5 Best Practices of Showing Empathy Towards Students

In today’s competitive world students are always under pressure. Parents, teachers and even peers are always comparing them based on their academic results. This brings a sense of overburden and, at times, it can have various outcomes. The resulting mental health issues were never taken seriously until now, when even the most successful people started talking about it and it became a mainstream subject. It is high time to accept the practice of showing empathy towards students.

Emotional Literacy

Emotional literacy and sympathy are interlinked. Both are almost the foundation stones of mental health awareness. Emotional literacy is the practice of making an individual aware of voicing his/her feelings without fear and knowing how to manage them. It also includes empathy or sensitivity towards students.

A number of researchers and psychologists are making new-age parents more aware of this issue. They are encouraging online education to help students inculcate the theme of emotional literacy.

The emotional literacy curriculum focuses on autonomy, competence and relatedness. It usually has five steps:

1. Knowing your own feelings

2. Having a sense of empathy

3. Learning to manage emotions

4. Repairing problems related to emotions

5. Emotional interaction with oneself and others

How to Show Empathy to Students?

Every student needs help and assistance to develop emotional literacy and sympathy. They can do this at ease with the help of remote learning. Here are some steps that can help to take a step in the right direction:

Providing a good model:

When a student starts behaving inappropriately, a model can be placed in front of him/her to inquire as to why he/she is feeling this way. Then they might be able to explain after they have understood the situation.

Learning to talk about your own feelings:

With the facilitation of this model, students should feel encouraged to speak up about whatever ideas crowd their minds. Additionally, asking them to use simple language and avoiding complications are always welcome. Later on, complex words can come in, but with strict guidance.

Learning to label emotions:

Once a student learns to speak up without any fear, parents and teachers should sit with him/her to identify the emotions he/she has come up with. In doing so, they will have a better perception of the musings of their mind and the response to their immediate surroundings.

Becoming a good listener to students:

Another important note to keep in mind is that students must be made sure that whatever they speak, instructors or parents are present to listen to them. Only then will they feel relieved enough to open up and share their issues.

Promotion of sensitivity:

Just as speaking one’s heart is important, similarly, students should also learn to become sensitive enough to respect others’ feelings. They should be taught the necessity of mutual respect that is necessary to acknowledge boundaries and also to keep the water flowing.

Key Takeaways

With the right learning techniques and curriculum, we can show empathy towards students helping them to develop emotional literacy and sympathy from an early age. However, valued outcomes are a possibility only with synchronised and universal ways of teaching.

In most cases, online schooling is striving hard to work on the betterment of the situation by putting emotional literacy and sympathy as an essential element amongst social and emotional learning skills. With organisations like 21K School , you can be assured of the fact that your kid will receive the required attention and care to ensure that he/she does not feel left out.