Tuesday, April 20, 2010

School Bullying Prevention: Teach Empathy at Young Age

Since the January 14th death of Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old in South Hadley, Massachusetts, who committed suicide after being bullied by fellow students, many onlookers have meditated on whether the circumstances that led to her death could have been avoided. Neuroscientists, psychologists, and educators believe that bullying and other kinds of violence can be reduced by encouraging empathy at an early age. Over the past decade, being able to empathize has suggested that it is key to human social interaction and morality. Without empathy, we would have no trust and no reason to not commit murder, cheat, steal, or lie. Nearly 90% of brain growth takes place in the first five years of life, and the minds of children who are neglected often are unable to make the connection between people and pleasure. It can be difficult for them to feel or demonstrate love later on. “You can enhance empathy by the way you treat children,” says Martin Hoffman, a professor of psychology at New York University.

I think this is a great idea to teach children how to empathize. The more they are exposed to it, the better they will be able to stand in someone's shoes and see what it's like. If more and more people are empathetic, perhaps there will be less people who are bullied. Phoebe Prince's tragic death certainly shows us how much bullying can affect someone.

5 comments:

Mei Mei Or said...

I think this is a great idea. I blogged about Phoebe Prince's suicide during my week, and I was devastated by the fact that her death could have been prevented. Any type of effort to teach children about how to empathize will not hurt. If anything it will help prevent situations such as Phoebe's death or simply reduce the amount of verbal and physical bullying.

Emily said...

Wow. I am really glad to hear that there was a real reaction to this suicide unlike some cases when they are brushed aside and forgotten by the public. It really does make a difference when parents raise their children in an environment where they are more understanding and sympathetic in certain situations. When parents do not show love or care towards their children, it sticks with them for the rest of their life. Sometimes, parents may draw all their attention towards work and the kids do not feel wanted or loved at all. A close family who eats dinner all together compared to a family that do not sit and talk at the dinner table can make a huge difference. When kids feel close to their parents and they are loved, they are most likely ( I believe) to resist any type of violence or at least try to reduce violence.
-Emily Niemann

William C said...

I think that empathy is not something that can be taught in a classroom using a textbook and various scenarios. It may be a baseless claim, but I think that empathy is something that is first experienced and then passed on, or emulated: feeling an emotion as opposed to being told how that emotion feels.

That being said, there are many parents who are unable or even unwilling to empathize with their children and this is where the problem arises. The government cannot (yet?) control the behavior of parents to the extent of enforcing sympathetic behavior.

But, of course, parents are not the only role models/mentors, albeit the main models/mentors, who can affect the lives of young people. Peers also have a great influence on children and acts of empathy by one child can rub off on the children who are at the receiving end of said empathy.

I think that the solution that makes the most sense, however, is recognizing the great, and under appreciated, influence that teachers have on children, especially young children, and taking advantage of the teacher-student dynamic starting at a young age. One thing that the government can regulate is schools. Programs can be started and new training techniques can be adopted to change the role of teachers from distant instructor to quasi-guardian.

From such a position of influence, it can be ensured that children have at least some sort of legitimate relationship which enforces and encourages empathy. Of course it may be considered ridiculous to force teachers to care about the children they teach and give them a further dimension to worry about, as if teaching on its own is not tiring and time consuming as it is. Furthermore, teachers have their own relationships and their own children to worry about.

It is clear such a change would mean redefining what a teacher is in modern society, but it would open up whole worlds of opportunity for future generations. The new teacher would be a force to counteract all instances of abuse at school and even at home. Imagine effectively institutionalizing empathy etc. and thus creating a perfect America with perfect little Americans from the bottom up...

Joe Seiden said...

I think that school officials need to open their eyes, as well. Many members of the administration at Phoebe's high school were aware of what was happening to her but dismissed it as nothing serious. This is especially appalling considering that a boy in a nearby school went through a similar situation that ended with the same result: his suicide.

Her parents actually moved to the area they did so this wouldn't happen. They are Irish immigrants and they moved to a predominantly Irish-American neighborhood to avoid hardship for Phoebe. But this wasn't the case. The harassment actually started after she dated a popular upperclassman football player, and her tormentors were mostly older girls. There was one teacher who tried to alert the administration but it was dismissed.

I think, if it's anyone's fault, it is the kids who tormented her (they are being tried as adults for manslaughter, as they should) and the officials who cast a blind eye.

The most upsetting part, however, is that Phoebe's body was found by her younger sister in the stairwell. She was hanging by the scarf her sister gave her for Christmas.

Rebecca K. said...

I also agree with you Alexandra, because I believe that empathy is of the core values that must be instilled amongst all children today. I like how empathy is being used rather than sympathy, for I believe sympathy sometimes is not enough, rather when one person empathizes they try to pretend they are in another's position.

Like William said, it is very rare to learn about the importance of empathy in a school surrounding. But I do believe though that rather than teachers try to teach students about empathy, there should be a packet or pamphlet given to parents where parents must go over what it is to have empathy and to not bully etc and explain it to their children. The parents should have to sign it and bring it back to the teacher showing they read it and explained it to their children.

I believe that it is first and foremost the parents' duty to create a healthy environment at home and to instill healthy examples and lessons upon their children. The stronger a child is mentally, the better they can react to harsh situations full of bullying and tension. Bullying will always be around but if the student who is being bullied can somehow not allow the bullying to take over their mind, then the student can ultimately be at peace with him or herself.

The moment the child is bullied, self confidence is bound to go down and I am guessing this is what happened to Phoebe.