Can Gifted Children Develop Empathy... Without Feeling Overwhelmed?
How do we support our children and students while helping them grasp problems in a complex world?
Gifted children and teens seem primed for empathy. Highly sensitive and stridently opposed to injustice, they protest anything even remotely unfair.Â
But can a child's empathy overwhelm them?
Parents and teachers often wonder how to address current events without increasing fears, but also ensure that children develop empathy and compassion and learn to recognize their own biases and prejudices…
To read further, please click on this Gifted Challenges link.
Another excellent and indepth article, Gail. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing Dr.. King's quote. It sums of everything that you expressed in the article. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King, Jr. Oftentimes l have heard children, adolescents, adults, and students from diverse cultures express that they feel as if that can't make a difference because they are only one person. I agree that it is extremely important for parents to make empathy in the real-world, not just show empathy emotionally after watching injustices happen in the news, in movies, and in books. I shared your reflective questions from this article with a co-teacher that l will be co-teaching with, because the teacher is engaging her students in a unit dealing with injustice. We are planning on engaging students in a real-world learning experience/service learning experience in a part of a community known as Quindaro, Kansas. This community has faced many injustices since the former township was founded in 1857. In sum, l agree that one of the best ways to help students lived a balance live the is rooted is empathy, is to sustain a encouraging learning environment where encouragement is embraced with kindness, authenticity, and differentiated reflection that balances rest, reflective writing, and teamwork. Equally important, freedom is expression should be embraced, and valued as one of the pathways that can lead diverse learners towards equity, justice, and finding balance in a stressful ecosystem that is continually evolving and changing.