Global Citizens WAP #5

 Global Citizenship

Do we have the capacity to teach empathy?

This question is a bit challenging - Challenging in the sense that we as might think we  don't quite have the capacity to "teach" empathy; or do we? As educators we have a moral duty to teach understanding and compassion - empathy. Defined in dictionary.com  as the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another. In other words, understanding other's feelings; being able to relate or place yourself in the "shoes" of others, when relating to feelings and emotions. 

Empathy has much to do with "Global Citizenship" as mentioned by Alan November in his "The Students as Global Communicators and Collaborators" chapter, stating that empathy is the most important skill students can master. But in this era of technology and kids thinking they know all there is to know about technology; how do we teach empathy? How do we as educators equip our students with the power and knowledge to have empathy not just with others like their peers but also have global empathy? 

In trying to convey this concept to my students, I always try to to start the school year with the many faces of the world. In other words, showing videos that best illustrates and highlight different cultures.

These are some of my favorites

As a world language Spanish teacher, I try to incorporated global awareness with focus on the 21 Spanish speaking countries. I use different videos that highlight each country and culture. I also encourage my students to become "global leaders"  and research and be more proactive in the Spanish community. 

Recently I shared with my level III students ( all fluent in Spanish) Radio.garden. This website allows listening to radio stations world wide. I have a random students pick a Spanish speaking country for the period and we choose a Spanish radio station to listen to. At times it might be music but others might be a speaking station with a relevant topic. The students like being in charge of the station and some even research before class their station of choice.  They also like the navigation aspect because as you search you are taken live through the world globe to the country chosen. 

I also love that they have an app to download to your mobil device.