Motivating & Inspiring Students. Robert J. Marzano

his life is at risk by attempting to understand his situation as if it were their own. This inspires them to take direct actions that help Wilbur rather than simply feeling sorry for him, which would be considered a product of sympathy.

      Teachers can also use historical figures to highlight instances of empathy in the real world. Chiune Sugihara is one such example.

      Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania at the beginning of World War II. As the Nazis began to take over Western Europe, Jewish refugees fled into Lithuania, bringing accounts of the atrocities of the Holocaust with them. In 1940, the Soviet Union (which occupied Lithuania) ordered that all diplomats return to their countries of origin before the Nazi army invaded. Before Sugihara left with his family, Jewish refugees gathered around the Japanese consulate hoping that Sugihara could issue them the appropriate papers to allow them to leave the country. Sugihara did not have the clearance to issue these visas without approval, but when he asked his superiors, they denied his request. Recognizing that the refugees’ lives depended on him, he asked for a twenty-day extension of his post and began issuing visas on his own, despite the fact these actions directly contradicted his orders. Sugihara spent eighteen to twenty hours a day handwriting visas for refugees, and often produced a month’s worth of visas in a single day. Ultimately, he issued over six thousand visas to Jewish refugees, which allowed them to escape the country with their lives (WGBH Educational Foundation, 2005).

      Students might be asked, after hearing this story, why Sugihara’s actions are more indicative of empathy than sympathy. After students examine fictional and nonfictional accounts of empathy, they can find and explain their own examples of empathy from literature or history.

       Attributes of Empathy

      When teachers ask students to understand empathy as it applies to their lives, it may be helpful to highlight the following four attributes, as identified by Theresa Wiseman (1996).

      1. Being able to see the world as others see it

      2. Being nonjudgmental

      3. Being able to understand another person’s feelings

      4. Being able to communicate an understanding of another person’s feelings

      To demonstrate being able to see the world as others see it, teachers might engage students in the following actions.

      ▸ Analyzing competing points of view: For example, debating as a means to understand multiple sides of the same issue

      ▸ Stepping outside their current circumstances: For example, roleplaying as notable figures (such as the protagonist of a short story or famous figures from history)

      ▸ Explaining other people’s reasoning: For example, explaining the reasoning behind specific opinions on a controversial issue

      To demonstrate being nonjudgmental, teachers might engage students in the following actions.

      ▸ Becoming aware of and avoiding negative or judgmental language: For example, limiting the use of judgmental language about themselves and others and correcting it when it does occur

      ▸ Exploring why judgments are often inaccurate: For example, identifying a judgment or stereotype and examining how it is incorrect

      ▸ Identifying their own judgments: For example, reflecting on judgments they hold about something (such as a specific character in a book or the difficulty of a mathematics problem) and reflecting on why they feel that way

      To demonstrate being able to understand another person’s feelings, teachers might engage students in the following actions.

      ▸ Using targeted questioning: For example, asking themselves a question like “If I were in this situation, how would I feel?” and so on

      ▸ Explaining how feelings affect interactions: For example, discussing how feelings and emotions affect an individual’s interpretation of a situation

      ▸ Examining sympathetic feelings: For example, recognizing and describing sympathetic feelings and explaining how these feelings could motivate empathetic behaviors

      ▸ Practicing reading facial expressions: For example, identifying the feelings of subjects in photographs or artwork

      To demonstrate being able to communicate an understanding of another person’s feelings, teachers might engage students in the following actions.

      ▸ Reflecting on their own language: For example, examining how often they ask questions of their fellow students as an opportunity to tell other students about themselves

      ▸ Focusing on how others’ actions affect them rather than placing blame: For example, using statements such as “I feel __________ when you __________” (see “I” Statements, page 104)

      ▸ Explaining empathic qualities: For example, explaining others’ positive actions using examples, such as “I knew you were paying attention to me because your response question built on my previous answer” and so on

      ▸ Reviewing reminders of appropriate communication: For example, referring to classroom procedures or classroom decorations that outline appropriate communication

      In addition to these strategies, teachers can provide students with the following five steps that encourage empathic interactions with one another.

      1. Watch & Listen: What is the other person saying, and what is his or her body language?

      2. Remember: When did you feel the same way?

      3. Imagine: How does the other person feel? And how would you feel in that situation?

      4. Ask: Ask what the person is feeling.

      5. Show You Care: Let him or her know that you care through your words and actions. (Taran, 2013)

      As students are asked to practice empathic behaviors, they may find that these behaviors become more natural over time. Teachers should also model and reinforce empathy whenever possible to further strengthen students’ practice of it.

Forgiveness

      The experience of forgiveness can also provide a direct connection to something greater than self. This connection occurs because forgiveness inherently requires individuals to think outside of themselves. Robert D. Enright and Richard P. Fitzgibbons (2000), in their empirical guide about the process of forgiveness, stated:

      People, upon rationally determining that they have been unfairly treated, forgive when they willfully abandon resentment and related responses (to which they have a right), and endeavor to respond to the wrongdoer based on the moral principle of beneficence, which may include compassion, unconditional worth, generosity, and moral love (to which the wrongdoer, by nature of the hurtful act or acts, has no right). (p. 29)

      As such, the nature of forgiveness makes it intrinsically challenging for most if not all individuals. When individuals do succeed in forgiving others, they often experience positive psychological and physical benefits (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2000; Gassin, Enright, & Knutson, 2005; Luskin, Ginzburg, & Thoresen, 2005; Witvliet, Ludwig, & Vander Laan, 2001). For example, after observing the effects of forgiveness education in schools, Elizabeth A. Gassin, Robert D. Enright, and Jeanette A. Knutson (2005) posited that the reduction in anger stemming from forgiveness leads “to less depression and anxiety and to stronger academic achievement and more peaceful social behavior” (p. 321) among students.

      Teachers should help students associate forgiveness with positive and powerful outcomes. To this end, teachers can lead students in discussions about times in their lives when they have forgiven or needed forgiveness from others. Teachers can also provide students with stories of forgiveness, whether personal or from books, movies, or history, as some stories of forgiveness are deeply moving. For