekend my teenage sons participated in an exercise in exactly what Pink spoke of when he described empathy. My boys simulated being homeless, with other youth of our church through Mission Waco, they slept outside forged for food and walked the streets. This simulation has been repeated several times by Mission Waco to help people understand homelessness in a more concrete way. In other words…developing Empathy.
This was a stretch for me to allow my sons to participate. However, they made the argument that this was important to them. I am still getting little bits of information from them as to what took place but I am hoping these children who live in abundance have learned a lesson of walking in someone else’s shoes, seeing through another’s eyes, and feeling with their hearts.
Being able to express empathy and practice it is what Pink said makes us human. "Empathy is an essential part of living a life of meaning" (p.165).
What an amazing experience! My initial thoughts about this section of Pink's book from an educator's perspective are related to how difficult it is to "teach" the skill or attribute of empathy. Our school cultures would be so much more positive if students had this skill. How would bullying be reduced if students had a better ability to understand and relate to their peers. Maybe Mission Waco is on to something...teach through actually having students walk in one another's shoes??
ReplyDeleteYou should feel great about allowing your kids to go through this experience and even better that they wanted to!
We live in a 'have and have not' culture. We are such a disposable society we sometimes forget and we take for granted what others don't have. It worries me sometimes that todays youth only see themselves and not others. It is good to see parents taking children / youth to church and instilling values and teaching life lessons.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible "real world" experience. So little of what we think we know about others is based in reality. As Linda responded, "we sometimes forget and we take for granted what others don't have." What we do have is a gift from God and by His grace.
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