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EDUCATION Walker Elementary puts a focus on empathy Students look at what it means to 'walk in somebody else's shoes' Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News To Walker Elementary fourth-grader Hiram Towle, empathy as a concept isn’t all that complicated, especially on the playground. “It means,” he said, “if someone is new and you want to be friends, you can say, ‘You want to be friends?’ And, like every recess I play foursquare and sometimes people fall and I help them up and say, ‘Are you OK?’” Towle had yet to add his recent foursquare experience to the list he was instructed to compile during class Friday morning, but that was next on his agenda. Towle and the other students in Dylana Garfas’ fourth-grade class were asked to come up with at least three to five examples of ideas that “fill up your bucket” — that is, things that make you feel good about yourself. Then, they could review their list and consider that the things they wrote down, from “playdates” to “encouragement,” are also good examples of things that make others feel good. The project was part of Walker’s schoolwide focus on empathy during the months of October and November. For the past two years Walker has been implementing about eight or nine themes per year in an effort to educate its students on “positive behavioral supports.” Other examples include “teamwork” and “stand up,” which was timed to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. On Friday, Garfas began the lesson by reading “How Full is Your Bucket, For Kids”, the children’s version of the classic book about self esteem written by Tom Rath. Afterward, she explained the concept then handed each of her 17 students a plain, black and white picture of a bucket. The instructions were simple: think about what fills your bucket and write it down. Some of the students drew water drips, each containing an example of something that fills their bucket. Others colored the picture and wrote a bullet list along the side. Either way, Garfas said, it’s a great way to break down a complicated but important concept. “They’ve all been through hard things in their life,” she said, “so when somebody can be empathetic to them, they understand that and then they can model that back. That’s how I think they can really connect to it, by having that sense of, ‘Oh, I’ve been through hard things in my life, like a fish dying, and my mom was empathetic to me. She understood how I felt.” Garfas’ fish example was taken directly from a brief summary session after Friday’s reading, during which one of her students described his friend’s recent loss. When Garfas asked how he handled it, the boy said he helped his friend bury the fish, digging a hole and covering the tiny box. “They think, ‘Oh, OK, if I were them this is how I’d feel,” Garfas said. “And that’s why we do the bucket-filling. If they connect it to themselves — what makes me feel good about it — it is probably similar. So when they’re done, we’ll talk about whether anybody has any similar things that make them feel good. They’re writing ideas that would make them feel good, and so if that’s the case for themselves, maybe it’s the case for their friends, too.” The examples of bucket-fillers that Garfas’ students came up with Friday ran the gamut, from “cats” to “when someone compliments you.” Uni Mehringer, who has thin rows of pink dyed into her dark hair, blew right past the three-to-five requirement and came up with six examples of things that fill her bucket. “I just like writing,” she said with a shrug. Her examples included “when you make someone feel happy,” “when my dad gets me special things,” and “when I read a really good book.” Indeed, her dad recently did get her a special thing, a shirt she really wanted. Though her birthday’s still a few days away, Mehringer is certain her dad’s about to fill her bucket. “I know,” she said, giggling. “He likes to tell me what he’s getting for me.” Skye Pokrob’s two dogs made her list. “That fills my bucket,” she said, “because I always feel like they listen to me.” Since the school began focusing on empathy, Garfas has worked in about one empathy-themed lesson per week, and also looks for ways to include the concept in other ways throughout the day. She’s confident that the effort has made a difference because she’s seen examples of that first hand. Recently, Garfas said, a student who was having a bad day began crying and was approached by about four classmates who offered to help, a few of them explaining that they too know how it feels to have a bad day. Not that being empathetic is easy, especially if you have two younger brothers, says Emily Bernhardt. Near the top of Bernhardt’s list was “cats,” because she has two — Lola and Hodo — and she loves them, even though Hodo is pretty skittish. Her two brothers, ages 6 and 5, however, can make life difficult. “Sometimes, we get in fights,” Bernhardt said. “It’s usually in the mornings. They’re so annoying.” So, how about empathy? Is there an application here, perhaps? Bernhardt looks at her bucket and nods. “Be nice to cats.” Joe Zavala can be reached at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Nov. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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