Developing empathy and open-mindedness by Teacher Academy

Mara, Italy

mara_mosca77 — 2017-02-27 15:27:15 UTC

The ''privilege'' video is fantastic! Thanks for sharing it with us.
I daily try to teach my students to see things and situations from different points of views and not to give everything for granted. I do this showing them videos of true stories, Nick Vujicic experience for example or Malala Yousefzay speech after the Nobel Prize. This helps them to understand how lucky they are and to appreciate what they have and not always desiring what they don't have. I always try to wear their clothes, to understand their difficulties and the problems of their age and I have to say that my students show empathy toward me as well!https://padlet.com/mara_mosca77/hwekscdxc04e#

Francesco P. ( Italy).

2017-02-27 15:31:55 UTC

I think '' Privilege video'' is wonderful to understand that all human people are egual and with the same rights.

Patrizia Italy

2017-02-27 15:38:19 UTC

The ''privilege'' video is amazing ! Thanks for the vision very interesting.

Scafati Miriam, Italy

miriamscafatihpg23 — 2017-02-27 15:40:48 UTC

rivilege video is very very interesting

Sonia, Spain

2017-02-27 15:51:04 UTC

It helps a lot to understand inclusion

Bea, Spain

b_nieto_ou — 2017-02-27 15:51:41 UTC

Thanks for share with us all this tools! I love the "What is privilege?" video and the resourse-pack from SALTO.
Regardind to my students, I thinkt they are open-minded because they have a lot of classmates from other countries and they see it with normally.
We make 1 time per month an activity thaht I called "Thank you" where my students and me thanks the others by their help, attitudes, etc.

Monica, Italy

moni_fornelli — 2017-02-27 15:58:30 UTC

This video is fantastic. It's a good way to reflect about "diversities" from a general viewpoint. It can help people to compare himself with the other in order to understand or to know different ways to live and to believe in. "What is privilege?", a great way to tell a part of people's lives and experiences.

chiara_possamai — 2017-02-27 16:00:45 UTC

I think that the ''WHAT IS PRIVILEGE'' video is really fantastic!
We always try to wear clothes of other people, to understand their difficulties and the problems of their age. This video is a very good and interesting idea to reflect about diversities.

Silvia,italy

2017-02-27 16:01:34 UTC

È un video molto intenso e toccante, che rende l'idea delle diversità, di come si possono unire...

Annarita. Italy

studioferrenti — 2017-02-27 16:03:58 UTC

I think the "Privilege" video is clear and did moltbene. I regret that in 2017 there is still a need.

Simona, Italy

simcardamone — 2017-02-27 16:43:49 UTC

Thank you! Really helpful and interesting

Laura Lupo, Italy

2017-02-27 16:50:34 UTC

Amazing video! I will share it with my students.. perhaps I will organize such a "game" with them to make them understand how lucky each one is and what empathy is

Rossella, Italy

2017-02-27 16:58:23 UTC

Thank you! The video is very interesting

Elena, Italy

2017-02-27 16:59:27 UTC

A video by innovative and interesting content. Thank you.

Giusy, Sicily

giusydancer — 2017-02-27 17:14:59 UTC

What such an incredible video!!
We must bear in mind that one of school’s tasks, maybe the most important, is not only to improve learnings but also to develope empathy and open-mindedness, to encourage the exchange and the knowledge of “the other in his diversity”.

Antonella, Italy

antonellacaprarelli — 2017-02-27 17:16:46 UTC

Really impressive video! It can be adapted in many ways I think... really a precious resource!

Alice Isabela, Romania

2017-02-27 17:26:38 UTC

Thanks for the vision, very interesting.

Danila, Italy

danilagiardina — 2017-02-27 17:46:16 UTC

the video is a great way to reflect on the diversity of the other, very interesting, springs many emotions as well as the curiosity to know each other

Gloria, Sicily

gloria_mandala — 2017-02-27 18:02:24 UTC

How fantastic was the video I apprecietaed it as it was a discover for me. I think I am going to make it in my class expecially to point out how lucky my students are and how they should work to develop empathy.

Guido. Thank you for this video. It's very interesting.

2017-02-27 18:46:03 UTC

Alina Popa -Romania

popalina21 — 2017-02-27 18:50:11 UTC

These are amayzing things to think of. Great video and great ideas to share with others !!

Toni Rome

2017-02-27 18:58:10 UTC

I think that to realize or to do a dramatization of the privileges in the different countries or in the families is a good idea. It is a good method to learn, to understand, to validate the own thinkings or the customs and traditional rules or comportamental activities for the students. It must be utilized with students and for the students, with the parents and for the their parents, with or without teachers

Georgiana Crivat, Romania

2017-02-27 19:20:41 UTC

I consider this video a great idea to develop students' empathy and open-mindedness.
We often use short plays and games to make them to understand each other better.

Rakhshandeh, Finland

rakhshandeh_rahgoui — 2017-02-27 19:25:07 UTC

Great resources!

Very interesting and useful!!!

2017-02-27 19:56:24 UTC

Nora Calzolaio

noraroxane — 2017-02-27 20:09:31 UTC

Very interesting

George Kyriakopoulos

gkyriakopoul197 — 2017-02-27 20:30:00 UTC

I feel i've reached quite a satisfactory level of empathy (all proportions taken under consideration as empathy can never be fully comprehended or achieved) as far as my students are concerned. Through many seminars on the subject i've tried to develop the subject further more. The "privilege" experiment i've used in classroom on several occasions to show to students that status quo and prerogative are arbitrary and people just happen to be at a place at a certain moment and that it;s not always up to them to decide upon their conditions of living. Nevertheless, students ought to learn how to adapt, integrate and express their feelings and thoughts in a democratic way so as to achieve empathy and understanding.
Rerunning the game changing the roles attributed to students can show them that any one of them can be privileged or not in this life. To sum up, only through empathy can we show respect and understanding to human need or pain.

Elena

2017-02-27 20:33:24 UTC

Beautiful video!!!

Yuri,Italy

yurisab — 2017-02-27 21:02:36 UTC

I appreciated this video. I personally prefer doing a lesson where all my students are sat in circle as I think this position could help developing empathy. The sharing of personal ideas is the start to create a solid and lasting group.

Ida, italy

2017-02-27 22:42:16 UTC

Molto interessante. Grazie.

Dora, Greece

ntanouth — 2017-02-28 08:31:07 UTC

I consider this video a great idea to develop students' empathy and open-mindeness.

Stefania Magnaldi, Italy

stefania_magnaldi — 2017-02-28 09:47:33 UTC

It's very interesting and usefull. I think that I could use some questions of the video in one of my lesson with the students .

Francesca,Italy

francesca_borghi — 2017-02-28 09:55:34 UTC

Wow! Interesting resources! Value the Difference Resource Pack is really useful

Monica Boccoli, Italy

mobocco — 2017-02-28 10:23:25 UTC

In my opinion emphaty is a very important skills to have openmindness.

Alessia, italy

ales_sia — 2017-02-28 10:42:43 UTC

wonderful video! It can be really useful to think about diversity and to appreciate what we have

Laura F. Italy

2017-02-28 13:13:14 UTC

I will see it with my students to stimulate a discossion and to consider the idea to produce something similar

Aurora - Italy

aurorpagano — 2017-02-28 15:24:03 UTC

The video is wonderful! It's very interesting and usefull. I think that I could use some questions of the video in one of my lesson with the students .

Casian Marian - Romania

2017-02-28 16:02:04 UTC

I usually promote team work, it's a great way to learn how different cultures can integrate themselves and to enrich our lives.

laura brazzabeni - italy

2017-02-28 16:16:38 UTC

in my school we follow a project called "unplagged"

mri5 — 2017-02-28 16:52:30 UTC

Maria Intrieri, Italy
I found very interesting videos,. The playful experimentation of reflection on what the privileges and when you feel privileged I think is very valid. The implementation of such practices is to always promote where (as in my case) it has to do with teenagers who tend (by nature) in order to bully assert its 'I' sometimes at the expense of the other by himself.

Cristina, Italy

2017-02-28 17:04:33 UTC

This video is very interesting. I will try to use some of these ideas in my lessons.

Serena A. - Italy

dolcefollia79 — 2017-02-28 17:07:42 UTC

Wow! It's very interesting and usefull video. I think that I could use some questions of the video in one of my lesson with the students. I'm curious to know what it will happen.

Marina

2017-02-28 17:26:37 UTC

I appreciate this video: it's nice, music is deep and beautiful and I think I could adapt this activity to one of my classes especially at the beginning of the next school year. I think that my final classes, the fourth and the fifth ones, are quite emphatic and already open minded because I teach in a secondary high school where they learn modern European languages, the so called in our country "liceo linguistico". My students are opened to differents cultures not only because of their foreign classmates coming from China, South America, Romania but also because they participate to cultural exchanges or linguistic stages and they like travelling abroad.

Sevasti Milona, Greece

sev_asti — 2017-02-28 17:35:39 UTC

Last year I was pleased with the school psychologist of our school to coordinate a school mental health program that had and lesson plans from Enable. The title was "I feel, you feel, she/he/it feels." In our meetings we shared feelings and thoughts in order to learn to recognize, to express and manage our emotions properly recognize and respond to the feelings of others and to communicate better but the team and as a unit.

Ioanna Greece

ichalkia10 — 2017-02-28 18:14:27 UTC

An excellent tool that I work with my students is “COMPASITO”, a manual on human rights education for children, that was inspired by ‘Compass – a manual on human rights education with young people’, which was developed by the Council of Europe in 2002.

The core of the manual is its educational activities designed for children. The activities in Compasito are organised around thirteen selected themes such as Citizenship, Democracy, Discrimination, Education, Environment, Gender equality, Health and welfare, Participation, Peace and conflict, Poverty and social exclusion, Violence…

All activities based on an intercultural and participatory approach

Compasito uses stories and situations from various regions and cultural backgrounds. This rich variety offers children an opportunity to reflect on various cultures and build a stable identity on these reflections. As Reva Klein, a British educationalist, explains, children do not simply learn about other children’s lives, but they form empathy and solidarity and understand their role in taking action on a more global scale (http://www.eycb.coe.int/compasito/chapter_0/3_int.html#5)

A wonderful activity, similar to “what is Privilege” is the activity No 29. Take a Step Forward

In this activity children imagine being someone else and consider inequality as a source of discrimination and exclusion

The objectives of the activity are

• To promote empathy with others who are different

• To raise awareness about the inequality of opportunities in society

• To foster an understanding of possible consequences of belonging to minority groups

http://www.eycb.coe.int/compasito/

Loredana, B.Romano-Italy

2017-02-28 19:15:13 UTC

Good ideas!!! I will try to follow them in my lessons!

Valbona, Albania

2017-02-28 19:30:56 UTC

i looked at your video and i think that is very interesting and i liked it

Venditti G. - Italy

2017-02-28 21:24:11 UTC

I have tried and managed to develop open-mindedness and intercutlurality through awareness of one's own and others' competences pruducing comments on audio-video materials and resources. Not only! Listening to students' needs and 'profile' has helped me understand what 'privilege' is to different foreigner and how to use such peculiarities to build up tolerance engaging students in comparisons and collaborations about images taken from all around the world thanks to google image resource. I also know that each year and each student presents divverent categories of questions to care about and I will try to keep the pace by studying, observing and acting together with collegues and students alike.

Ana, Portugal

acfilipe36 — 2017-02-28 23:04:28 UTC

Very interesting video, which I am going to share with my colleagues and in future groups with cultural diversity.The teacher should include the interaction of cultural diversity in the classroom, generating activities that fit different capacities and interests. It should favor criticism and progressive improvement on the part of the students, in the analysis of their own attitudes and values in the search for new shared perspectives. It should implement strategies that foster intercultural enrichment, enhance planning and development in cooperation, enable active participation and student decision-making to apply to other contexts.

Vanesa, Croatia

2017-03-01 08:07:48 UTC

Very interesting video.

Pietro- Italy

pierolauro — 2017-03-01 08:57:26 UTC

I appreciated the video so much, it gave me some hints on how to handle the topic of privilege with my students. As a matter of fact all students, and teachers as well, come from different social backgrounds, their lives have taken on different directions due to their peculiar experiences with family and society in general, it is very important to arise awareness among students and youngsters on the fact that having privileges or not having them is just a way to discover a inner force, those who have no privileges and so must fight to reach the top of the social scale are the same persons who develop a great personality, a sense of brotherhood that makes them inter-cultural individuals, I will work on my students in class using the good paractices seen in the video to encourage inclusiveness and mutual understanding among them, I am sure this will lead to a higher level of cohesion.

Tiziana - Italy

ioptiziana — 2017-03-01 10:59:04 UTC

I think I have always been quite empathetic, and certainly studying foreign languages and linguistics helped me strenghten such natural tendencies. I would like to futher develop my open-mindedness so as to adjust to the new challenges of our ever-changing world. I think that, in general, my students are more empathetic and open-minded towards situations they have direct experience of. They are heavily influenced by the media and the idea of "danger" they are supporting these days sometimes prevents them from being able to empathise with other people.
I would like to experiment with them some of the activities in the Salto Value the difference resource pack.

Lorenza Cairo

lorenzacairo — 2017-03-01 11:13:00 UTC

per sviluppare l'empatia e per conoscerci meglio all'inizio dell'anno creiamo un cartellone con i nostri nomi e ciò che ci piace fare e cosa ci aspettiamo, da appendere in classe

Isabel Cachada

2017-03-01 12:26:22 UTC

I work with peoples with disabilities, so empathy is very important. I thik this video is very interesting.

Irene, Italy

2017-03-01 12:52:18 UTC

I developed my empathy attitude during my work experience with people with disabilities, then also during my University studies because in my University there were a lo of foreign students from all over the world and now I'm still increasing my empathy at school, working as support to study for students with disabilities. I think the project of the video is very interesting and I'd like to adapt it for teenagers students, maybe changing the questions.

Marianthi Arvanitidou-Greece

1canislupus22 — 2017-03-01 13:54:36 UTC

“The education system forces people to unlearn the empathy they were born with. It’s a system based on always seeming strong, contributing to the economy, and being number one. Being number one is the rule of game, and how we relate to others is fundamentally dismissed

Claudia, Italy

2017-03-01 15:26:26 UTC

un video davvero interessante. Nel nostro lavoro penso che l'Empatia sia fondamentale e ho imparato a farla mia da quando ho iniziato a lavorar anche con bambini disabili. La disabilità è qualcosa che ha la necessaità di avere vicino qualcuno che sappia cos'è l'empatia e sappia davvero mettersi nei panni dell'altro. Ho sempre parlato di empatia con i miei studenti, cercando di trasmettere loro quanto sia importante sviluppare questa capacità di capire l'altro, i suoi sentimenti, le sue emozioni. Questo video mi ha dato un importante spunto da poter proporre ai miei alunni.

Elena Chiş, Romania

lenuta_chis — 2017-03-01 17:00:13 UTC

I like this video. It is interesting and very useful. One of the tasks of the school is to develop empathy and openness to others.

Carmela, Sicily, Italy

mrscarmela — 2017-03-01 17:01:32 UTC

Well, I believe that no one is born without empathy and open mindedness! I have experienced younger chidren and also teenagers relating to peers with different cultural background and, let me tell you, even with different skin color, with absolutely no problem. They really don't seem to percieve the differences. Now, I have been wondering if they do percieve differences the moment we, I mean the grown ups, start talking about that!

Rosa G, Italy

2017-03-01 17:06:08 UTC

I always try to develop my own open-mindedness and empathy through professional training courses like this one, for instance, and directly in class with my students. I think they need to be educated to become empathic because they are so young and they are not aware of the numerous privileges they have since in most cases they have been receiving privilege throughout their lives and consequently they cannot imagine how hard is life for their foreign classmates. I think I'll try the "privilege" activity in my classes but I'll use a very interesting idea I found on the web. Here's the link :

Laura C, Sicilia

2017-03-01 17:19:07 UTC

I like video.
L’empatia è la capacità di comprendere a pieno lo stato d'animo altrui, sia che si tratti di gioia, che di dolore. Empatia significa "sentire dentro" ad esempio "mettersi nei panni dell'altro", ed è una capacità che fa parte dell'esperienza umana ed animale.Nel nostro lavoro è importante saperla creare e capire.

Maria Grazia G., (Italy)

mariagrazia_caltanissetta — 2017-03-01 17:56:15 UTC

I like video.
Success in communication depends on empathy in relationships. ... When it was established, the path to success is already esplanade

Giorgio Figura - Italy

2017-03-01 17:56:58 UTC

things that seem difficult are often easier to achieve in this case to improve empathy for our students just look at how they behave with each other and we realize that although culture and different language often know each accept one their naturally without many prejudices and so if in our educational activities we use their very naturalness we can definitely to welcome them and integrate them more easily.

Jenny (Evgenia) Karoumpali, Greece.

jennykaroumpali — 2017-03-01 18:04:59 UTC

I have worked this exercise of empathy last November in a seminar for teachers in Patras, Greece. I have traveled in a number of European countries (Italy, Spain, UK, Austria, Germany, Cyprus, Russia, Hungary, Switzerland) and I have lived in Athens (Athens is the capital town of Greece, where the cultural diversity is more evident comparatively to other regions in Greece) for about 30 years. During my studies in the Department of Musicology (at the National and Kapodestrian University of Athens) I attended some subjects which had to do with ethnomusicology, and ethnomusicology deals a lot with the cultural diversity. During the school terms 1998-2000 I have worked to a junior high school in the center of Athens, which was multicultural and my interaction with those pupils was very helpful to me. I have attended seminars (such as this one) with regard to the management of the cultural diversity. That’s how my open mindedness and empathy have developed so far.

My pupils at school are not so open minded and empathic, as the society they live (Katochi, Aitolia & Akarnania, Greece, a village of about 3,000 inhabitants) is not virtually multicultural (there is a small number of migrants coming from Albania mainly).

I would like to work “What is privilege” activity and other such activities but not during this school term. I would like to work it for the first time in secondary education (I work both in primary and secondary education, and this school term I work in the primary education).

Carol - 1 (Italy)

carol_f — 2017-03-01 20:42:16 UTC

First of all open-mindedness and empathy are personal attitudes. In my work, as a special needs teacher, I can practice them in every moment and I feel very important for this role. In Italy disabled students are in normal classes with other students and a special needs teacher supports them when they need help. When I’m at school I usually sit among my students and I can feel their same feelings. This is very important, because students look at my behaviors as an example and they do the same. I work in a secondary school and my students are 11-13. I think that to develop open-mindedness and empathy it’s important to share experiences with students and families in different contexts. Laboratory activities are the best way to achieve these objectives. Students usually enjoy them.

Carol - 2 (Italy)

carol_f — 2017-03-01 20:42:51 UTC

Some experiences
1- Last year we could experience a “Privilege activity” at school. A student coming from India explain the school situation in her country. Students were really shocked when they listen on the Indian punishment at school. They started thinking that they are lucky!

2- A few years ago I had a great experience with a student who didn’t speak for his disability. I organize many activities to include him in a new class: the post cards, gardening, the apple party, the archeology lab etc. Students loved their classmate because he gave them the opportunity to share informal experiences.

Anita, Italy

2017-03-01 22:03:23 UTC

Open indedness and empathy are for me the attitude to give chances to the others such as yours.Feeling empathy is perceiving the same advantages or disadvantages understand our own skin.So children can have experiences in the school and in their classes having the first chance to do that

Roberta Condomitti - Italy

condomittir — 2017-03-01 22:10:25 UTC

Empathy and oper indedness are connected. I can't feel empathy if my mind isn't open and my mind isn't really opened if I not able to feel empathy.
Empathy means " I feel like you, I know, I see, I hear what do you Know, see, hear. I feel it because I care you".
Empathy is a baseof humanity sense.
Is not easy to increase empathy and open indedness, expecially in this storic period because society offers many examples of selfishness, egocentrism, and disinterestedness towards others.

Zvonimira, Croatia

2017-03-02 00:12:32 UTC

I think the video is very interesting and can be used in teaching. My privilege to be able to work with foreign students and also develop empathy.

Nalan,Turkey

2017-03-02 05:27:03 UTC

Experince helps us develop openmindedness.The more different kind of people you meet, the more emphatic you become. This year at school we have an Afgan student and we have had the CHANCE to listen to his story.And from then on my students have regarded him as one of their family.Keeping comminication in an active way helps us recognise other selves of others.So listen as much as possible...

Victoria, Greece

2017-03-02 13:14:03 UTC

Two years ago I had the opportunity to assist in a primary school event about empathy, where the students of a class had to understand each other's feelings and create solidarity ties through body movement and music. I have to admit that they were not at all co-operative and there was even hostility among a couple of them, who were of the same nationality. This shows how underlying emotions can be masked throughout an English class but are revealed in kinaesthetic situations. I am going to make sufficient changes to the above mentioned project before I apply it to my own classes. I thank you in advance.

Maura, Italy

mauraccia — 2017-03-02 14:17:22 UTC

The video is really a gift, for adults: we often take a lot of things for granted and we simply don't have an idea of how other people live, feel, or manage... With children, quite obviously, you can't do a thing like this, but you can try other activities. For instance, we followed a project, in the first half of the year, about mindfulness and be aware of your feelings, and a very good momoment was when, at the end of evry session, some of the children (usually the most self-confident) said how they felt, and I asked the others if somebody had felt the same, and a lot of pupils raised their hands... Or we asked ourselves when we feel (angry, sad, anxious), where in our body we feel these feelings, which feeling was hidden in work of art, and how the artist expresses it, which colours they have, which thoughts they hide and how we can try to change these thoughts and make them more positive; I think it's really comforting to find out that other people can share your inner matters... so now, as I have already written, we are hunting for mental viruses... Some children are getting quite good at it, but pupils with serious problems sometimes get uncomfortable about it, because they are afraid of their situation... During regular activities, I try to underline that real strenght is related to kindness (My children love The lord of the ring or HP, so HP vs. Voldermort or Frodo are vey good example, even of how friendship can be an extraordinary resource,,) rather than violence...

lara76fontana — 2017-03-02 14:26:40 UTC

Lara Fontana Italy
I feel very emphatic in general; when i studied to become a teacher i would not get the specializazion for handicapped students because i see everyday the effects that they have upomn me (i have some of them in my classes): when i come back home i always bring eith me a luggage made of emotions, beautiful but unfortunately sometimes they are begative, and i always thought that i could have become a good teacher but not with that kind of problematic students, that need a teacher stronger inside that can work everyday and sll if the lesson times with them without feeling bad or Sad, even after work. I teach painting and my subjet helps me very much to get near my students, and helps them to better understand me. I need to know them deeply to get value if their works. Just in theese days i was wondering how to use, in a useful way, the lusher test of colours, that is a psichologist's test based on looking at some specific coloured cards and then readind upon the relative book the meaning of the choices made. I think it may be useful to understand particular aspects of students characters and to make them reflect upon themselves and their own behaviours.

Claudia, Italy

2017-03-02 15:34:41 UTC

I particularly liked the idea of reflecting on our own and others' behaviour and emotions. The activity on privilege I had come across before, when I had to do it - at a teacher training course- it was more of a role play, we were given an identity other than our own an da we had to take steps back or forward according to the status and social role implied by the identity we were assigned. Quite interesting indeed.

Marcella,Italy

minnie14 — 2017-03-02 15:37:06 UTC

The Privilege video is fantastic! I try to develop empathy and open- mindedness and I think my students are enough open-minded .Surely Privelege activity is not suitable in class but it can be modified and adapted in school context.

Lucia, Greece

luciadamianidou — 2017-03-02 15:43:09 UTC

I loved the privilege video and I think that it is worth an hours dedication in a session of mine. I think that after some minor adjustments, I will conduct the same "experiment" with my students...

Merja, Finland

2017-03-02 16:31:42 UTC

What a great video!!
Empathy is a skill we all need, but unfortunately it seems to decrease as the time goes on. We live in an ego centered world, where your own thoughts and feelings come first. This is a thing that makes me really sad. I am an emotional person and often I carry a lot of emotions with me. I show my emotions very openly, and I often talk about emotions with my students. I recall my own experiences when I moved to Finland, which at that point was a new culture for me. That is how I try to steer my students towards empathy for others. It is very important to talk and look each other in the eyes while talking - the eyes are the mirror of the soul...

Salva, Spain

salprosm1 — 2017-03-02 16:40:02 UTC

It seems a great idea to reflect yourself together with others. The fact of placing yourself in a space that you are sharing with others is synonymous with sharing feelings, which instead of separating us, unite us. The Privilege video is amaning !!!

Alessandra G. Italy

scrocchia67 — 2017-03-02 16:46:02 UTC

module 2.5
Thank God people are very different and in the last ten years of my career I' ve met some enthusiastic and clever colleagues that helped me a lot to know and comprehend better the world I live in.
The same way they taught me, I 'd like to teach my students to open their minds and get closer to their classmates, no matter where are they from or which ethnic group they belong to. I think it is very important to build up and develop students' ability to listen to other young people telling their stories, their lives, experiences, dreams, fears. Us teachers could do a better job if we 'd co-operate on a daily basis in the classes. I liked so much the Privilege video! That could be a starting point !!!! Thank you so much for sharing with all of us these resources!!!

Maria, Italy. I think empathy is disappearing. Fortunately my students are open-minded

2017-03-02 17:37:14 UTC

Valentina - Ital

valebell80 — 2017-03-02 17:54:26 UTC

I think empathy and tolerance are the most important values to teach in this era.
I believe “The success in a classroom depends less on materials or homeworks, and
more on what goes on inside and between the people in the classroom”
Theacher should teach these values to children.
I think it is very important to build and develop students' ability to listen to other young people telling their stories, their lives, experiences, dreams, fears.
The video “The Privilege” is emotional! I will use it with my children.

Laura, Italy

2017-03-02 18:52:29 UTC

"What is privilege" is a very interesting video;
thanks for sharing

ROBERTA, SARDINIA, ITALY

2017-03-02 18:56:29 UTC

VERY INTERESTING...
EMPATHY IS ONE OF THE MOST THING IN OUR CLASS..
IF WE DON'T HAVE IT....OUR WORK CAN BE HARDER....

Rosanna, Italy

2017-03-02 20:42:43 UTC

Very interesting video... empaty is important to create a community.

Maarit, Sweden

2017-03-02 21:55:54 UTC

I was born empath. My parents needed to leave their homes when they were infants cause of the war between Finland and Russia. I have seen when people have lost everything. I think it is a combination of my personality and experiences. This what is privilege excercise is very useful. Most of people dont have a roof over their heds or food on the table. Even that is privilige. I think in my case I am open minded and empathetic enough. I rather need to learn more about not been too tolerant when it comes to white privileged people.

Daniele - Italy

danvir — 2017-03-02 22:21:00 UTC

Developing empathy and open-mindedness

Empathy and open-mindedness are distinct but strictly connected.
Empathy is a natural talent, but it can be taught. I think that my students are quite empathetic. They have developed a sense of group and they usually support each other. But I think that they have to develop more empathy towards others in general. I teach in the countryside of Rome and students are usually protective towards their mates, but sometimes racist and homophobic. I teach literature and my subject helps a lot in being empathetic, because, while you read many texts, you are forced to understand other people's thought and behaviour. Also movies about social privilege and discrimination can help.
I have also to add that in Italy there aren't special schools and people with special educational needs are in normal classes. So students live together with someone they feel different.
In my experience I know that narrow-mindedness and discrimination come from ignorance. E.g. it is more difficult to be homophobic if you have a gay mate, because you realize that he's not different from you.
So video like the previous ("What is privilege") or role playing game can be a good idea. "What is privilege" video is really effective and strong. I think it is suited for adult, because for boy and girls can be difficult to be sincere answering to all those questions and could be also shocking realizing how much your life is affcted by discriminations and lack of privileges. A good solution could be applying it through a role playing game activity.

2017-03-02 23:03:10 UTC

IMMA. The video is a great tool, a great resource fo reflect on the diversity. Empathy, tolerance and respect are really important values to teach. In this way, I will able to understand each other, his emotions, his feelings.

Giusi, Rome

2017-03-03 13:43:48 UTC

I agree with Maria, empathy is disappearing! Taking off our masks is revealing our feelings to someone is vital for creating a strong empathic bond, but that is more and more difficult as teenagres are closed in individualist values, with social networking not promoting true curiosity about the others. I personally try to make my student try (or imagine to try, at least) other people’s lives... I learn a lot myself!

solaria76 — 2017-03-03 14:59:12 UTC

Ilaria, Italy.
It was a very touching video and it made me reflect about diversity and empathy in my classes. Of course it is not appropriate to do the same work in the middle school, but we can find something similar ( for example asking different questions)

Ago, Italy

falco_gabu — 2017-03-03 15:41:52 UTC

Two wonderful ways that I used in my school are the theater and sports. Mimic and different means of expression are noticed particularly in these situations. Each world has its own way of communicating. The context creates new opportunities. Today after a soccer tournament we had a briefing with all the guys. A Pakistani boy said that his team (mixed) lost because they were afraid. Fear is a feeling that overcomes you.

Clara, Italy

2017-03-03 16:01:27 UTC

I think to be quite open-minded thanks to my mum who have always tried to make me reflect about different people’s situations. Today, I try to develop my open mindedness continuing to read a lot of books, newspapers, interviews with common people to better understand how differently from me each person can live his/her life and deal with problems. The activity “what is privilege” is very smart because it can make feel in your skin the good or bad feelings of others. In my opinion, my students could experience this activity answering questions like: - do you cook for your family - do you have a smartphone - have you ever been to Rome - do you help your parents at home - do you spend time with your younger brothers/sisters - do you feed your pet - is there somebody helping you with homework. Simple questions to understand different daily routines of more or less privileged teenagers.

Marco Sch, Germany

2017-03-03 16:21:11 UTC

When I was younger, I developed my open-mindedness through penfriendships as well as travelling. I really enjoy meeting new people, so it was just natural for me to do so through correspondence and in real life. Having been born in the tri-border region of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, growing up with people with different nationalities living around the corner was a very normal thing.

When it comes to my students’ open-mindedness and empathy, I have to say that I think that they too often see their own benefits. It’s really hard to show them that acting responsibly and neighbourly is a good thing to do. However, if you help them build their intercultural communicative competence they became increasingly aware of how their actions/statements might affect others.

I would adapt the “What is privilege” activity into a “What is tolerance” activity. Then the students would have to say what tolerance means to them and how it can affect our lives.

Finally, I’d like to share my activity for developing open-mindedness and empathy with you. Its starting point is this video from a campaign launched by Always some years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs

I’d discuss its message and effectiveness with my students. After that, I’d ask them to launch their own campaign and shoot a campaign video. Different topics are possible for that. You can focus on national stereotypes, e.g. “Like a German”, or on gender stereotypes, e.g. “Like a gay”. You can even initiate a class competition and choose the best entry to it which will then be awarded a prize. What do you think, does it sound like a good idea?

FABIANA, Italy

fabiana2 — 2017-03-03 16:48:28 UTC

Look at this interesting website (research and resources)

Mirela, Romania

scomi78 — 2017-03-03 17:39:47 UTC

My students are open - minded. They are curious and interested in develop their set of knowledge when they have the opportunity to know other students from different cultures.

Βασιλική Κρικώνη,Greece

vasikriko — 2017-03-03 20:10:36 UTC

I believe that open-mindness and empathy are two very important qualifications for a person to have. Reading books and listening to others can help develop them.
I organize projects about our emotions.How we feel and why, what other people feel and how we try to recognize their feelings and what causes them.
Role play is a useful educational strategy.

Konstantina, Greece

2017-03-03 21:41:13 UTC

As far until now, I think that I developed my own open-mindedness and empathy by reading and travelling. As my students are young, I am not sure that they have developed very much their open-mindedness and empathy, but I try to be part of this development by reading them books about diversity and making projects and activities on this topic.

Valentina, Italy

flyvale — 2017-03-03 22:40:53 UTC

When I’m at school I usually sit among my students and I can feel their same feelings. This is very important to create empathy, because students look at my behaviors as an example and they do the same. I work in a secondary school and my students are 11-13. I think that to develop open-mindedness and empathy it’s important to share experiences with students and foreign students in different contexts. Laboratory activities are the best way to achieve these objectives. Students usually enjoy them.

LauraB, Italy

proffybarbieri — 2017-03-03 23:21:24 UTC

I think that what helped me was meeting people, travelling, speaking, reading... it's really personal history, I'm so much older than my students that I don't think my experiences can be relly meaningful to them...
probably what I can do is just encouraging them to have their experiences, to travel abroad and around Italy too, to have real conversations with their friends, to be curious, to meet people...
many of them are quite open-minded, but this is not the same in all the classes and for all the people... so there's still space for educators to plan and propose activities and reflections...
I have found here so many resources and ideas! I think I'll certainly use some of them, but I need time to adapt them for the needs of my classes... I think that I could adapt "What is privilege" with questions about school, study methods, cultural backgrounds, language competence... I've some ideas but I think it's better to avoid questions which could hurt their feelings too much...
I'll certainly use the lesson plan on reading emotions, with some classes we're talking about (and practising) job interviews and I think that this activity will make them more aware of non-verbal communications...

María, Spain

isasama10 — 2017-03-04 00:15:40 UTC

My students are developing open-mindedness and empathy this year as they take part in an exchange program with Austrian students. When they go there, they find houses are different, food and mealtimes are different, family relationships are different, school is different... They need to be open-minded if they want to enjoy themselves. However, after a couple of days abroad they find they can adapt easily. After a week, some of them want to stay there forever. The same goes for Austrian students when they come to Spain. Spanish students practise then empathy and try their best to make their partner feel welcome. It is an experience they will never forget.

2.5 Valentina Confido, Italy - Developing Empathy

valentinaconfido — 2017-03-04 11:34:33 UTC

This was one of the points I appreciated most. Empathy is the element that can make a difference when speaking of multicultural classes. My students are performing (in this very moment) a project based on bullying issues (simulation of a trial), and in the past weeks, while reharsing for the final performance, some of them started crying, just because they cannot guess how this can happen (physical and psychological violence on a 12 year old girl) or they saw themselves in some of the bullying attitudes (without even realizing that). So, I suppose some of my students are more empathic than I thought... As for "What is Privilege?", I would love to show it to my students and to carry out a similar experiment.. It is the perfect way to make a general idea into a visual and physical representation (which is definitely more shocking than words). But I'll have to strongly adapt this project to the age and social background of my middle school students. Questions have to necessarily be changed!

Silena P. - Italy In order to develop empathy and responsibility it is necessary to enhance the ability to detect the needs of others, to perceive their needs. You have to feel within yourself their suffering, because this compassion will move you to do something to alleviate their pain. You will strive to use your resources to do something, whatever it is possible. You will also ask others to take charge of their well-being. In a welcoming context, in class, you can discuss, for example, on the topic of mutual giving. You can start a cooperative teaching program. You can use role playing to understand how the other feels. We enter their world, watch the world through their eyes, we approach the others with sensitivity and tact. I liked a lot the video on privilege, because this activity develops attention towards the others and students can appreciate the value of the rights and legality.

p_silena — 2017-03-04 11:53:52 UTC

Sara - Italy

sarabemporad — 2017-03-04 13:30:30 UTC

I suggest you to read the following essay, based on empathy, that perfectly summarizes my opinion about the topic.
I hope you will find it as interesting as I did.

http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&context=community_resources

Livia, Italy

liviacentonze_lc — 2017-03-04 15:37:07 UTC

My students are open-minded. I try to develop their empathy by showing them different ways of living and explaining them that we must respect diversity. We can develop open-mindedness by showing our students videos about different traditions and cultures.

ANGELA FARETRA, ITALY

angela_fare — 2017-03-04 16:03:17 UTC

Thanks for sharing "What is privilege" video. It is a very interesting video.
It was a very touching video and it made me reflect about diversity and empathy in my classes.

Of course I’ll need to adapt these activities with primary school children.

Rosa, Italy

2017-03-04 16:09:01 UTC

I think I’m a very empathic person thanks to my education and my love for arts and literature. Working with immigrants and people with disabilities enhance my empathy. I try to develop my students empathy with role-playing activities, films and interesting reading.

Roberta,Italy

rlrc — 2017-03-04 16:35:51 UTC

It 'very interesting this video.I'm an empathic person.I try to develop in my classroom a positive and peaceful atmosphere without diversity.I try not to notice the disability and to enhance the openness of mind in my student and their families.

Livia, Italy

liv_ann — 2017-03-04 18:31:12 UTC

In my class I like practising the brainstorming activity, so with my students we choose a topic , very often a social issue and at the end of brainstorming we have the opportunity to discuss and share opinions. Also role -playing activities are useful to develop empathy.

Muriel, Belgique

murielgoffin — 2017-03-04 20:59:47 UTC

Regarding empathy, please find below a video that you could easily put in parallel with the sequence about emotions. After working on emotions and watching the video, I would ask my students to write an "emotion diary" in which they would describe social situations where they witnessed people expressing emotions and how they decoded them.
Regarding the privilege activity, I would adapt it as suggested by giving character cards to students. But I would try to give each student a character card from a different country also to show them inequities in the world and explain that it is important not to judge but to understand each other's background. I would also link privileges and emotions by asking them how to feel when they are privileged or not.

Eirini, Greece

EiriniGreece — 2017-03-05 00:45:46 UTC

Yakup, Turkey

2017-03-05 06:53:04 UTC

Actually emphaty is really hard and may be impossible. We can't do really and exactly. But may be we try to understand. Privilege is very important problem in society. For being open-mindness we have to break mental prejudices. If we help the pupils and their families we learn their lives, their stories so we empathize.

Linda Carlos Ruiz

lindacarlosruiz — 2017-03-05 08:03:16 UTC

Thanks for the video about privilege. It really makes the subject clear and makes you think. I think empathy is something you can develop. I'm a very emphatic person and I think it is because ever since I learned to read I have red a lot of books and when you are reading you have to imagine yourself in the place of the character in the book. That develops empathy. As mentioned above I think films and drama are also very good methods of developing empathy. I also agree with Daniele from Italy that arrow-mindedness and discrimination come from ignorance. People who have lived all their life in one place and never had actual positive contact with people from other cultures are more likely to have a lot of prejudices and more likely to be racist. As people are exposed to members of different cultures these prejudices usually go away. Traveling and living abroad increases open-mindedness. We just have to create possibilities for children to develop their open-mindedness in school also.

Lyuba

lyuba_centrone91 — 2017-03-05 09:29:27 UTC

Thank you for all this things! I
I think that it's essential to develop empathiy in our society. Smartphone and consumistic way of life are enemies of umanity and emphaty.

Rafaela

tziouvar — 2017-03-05 10:10:16 UTC

I started developping my empathy when i started visiting other countries under Erasmus+ projects, getting to know other cultures, views, situations in other countries.I would like to develop my students' empathy. I always try to put them in the position or a situation we are discussing, usually with role playing, but i think it's not enough. They get emotionally charged during, but forget about it a few days later. Need sth more sustainable

Rosaria Filippo - Italy

rosaria_filippo — 2017-03-05 11:27:33 UTC

I teach in the primary school for many years but only this year I realized the importance of empathy in the classroom between teachers and students, the importance of enjoying the school. Every day I met the students who came to school and I could see in their faces different expressions: those who were sleepy, who was afraid, who was angry, who did not want and I wondered how I could entice them to learn, to discover the world; but how could I completely devote myself to them putting aside my thoughts and my concerns. And then, looking at them, I realized: simply a smile, to make them feel good, make them feel safe, to make sure they are open to the experience and to learn. As? I have found his wits to stay together, to be calm and well disposed towards each other.
First in the morning when I meet them at the entrance to the bell rang, I smile: I smile and greet you with a cheery "good morning!", Maybe with a hug if someone holds out his arms to me, a caress, a friendly pat. I greeting each pupil in the eye looking at him, smiling, asking how he is; I look at each one in the eye to make them understand that they are interested in each one, I smile because they show a sincere smile and a friendly face makes everything more pleasant, smile because manifest pleasure that I try to stay together and to devote myself to them. In addition, the smile is "symptom" of joy and happiness is absolutely contagious!
Another little trick is the positive attitude in class. I try to speak gently, to maintain a calm tone even in reproaches, and this helps me to control the anger that sometimes grows.
Another important point is the state of mind of students. Perhaps because I am also a mother and I live both roles, I know how difficult it is for the pupils to go to school and focus if they have little ailments, if they have small needs are difficult to explain, if you do not feel listened to: a pupil with a stomach ache does not manages to be careful, a pupil who has quarreled with her mother is distracted, a child who has listened to a discussion between the parents is therefore concerned none of them are calm and ready to learn. That's why I learned to observe the students especially at the beginning of the day and to reassure them with a voice calm, safe and environmentally friendly; just listen to them because they feel better and address the more serene day, greatly easing the learning process. In fact a calm tone of voice shows that we are willing to communicate and to listen, a confident tone shows that we have been thinking before speaking and the situation is under control, a respectful tone, not aggressive or arrogant, it makes the child safe and we adults more credible: who is strong has no need to shout!
Another gimmick because the pupils are good consists in making compliments; not cloying, unforced but simple and sincere; when the opportunity presents itself, compliment cute hairstyle for the new glasses, for the apron in order, for the healthy snack: the compliments everyone likes and bring in a good mood.
One last trick: to correct errors in the notebooks I use the green and not red pen. My point of view is this: I've always told my students that wrong but you learn to use the red pen to point out the mistakes was to me a contradiction because red means stop, stopping only to highlight the error. Then I tried using another logic: if the situation should serve to improve, so to understand the error not to repeat it and move on because they do not use the green pen? As in traffic lights: red means "stand still" while the green allows you to move forward and reach the goal.

In the web I found this article. I wanted to ask the Danish members of this course it is true that you have an hour a week of empathy in school called Klassens Tid ... I am very curious. I wish I could figure out what type of well structured and organized activities are proposed. Thank you.

http://www.nostrofiglio.it/bambino/bambino-6-14-anni/a-scuola-di-empatia-in-danimarca-si-impara-in-classe-a-mettersi-nei-panni-del-prossimo

Angeliki, Thessaloniki -Greece

2017-03-05 11:56:00 UTC

I would like to agree with two of great importance articles I read in the Value the Difference Resource pack. First and foremost I strongly consent to the idea that culture is like an iceberg. We only see a small part of it which usually has to do with the language, the habits, the traditions etc. However there are a lot of other perceptions and behaviours we do not know. Every culture is a melting pot of other cultures and beliefs as the article mentions. For instance as a dog lover and supporter of animal rights I really like people who take care of a dog or other animal. Although I feel that a large number of Greek people are against animals with multiple ways especially in the suburbs. In my opinion the way we face animals shows many things for our culture. This perception about animals is a non-observable aspect of our culture. This matter is also connected to the terminologies of empathy and open-mindeness two values which have nothing to do with selfishness and insularity. According to Edith Stein empathy is not a teachable skill because it requires experience. Although it can be facilitated.Thus by being animal friendly I develop my empathy and open-mindeness. Additionally enriching my experiences while travelling helps me, too.Not to mention my family's influence through their friendships with Albanian and Russian people or through their great relations with our relatives in Germany. Furthemore a good source for me were and are the books in different language or the movies with different cultural background which familiarise me with multiple and different pictures.
As for my students I am always trying to "borrow" my experiences in order to open their minds but sometimes it is quite difficult due to their backgroung influence. Nevertheless I am going to adapt the activity of "What is privilege"in the way you suggest it and not only this but I will try the "identity and its complexity" activity from the Value the Difference Resource pack in which participants are asked to give up two aspects of their identity and justify their choice. Here is an interesting link about empathy:

Nina E., Finland

2017-03-05 13:28:08 UTC

We tried this Priviledge or Equal Rights -exercise (Stepping forward or backward according to the statements) once in my High School. We had a special day for understanding other cultures, minorities etc. This exercise worked very well with students aged 16-18. They were all able to discuss the theme after the exercise and it certainly opened many eyes.

Luisa, Italy

2017-03-05 13:47:19 UTC

Thank you for the video I think I will try and do this exercise with my students in class. That will be a good opportunity to reflect about one's privilege and try to understand other people's condition from their perspective. An occasion to place yourself in their shoes and feel what they are feeling. Empathy is known to increase helping behaviors. Helping other people appropriately, based on their understanding of their needs and emotions.

Chiara, Italy

chiara_agnelli1 — 2017-03-05 15:26:25 UTC

I strongly believe in the value of empathy in our society. I think we should be more 'empathy-oriented' in every aspect of our lives. Empathy should be taught and practiced at every level of education, from kindergarden to university; in professional training courses too.
I became very interested in the matter, reading Daniel Goleman writings on Emotion Intelligence. and I developed a personal project similar to the Enable lesson plans you shared. Everyday I asked the students to tell how they feel, they can also give a number (from 0 to 10) to their day: 0 means the day is awful, 10 means it is awesome. This helps them to get in touch with their feelings and sharing them with their peers. We also work on how to deal with the emotions they feel and we discuss what strategies can be used to cope with anger or frustration. I found very useful the resource book "Talkabout for teenagers" and the "Kidshealth" website. And I can assure that it works. Obviously, you cannot expect to see changes immediately, but it works on a deeper level: it helps kids to feel part of a group and to handle their emotions and others' emotions as something important that has to be taken into consideration and not be ignored.
Now that I'm working with adults things are a bit different. I still ask them to share how they feel, but everyone has already their own strategy to cope with the emotion they feel, so I do not want to lead them in any particular direction. Even if I am a big "Buzzfeed" fan, I did not know about the "What is a Privilege" activity. Teaching adults, I think it should be a perfect activity to run in my classrooms.

Zoi, Greece

zetakoli — 2017-03-05 16:52:36 UTC

2.5 Developing empathy & open-mindedness
This activity reminds me another one I did with the children in the kindergarten. During a project about the empathy and reading the emotions all the children had the same amount of cards in which all the emotions were symbolically represented by small faces (happiness, anger, saddness etc.). When a photo was shown or a statement was announced the children were raising up the card wich declared their emotions. At the end a conversion among them was helpful for me to understant their emotions about other people or situations.

Marco Italy.

2017-03-05 16:57:48 UTC

For me the developing empathy & open-midedness is an important activity. It's very difficult in my school creat a workgroup with the other collegine. I think the video post on top is interesting and probably i'll try it in my class.

Cristina,Italy

cristina_floriddia — 2017-03-05 16:58:05 UTC

I read about a school where Teachers received a false newsletter that forced all foreigners or foreigners'sons to study in a different room.
Children's reactions were very tender.

Antonietta, Italy

2017-03-05 17:30:05 UTC

Respect, empathy, tolerance are values to be promoted from early childhood, just as individual and cultural differences can be overcome. Put yourself in the shoes of others allows you to expand your horizons and hear each other as a part of you. Teachers need to be capable of great empathy and by their example should make even empathetic their pupils.

Anisoara, Romania

2017-03-05 17:45:53 UTC

Gina,italy

2017-03-05 17:47:18 UTC

The lessons are very interesting

Adriana, Ital

2017-03-05 18:34:30 UTC

My students are so different and open minded. I try to give them the possibility of showing their feelings and emotions and to be well prepared of living all the situations life could offers.

ROSA MEDEIROS, PORTUGAL (Açores)

rosa_medeiros1 — 2017-03-05 19:33:37 UTC

Wat is proposed to the generality of students can also be proposed to students with special educational needs. It would adapt the identification of emotions, presenting figures / images / SPC Language: to cry, to laugh, to anger etc. and would ask when this has already happened to them and how others reacted to it. We were playing an ex game: an angry person and they would have to look angry. Dramatization is also good to express yourself.
Encourage writing or drawing in your journal
To develop empathy and sharing for example cooking together. Example form groups and distribute ingredients in different quantities for each group in which they would have to negotiate between them.
Knowing oneself, expressing oneself in different ways and learning to listen to others is very important.

RosaMA, Italy

2017-03-05 20:14:39 UTC

Some of my students are open-minded, others aren't. It depends on the examples they've received from their families and the way they decide to react to the teachings from school. I try to make them focus on the goals and explain to them that human beings have the same dreams, the same goals to reach and the same need to feel happy.

Giorgia, Romania

giorgiagroza — 2017-03-05 20:44:59 UTC

I think that to be open=minded depends very much of your culture, education and the space where you have grow-up. Wh should prepare the students for future for living in a multicultural society, to try to make them think and focuse on their role in society, to make them undeerstand that a human being is the same all over the world, they have the same needs, they feel the same, they have to respect and to be respected, they have dreams and obligations and they have to be treated equal

Paola, Italy

2017-03-05 21:23:46 UTC

Niki, Greece

nikialexakou — 2017-03-05 21:24:15 UTC

My open-mindedness was developed mostly by travelling and making friends in other countries. Also, by reading books. Studying maths also helps a lot in this. Developing my empathy was not that easy. I had to go through a really difficult period of time to understand how important was the support I got not only of my friends but of other people quite different from me, who were still able to feel for me, despite our differences. So, it got me thinking...
For my students, I wouldn't say they are really open-minded yet but they are surprisingly empathic with each other, something that I admire a lot!
To help them develop their empathy and open-mindedness towards refugees, as they are more grown up, I think I would show them some videos that stress the similarities of today's refugees and migrants to those of the middle 20th century like the following:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWAtvaN18vM&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN_TygoVXic (syrian refugees talking with greek subs)
and those with stories of children:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3scOr_d9Dwo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDy8_8L3s0A

Eleni, Switzerland

eleni_mousena — 2017-03-05 23:21:52 UTC

I developed my open-mindedness and empathy by reading Greek history, by travelling and making friends who came from other countries. Now, that we (my family and I) have moved to a new country, I think I can develop it further. The young students that I had in Greece were not very open-minded but they really cared a lot for each other. I really liked the "What is privilege" activity and I will surely use it (with some changes in the content) in the future. It reminded me of some of my students who lived in mountainous villages and weren't as privileged as town/ city students were.

Anna - Italy

2017-03-06 08:28:42 UTC

The open-mindedness can be developed through the knowledge, understanding and respect for diversity, the comparison between different cultures, the stimulus to consider diversity as enrichment.

Empathy, however, can be promoted both through cooperative learning either through the attention and appreciation of all the positive aspects of social life and a repressive intervention of all aspects that, conversely, are negative for the social life.

Stefania, Italy

ste_lenzi_75 — 2017-03-06 09:43:18 UTC

I think empathy is a form of intelligence. I wasn't sure to be empathic enough, expecially because I'm a quite undemonstrative person, but in these last weeks I'm receiving a positive feedback from my students so I suppose to be empathic. It's hard to explain this idea in a different language, but that's what I feel. I met a lot of empathic people in my life and I loved spending time with them. On the other hand, I met people who really wanted to be empathic but they were role playing and that's quite sad, expecially in adults. In my experience honest-to-goodness and unworldly people are more empathic than others.
Concerning to be open-minded, I think I am. Reading, travelling, meeting people from different countries helped me in becoming open-minded. Now, I believe that this one should be one of the most important goals of instruction and education.

Luisa, Italy

ossolengoluisa — 2017-03-06 10:58:40 UTC

I develop my open-mindedness and empathy by travelling in many countryes over europe and I think I could develop it further meeting and trying to know the Others and tryng to wear their dresses. I think my students are almost emphatic, in fact they don't show any form of racism or indifference toward the foreign students present in their class, but it would be interesting to adapt the "privilege activity" to their age (14-15) to reflect all together about what we give for done and is, instead, a privilege

Michela, Italy

2017-03-06 12:13:58 UTC

The video above touched me deeply: I do love thise knid of activities, as they are involving and make people reflect. I've been working in a difficult class this year, which is their last one. There's not a strong sense of being a group as a class, many children have difficulties in many aspects (a socio-cultural low level, negative examples by their families and so on), so it's very difficult to work with them. I've been thinking on adapting that activity about privileges to make them reflect at least on positive aspects of their life and to enhance sympathy and understanding among them.

Emanuela, Italy

2017-03-06 14:28:43 UTC

I evolve my open-mindedness and empathy through the knowledge of other peoples and the experience in other countries. Often I use my experiences in my classroom, because students show interest in other culture.

Daniela,Italia

2017-03-06 15:01:35 UTC

This video is very interesting. Empathy, respect and tolerance are very important for to create a community and for me is very important to buil and develop student's capacity to listen to other people.

Tiziana, Italy

tiziana_aq — 2017-03-06 16:39:08 UTC

I developed my own open-mindedness first by studying foreign languages and literatures and then travelling abroad.
For what concerns empathy, I think I learnt it from my family and again studying literature, especially poetry.
I am really impressed by the activities proposed here, the video on privilege is stunning.

Luciana,Italy

2017-03-06 18:09:53 UTC

In my classes there are students that belong to the gipsy community.They are
considered a minority in our town and they live in bad conditions. They don't attend school regularly and very often they are overlooked by the rest of the society.Not so at school we work to create empathy and open-mindedness among students involving also their parents in the effort to change our way of thinking .

Giovanna Dotato - Italy

2017-03-06 18:29:38 UTC

I believe that empathy is an individual factor and very important cultural. Unfortunately still different people, as well as some cultures are more open to dialogue, the debate trying to get in the shoes of others. The proposals presented in the videos are very interesting activities. I hope to be able to apply them in my classes and transmit the positive value also to my colleagues.

Claudia Renda Italy

claudiarenda — 2017-03-06 20:40:40 UTC

Great video. I would like to use it in my classroom. I think circle time for example can be used also with adults to improove empathy. Is no simple because the background and personal caracter, different age and so on, sometimes stop the activity. Teacher with competence, creatività,

Annamaria, Italy

2017-03-06 20:53:02 UTC

I believe it is very important to make students know how people in different countries live. In this way they will understand how priviledged they are and they will admire people who were not as lucky as them. This is a way of making them learn with their own experience how to be empathic with others.

Sara Viotti, Italy

sara_viotti — 2017-03-06 21:25:39 UTC

Travelling helped me to open my mind. In every place I visited I learned something different! A teach in a language branch of a secondary school, so I'm trying to make my students enjoy by discovering new cultures. I don't know if an activity like "What the privilege" could run well at my school. We are managing a conferences cycle about the refugees topic, because we would like they understand the problem from inside.

Melania, Italy

2017-03-06 22:10:43 UTC

Empathy, respect and tolerance are very important for to create a community and for me is very important to buil and develop student's capacity to listen to other people.

Moschoula, Hellas

mcdouris — 2017-03-06 23:34:12 UTC

Empathy, respect and acceptane not tolerance I have learned from the constantly changing environment around me while I was growing up due to my dad's work and my mothers need for change. I used to feel targeted and sensed a lot of negative attitude from others. Now I believe that I am who I am not despite the difficulties but because of them and I am happy that I had all those opportunities that make me a caring, diverse person.
I wish to support my students cherish who they are and accept their greatness.

Lara, Rome-Italy

monarca_lara — 2017-03-06 23:34:24 UTC

I developed my own empathy and open-mindedness in different ways. I've studied foreign languages at the university. Foreign literature, poetry, drama, essays, history raised my interest in other laanguages,cultures , ways of thinking ,living,and lands. Travelling, taking part to summer work camps, having pen-friends,living by foreign families, teaching and living in Germany and Africa for nine years , singing in different choruses, joining theatre/music workshops and performances, having friends from different countries. This is is my background and it is with me when I am with my students and I want to learn some words in their own languages, talk with them and share my prevoius school experiences talking about the students I had abroad.Last year with the class year 1(6 years old) pupils I worked , talking a lot about the different cultural situation of african children and tried to create empathy and welcoming environment, sense of group with the class:I think they have reached a quite good level of empathy but it must improve day by day.All the teachers n the team must work on this finality with a common aim.and effort.

Daniela Scalia, Sicily

2017-03-07 07:48:20 UTC

I've found these themes very important for us, who make a work so much important for the young persons and for the society. Of course, it would be wonderful to be able to create an ideal place for the students, rich of respect, tolerance and open mindedness, but, above all, it would be more important to let them an important lesson of life.

Melahrini /Greece

mpapardeli — 2017-03-07 09:30:31 UTC

Empathy and respect differences is something that I always try to build in my class.
Personaly I always try to get new knowledge and come closer to societies which are different than this one I live in.This is something which helps me a lot in my daily teaching procces.
Respect, accept the differences and trying to understand the others.These are the three steps I'm always trying to do in my class.

Vani (Fot.-Vass.), Athens, Greece

vanikuloheri — 2017-03-07 10:57:01 UTC

My open-mindedness and empathy have resulted from the way I was brought up in my family, my life-long learning and my travels. However, not all my learners have had the above privileges so they are not yet as open-minded and empathetic as they shouldbe. Here is where education comes in through specific classroom activities.

Gabriella,italy

2017-03-07 11:55:31 UTC

Empathy is very important in every classroom,but there is a little bit of it in our school. Sometimes even the teachers are not able to realize the real empathy between their pupils. I often ask the foreiner students to speak about their previous school experiences and every italian student always listen to them. Every pupil learn something interesting and first of all learn to listen to the different culture's pupils

Lara; Italy

monarca_lara — 2017-03-07 12:11:59 UTC

"What is privilege"
I find the video a very stimulating activity. It makes students reflect a lot.I would try it in a fifth class in primary school, leaving the approach basically how it is in the video.I would adapt it with a preactivity brainstorming/discussion about the meaning of privilege, trying to explain it to the students of different cultures.
I woul simplify the questions for 10 years old pupils . After the activity I I would make a circle time moment to share their opinions and emotions about their final positions.
As a final activity I would ask them to draw this experience.
I would record the activity while they move to show them the global view of the class. They could also ask parents for the word privilege in the different languages at home and talk about it in class

manuela, Italy

manuelabasu — 2017-03-07 13:59:08 UTC

Empathy in multicultural and multietnical classes has an important weight.

Sometimes I tend to think of some students who apparently only care for frivolous aspects, that they aren’t empathic but, in most of the cases they are only pretending to be someone else.

For instance they show being empathic when a classmate has a problem , or when there is a discussion about newspapers read in class…

I think I should use "What is Privilege?" adapting it and changing some of the questions

Kalliopi, Greece

2017-03-07 15:10:24 UTC

The truth is that I consider myself an open minded person but every day I have to struggle to prove myself to myself. I'm really interested in new ideas and point of views and I always try to do new things in my classes because doing the same thing is BORING. But from time to time I am very strict with myself and I think I don't work hard enough or that my work is not well organised. Things are changing very fast and when I have to deal with a new situation - like cultural diversity - I want to learn new things and be exposed to different realities but I'm not sure how much of this I am able to assimilate. I'm trying though.... The video "What is privilege?" is truly inspiring and brought some tears in my eyes. Great way of realizing our position and reconsidering our priorities. It is an excellent idea to work this it with students but one has to select carefully the phrases that move the "players" according to their age, interests and special needs

Gabriella, Italy

2017-03-07 15:57:03 UTC

Developing empathy and open-mindedness is very important.

Astrid, Italy

astriddandrea — 2017-03-07 16:12:27 UTC

Empathy, tolerance, open-mindedness and understanding of the diversity are the basics in our multifaceted society. Thus, the video proves us with great reality how complex the social reality is.

Ioannis Velonakis, Greece

2017-03-07 17:10:05 UTC

Developing empathy and open-mindedness is very important for our society nowadays. Personally, I try to develop open-mindness and empathy by trying to learn more or different things, countries and cultures and by discussing and try to make friends with people who are completely different than me. Another way of become more empathetic is to try to stand in others’ position and think about your possible actions. Of course, this is not an easy action. Whenever possible, I try to make my students understand this principles and discuss with them for quite controversial things. In general, privilege is something that many other people do not have although they may want so. The video is great and tries to show how complex is our society nowadays.

Cinzia DM-Italy

2017-03-07 17:12:46 UTC

My students are studying abroad and they will change the country every 6 months, so I think they can already use thei own experiences to work and compare them with other people.

Stavroula - Greece

stavroulakod — 2017-03-07 17:38:27 UTC

I believe that by meeting people, reading books, travelling, watching movies and interacting with new and different situations in general, we develop empathy and open - mindedness. I think that students have a sense of empaphy and open- mindedness but they need to develop and cultivate it more. They need to discover theirself. So we try to include in the daily program activities such as: reading books, role - play games, running emotional education projects, discuss and solve problems.

Maria, Greece

mampla78 — 2017-03-07 21:11:56 UTC

We can adapt the video to the proper age of our students and use it as a role playing game. So, what's a privilege? And who can claim is so privileged? Knowing each other, recognising the needs of others, will help us develop empathy for both ourselves and our students, too.

Sofia, Greece

sofiakolosidou — 2017-03-07 21:21:59 UTC

I was born and raised in Sweden. That is the reason I became open-minded. I had friends from all over the world! I read many books and stories that helped me develop empathy. I want to travel more because I want to see how people live in different countries. I believe that my children don’t have empathy and they aren’t open-minded because they don’t have experiences which can help them develop such skills. “What is privilege” is a little bit difficult game for children. If they say the truth they might feel awkward…

Jenny, Greece

2017-03-07 22:35:40 UTC

The video above was very good. I think it should be used in class to get students thinking about others and develop empathy and respect. I grew up in Canada and a multi-cultural classroom was the norm. We used to work on projects where each of us could exhibit our own culture and talk about the language and the customs. I felt that all the students in the classroom had their own individual background but that we all belonged to one group and that was our class.

Lucia, Italy

2017-03-07 22:45:58 UTC

Thanks for this video. I'mgoing to use this activity with my students (age18-19)..they have (I Have!) many privileges without realizing how lucky we are

Rosanna B, Italy

ros_basso — 2017-03-08 00:21:59 UTC

In my classes some special needs students aren’t Italian. The video “What is the privilege”” is an interesting idea. But I think to use stories and pictures. Visual supporters remain in mind while a game can focus on wrong goal. They are teenagers! I believe that role plays in dramatizations of real situations can develop empathy and open-mindedness. Besides I am going to watch this video together so we will be able to begin a discussion and debate then simulating social positions.

Sabrina, Italy

sabrina_lo_nostro — 2017-03-08 08:30:08 UTC

I liked the activity filmed in the video very much, but it can't be adapted to my very young pupils, who are 7 years old.
During these last work years I learned to approach to intercultural diversity in an empathic way because in our school we experience it everyday in our classrooms.
Unfortunately, not all my collegues are so open-minded. My approach to the foreign pupils influence the result of the relationship among students coming from different cultural and social backgrounds. They've learned that each of them has a particular privilege, based on his own culture and mentality. I could adapt this activity to my learners changing the statements, in order to make them more suitable to their age, for example one of it should be: "Do you like playing with all your classmates?"

Francesca, Messina

f_pasquanucci — 2017-03-08 08:52:49 UTC

The video "What is privilege" was very interesting,but I cannot use this activity with my students, becaus they are very young (age 6-10).
Empathy, tolerance and open-mindedness are basic to instaurate positive relationships among students and teachers. My pupils like talking about themselves and share their moods and culture.

Chiara Semplicini, Italy

2017-03-08 10:03:42 UTC

I think that empathy and open-mindedness is an essential value to be taught and learnt (at all levels!).
Students bring their own background to the class, which means personal belief, opinions, values, and everybody is unique in this respect. Being open means to understand this uniqueness and consider that as a treasure, not as something dangerous or obscure.
In the classroom, promoting understanding and acceptance of diversity should represent a basic everyday practice (also by using activities like that described in the video, which I found really powerful).

Annamaria Italy (Molise)

annafrata — 2017-03-08 10:05:17 UTC

I find the video a very useful activity. It makes students reflect about "What is privilege". I would try it in a fifth class in primary school, leaving the approach basically how it is in the video. I would adapt it making a circle time moment to share their opinions and emotions throught a brainstorming about the meaning of privilege, trying to explain it to the students of different cultures.
then you can ask them to draw this experience and at the end create a video like a simple spot entitled "My privilege".

Vale, Roma, Italy

2017-03-08 12:00:10 UTC

I started my professional path like educator, so i face a lot this kind of things and i had to improve my onpemindness and welcoming competence ( it was and it's my big value and aim) for working in very hard contest with foreign minors. I daily use my experience in classroom to discuss with them, to share and to deal some specific difficulties that pupils can find. Anyway in the VET where i work the openmindness is very hard, even if they have so various backgrounds, but their families have social and cultural problems, so i think we have to improve our actions to promote this feeling. I think also i can propose this video, because they can understand it (aged 16/18). than you.

Graziella, Italy

2017-03-08 13:44:52 UTC

Graziella, Italy

2017-03-08 13:46:51 UTC

To identify with the feelings, thoughts and behavior of individuals from different cultural backgrounds, it's important to acquire some understanding of those cultures. It's also important have an open and unprejudiced attitude toward other groups, cultural values and are open to new ideas. I find the video a very useful activity. Promoting in the classroom understanding and acceptance of diversity is basic to instaurate positive relationships among students and teachers.

Sophia Kouzouli, Greece

sophiakouz — 2017-03-08 15:19:44 UTC

I have participated in an activity like the one presented in the video. I must say it was shocking to see how some people were left behind and some others walked to the end! It was a very successful technique to help us be more open minded and realize what a privilege is in life! I would do exactly the same activity but I would change the situation involved . I would adjust them to the age of y students-primary school children

Rossella, Italy

rossella_esposito — 2017-03-08 16:27:41 UTC

I found the video about the "What is privilege" activity very interesting and I think I could use it with my students with some adaptations. I think an activity like this can help students to develop empathy, because they can try putting themselves in others' shoes, by looking at the reactions of the others. Emphaty and open-mindness are essential in order to create a relationship with people of different countries.
Yesterday I took part in a seminar about interculture. I heard the reports of some young people, who lived for a long time abroad. I was particularly moved by a young man, who had lived one year in Thailand. He was fashinated by this country, he spoke about the guest family as if it was his own family. He had learnt Thai language and he had develop emphaty with this culture. He reported also about his experience as "monch for a day" and it was very moving.

Rossana, Italy

rossaco — 2017-03-08 16:49:50 UTC

The video was really interesting.

Barbara, Germany

2017-03-08 16:53:52 UTC

In this globalized world it is very important to teach tolerance, empathy and open-mindedness. It is difficult and I believe it helps if you are a good example of this yourself.

Kleri, Greece

evriklia19 — 2017-03-08 17:11:48 UTC

I lived lots of years abroad and had the great luck to be and work together with people from all over Europe and the whole world! In my school I try to organize eTwinning- projects every year and since 2015 I run an Erasmus plus project, my students have the chance to travel around and meet new people. I also try to do projects that make them think about the society, the privileges and the problems that we and people in other countries have. I also try to implement small activities in my lessons that force students to put themselves in other people's shoes. I liked the video but I would definetely change the questions for younger students.

Rita, Sicily

2017-03-08 18:03:40 UTC

Really the video is very interesting and it might be interesting to propose it as an asset instead of exhausting discussions that occur during meetings between teachers. To my boys I might instead propose revised and adapted, I believe it is very effective to have to take the role of ...

Mariangela, Italy

2017-03-08 18:10:24 UTC

Empathy and open-mindedness are essential value and skills that family and school have to teach and develop in children.
Students contains personal belief, opinions, values, but they don't live alone, but in group: to be open-minded and friendly is the first aim of education.
In a classroom, promoting understanding and acceptance of diversity represents a basic tool and practice.

Bianca, Romania

2017-03-08 18:28:13 UTC

I think empathy is a gift that we can improve. Open-mindness is a result of the education (given by the parents and by the school).

EMANUELA B, ITALY

2017-03-08 18:37:47 UTC

Empathy and respect are important words. the video about "What is privilege" helps to reflect about this matter and to understand feelings, thoughts of individuals.

Anna Laura ITALY

anna_simonini — 2017-03-08 18:52:09 UTC

I think family and social environment are responsible for one's openmindedness and empathy. School can do a lot, and teachers have a great part in the process of growing up children, persons capable of looking at their fellows without fear or prejudice.

Antonella Sellia, Italy

2017-03-08 21:29:31 UTC

A starting point to develop one's open-mindedness is stop thinking we have all the answers... Empathy is a feeling of connection, but there can't be empathy without listening. I'd like to propose the activity "What is privilege" to my students, adapting it to their age. I think it's really envolving.

Angela Maria Lanzo

2017-03-08 21:31:40 UTC

I think that openness and empathy is an individual and cultural factor. Some people, as well as some cultures are more open to dialogue, to debate and to put themselves in others' shoes. The proposals are very interesting activities.
I'll try to make them!
Empathy and open-mindedness are essential value and skills that family and school have to teach and develop in children.

2.5.

ranialampou — 2017-03-08 21:44:04 UTC

Empathy is a unique characteristic that encompasses the emotional and intuitive aspects of an individual. Empathy is understood as the capability to recognize or understand another's state of mind or emotion. Open-mindedness is understood to be the process of showing receptiveness to new or different ideas. Based on these definitions of empathy and open-mindedness, it is clear that the two are drastically similar. Both involve understanding another person's ideas or state of mind, and perhaps as a consequence, gaining some form of acceptance from this understanding. It is important to develop both of them in our classrooms.

Angela, Italy

2017-03-08 23:38:27 UTC

Literature or film in the classroom are ways to develop empathy and open-mindedness

Ivana, Italy

ivana_fratter — 2017-03-09 07:57:45 UTC

I think that openness and empathy depend on the experience and on the personality. As more experiences of contact between people so you can develop a empathy .

Irene, Milo (CT) Italy

2017-03-09 16:24:15 UTC

From a young age I've traveled a lot and forged important relationships in many European Countries. I think these my experiences, the desire to discover others and the pleasure of new knowledges have opened my mind. I don't know if I'm a nice person, but certainly I feel that I'm strongly empathetic and I think I can convey this quality.
As Alicia and Erika, I believe that some activities can better develop open-mindedness and empathy, especially when they put into a deep relationship and push to the true knowledge of the other.
The theater, for example, has these feature because it pushes, through fiction, to put yourself in someone else's shoes.
I've also made some personal experiences and I've the example of experienced teachers in the theater who can achieve great results with the most diverse class groups.
The video shows a very interesting activity which can be experimented with pupils as a play and which can get several answers to many difficult questions about diversity and discrimination.

Piera, Italy.Empathy and open-mindedness: 2 buildings to have always at your side, in your class, in any action as a teacher I have to do, yhe keys to open people and their action. Privilege?? an open space to act in.

2017-03-09 19:54:55 UTC

Loredana, Italy

2017-03-10 08:57:07 UTC

For the first, thank you so much for resources; they are very important for our job.
Empathy is a very powerful activity to be developed in each educational context, not only in reference to cultural diversity.
It is important "to put himself in the shoes", and we teachers should be the first to write this example, you can start from this to teach children to understand and respect their emotions, or ways of life, ways of being and communicate.

Anastasia from Greece

atopalidou2 — 2017-03-10 10:25:56 UTC

My students have already developed empathy and are open-minded ,because our local community is very diverse and they have their own experience on that.But as their teacher,I try to increase these with activities that use theater or literarure as a medium to raise consciousness and open their mind

Elena, Italy

2017-03-10 17:57:40 UTC

I think that empathy and respect are important words to teach.

Irene, Italy

bragato_irene — 2017-03-10 19:40:37 UTC

Know that your students watch you. They learn from your character and behaviors as much as they do from your instruction. Be a consistent example of empathy, and exude a caring, compassionate, understanding attitude. They’ll follow your lead. The empathy is very important to teach!

Suzana Pimentel, Portugal

2017-03-10 20:45:01 UTC

The video above is very good. Already shared on Facebook :) It is true that you use the classroom as it will cause students to think about each other and develop empathy and respect.

Tina,Lamezia

2017-03-10 21:00:24 UTC

I try to develop empathy by trying to learn different things, cultures and by discussing with people who are completely different than me.

Brunella from Italy

brunella_pedretti80 — 2017-03-12 07:29:11 UTC

It's important to develop empathy and open-mindedness in the classrooms.
The our classrooms have a lot of foreign kids but every time that arrives a new student something changes.
The students must create a new group, and the teachers can help the students to find a new mindedness and empathy.
.

Gabriela Sandru, Romania

gabrielasandru1 — 2017-03-12 17:29:29 UTC

"What is Privilege" could be a powerful resource to make students realize either to be joyful for what they have or motivate them to achieve what they want.

2017-03-12 22:34:08 UTC

Educating the vicinity developing compassion and admiration is our challenge. Teach to share feelings and areas of mutual interest is a duty.

Isabel Quirino, Portugal

isabelquirino — 2017-11-09 09:15:38 UTC

Every day I try to not forget to act intencionally, knowing that my students see in me a model: I teach them how to act ... by acting.

2020-06-23 18:22:54 UTC

n you think of that can develop open-mindedness and empathy. Share your views in the Padlet below. Avatar of Teacher Academy Teacher Academy + 193 ● 3yr

2020-10-08 22:23:10 UTC