Empathy is a fundamental and formative aspect of children’s growth, which enables them to become responsible, sensible and helpful community members. Therefore, schools can ensure the development of empathy through the following strategies:

Model empathy: Students learn best from their teachers, so it is imperative for teachers to be realistic exemplars of empathy. Teachers must be more mindful of how they react to children’s behaviour and attitude and demonstrate empathetic communication through actions and words. For instance, instead of instantly rebuking a child’s distant attitude, more empathy can be offered by inquiring, trying to understand the reason for it, and then fixing it.

Perspective taking: This is an effective exercise in cognitive empathy, where the students can be encouraged to think about other people’s perspectives. By learning to put themselves in others’ shoes, children become more empathetic, non-judgemental and more sensible community members.

Community service: Community service helps children look into the lives and needs of others, making them more empathetic.

Empathetic classroom culture: Fostering an empathetic classroom culture, embracing differences, offering kindness, creates an environment where empathy thrives.

Classroom discussions: Open and frank classroom discussions on empathy, cultivates children’s development in empathy – also helping assess and monitor this growth.