What makes a student stop their day and give everything they have to another student? Is teaching empathy just a parent’s job?
Some cases of care and giving are simply unavoidable and bear a little repeating. Take Shawn Bakker, a Palmer High School sophomore in Colorado Springs, CO. Every day Shawn gets up and gets ready for school the same as all of the other students at Palmer High. He gets himself to class and studies to learn all that is around him. The difference? Shawn has no arms and no legs. Shawn was born this way, and it doesn’t seem to faze him. Students learn side-by-side with Shawn and they learn about his disability, first-hand every day. This past week students took note when Shawn’s school-issued laptop was due for a major upgrade as it was slow and not easy to use with the three toes Shawn has. Students banded together to raise funds for the $2000 equipment to operate it using his eyes, and the community came out in droves to support the effort. Raising over $1000 in one basketball game!
Acts of kindness occur throughout our public school system all the time, so how do we as leaders and parents foster the efforts of our students to show such empathy?
Begin with an open attitude. It is never going to be convenient, on task, or in the “schedule” for students to take time out of their book-study to learn a little “life-study”. We have to realize as leaders and parents that being “open” to the idea, time commitment, and sometimes the financial cost is the first step in allowing our students the liberty to make a difference.
Show a little interest. Too often students bring ideas our direction and our rules or the busy nature of our daily work prevents their idea from flourishing. It may not be in the “curriculum”, or in the parameters of a school’s responsibility to reach out the way a student is wanting to, however, with a little interest you as a leader can spark a revolution, or at least assist a great deed in happening.
Try not to pick and choose success stories. Some of the greatest learning a student does happens when they are passionate about something. Your passions as a parent or a school leader are simply different than theirs. Give the idea a chance and delay judgment from your perspective. You never know when all of the pieces might come together for a few passionate students doing the right thing.
Allow students to experience the winning feeling. At times, our adult perspective can get in the way of the true success happening right in front of our eyes. Work diligently to keep yourself and your staff out of the spotlight when student success finally happens. The students will never forget the experience and the great feeling of a caring idea successfully implemented to change the life of another.