Our Collaborative Community -nurturing empathy in preschool

Returning from break, the teachers had a couple days before the children returned to meet and discuss two key aspects of our curriculum—inquiry and empathy. Two concepts so complex that rather than defining them, instead think of as two pebbles tossed creating infinite ripple effects in the learning of children. Of the two, inquiry is perhaps more universally well-known in relation to education and learning, but how some may ask, does empathy fit in.

According to one article, here are a few cognitive benefits associated with empathy.

1. Fosters insight into different perspectives and promotes genuine open-mindedness 2. Discourages hasty and superficial problem examination 3. Facilitates construction of more fully elaborated and frequently novel problem models 4. Discourages brief rigidity 5. Encourages cognitive and personal flexibility 6. Practices persistent probing, engaged examination of an issue in alternation with

flexibility (Gallo)

“Distributed and collaborative learning, with its emphasis on mindfulness, attunement to others, nonjudgmental interactions, acknowledgment of each person’s unique contributions, and recognition of the importance of deep participation, can’t help but foster critical thinking skills and greater empathic engagement,” says Jeremy Rifkin, social theorist and author of The Empathic Civilization. “In that sense, collaborative learning transforms the classroom into a laboratory for empathic expression, which, in turn, enriches the educational process.”

Reflecting upon our morning’s professional development, it was evident that, yes, this is what we believe whole-heartedly here at Mid-Pacific. With the return of the children on Monday, it was through closely observing how they naturally reconnected with one another, with us, with their school, that it became evident that empathy in our preschool community was indeed present as discussed in the article. And the lens through which this became apparent was in the collaborative mindset and culture of our community. By looking closer at ‘How do our children collaborate?’ the correlation between successful collaboration and empathy became visible. Empathy was in their teamwork, in their negotiations of play, in their leadership, in their co-construction of an idea, in our project work, and ultimately in our daily connections.

In just this first week of being back in school, the children in their infinite wisdom have made visible the many ways they practice and show empathy towards each other. The level of empathy found is a reflection of a community that was nurtured over the past semester— a community that wonders together, solves problems together, accepts challenges together, and plays together. Below are snippets of ordinary moments that when we stop to listen closely are profound lessons on how empathy takes root and from there begins to grow.

Empathy in Teamwork

Collaboration in its simplest form can be found when two or more children are working together towards the same goal. Above, the story begins with two children working together to erect the heavy tall block as the height of it exceeded the height of their bodies. Meanwhile, a third child comes along and asks what they are doing. Thinking that she can be of help, the third child offers to hold the tall block while the other child pulls the bar block out of the hole. The problem was the tall block did not stand with the bar inserted because of imbalance and top heaviness. They tried sticking it all the way through, sticking it half-way through and sticking it only partially through, but the support on the bottom was not enough to brace the height of the tall block with the bar inserted and eventually the block would topple. In this brief act of problem-solving, we see empathy in action as each child had a different perspective on the same problem and ways that they could contribute to solving the problem. While the idea of the construction originated from the child in the bright green shirt, K.I., each of the children involved showed empathy towards her as they de-centered from what may have been their own direction in the play and worked together to focus on solving this one aspect of the construction.

Empathy in Negotiating Play

This next example is harder to read without the dialogue, however, the story of how this play evolved began in the act of dressing up. There were three different scripts on this day— sisters at home, policemen, and construction workers, but all three storylines were limited to pairs of pretend due to the number of costumes. As the children tried on different costumes to accommodate who they wanted to play with rather than what they wanted to be, they found ways around the limited costumes and instead figured out how to collaborate with each other in order to make a larger cast in this pretend play work. As A.C. sat in her perfectly set up house, she was approached by her besties to see if she wanted to play with them. At first, she didn’t but later changed her mind. Knowing how to get their attention, she ran up to them and said, “Let’s play good guys, bad guys.” For her friends, C.K., C.O., and K.S. these are the magic words they long to hear! Immediately they began the chase until K.S. who had wanted to be a policeman but couldn’t because there were only two police costumes changed the direction of the play with an idea. K.S. asked to have a scarf tied around his head and proclaimed that he was now a “ninja policeman.” Soon the police hat and jacket on the others were exchanged for pieces of fabric tied around their heads and eventually, the group of ninja police grew to include 8 children. Throughout this half-hour play, there were many instances where they paused to ask each other questions, get validation from another, explain what they were doing, and share with each other what would happen next. Seemingly trivial and basic conversations, but so vital in sustaining collaborative pretend play as opposed to parallel play, especially in a group this size. Upon closer reflection of the conversations throughout the play, empathy again rose to the top. Even though these conversations were skills that these children had acquired through hours of open-ended play with each other and nurturing of a shared way of talking to each other in our community, all of these conversations initiated by the children themselves would not have occurred without empathy for one another. They didn’t have to seek mutual agreement, they didn’t have to explain their intent, or share ideas with each other, but what each of them was making visible was their empathic sensitivity and their understanding of how empathy is essential in making collaboration possible.

Empathy in Leadership

As patterns of empathy and collaboration continued to arise throughout the morning, the image of this soft-spoken child who sometimes uses the excuse of being shy, stood directing this rather large group of children as they constructed a train long enough for everyone to be included. It was a moment that made me pause to think about how we often mistake the qualities of leadership as taking charge and being in control when equally important is the ability to listen to others, take the perspective of other, and in essence to be empathic. As this child, M.T., continued making decisions about how to solve the problems of constructing the train where everyone would sit, and their roles aboard the train, it was in this moment that the role of leadership became apparent as another important element in the success of collaboration across the different stories of the day. Sometimes the leader happened to be the one whose idea it was first, sometimes the leader turned out to be the one who could articulate either through gestures or verbally the direction they wanted the play to unfold. What was interesting is that it was not necessarily the children that we adults would think of as the “leaders” in our community. In play, there seemed to be an unknown variable that equalized or democratized the opportunity for anyone to become the leader. This is reflective of the respect and empathy each child holds in this community for one another, regardless of reputation based on prior experiences or character traits. And without a leader, usually the collaboration would fall apart and the result would either be conflict or dissolution of the group.

Empathy in Connections

As our project work researching connectedness continues this semester, the children have begun picking up right where we left off revealing that the break in physical space and time did not disconnect or as they would say “unconnect" their internalized and authentic relationship to our own collaborative inquiry. Whether through feeding the birds, or finding the fantastical in the living insects and bugs here in our own backyard, the children are our best teachers. They remind us that empathy goes beyond emotions, and beyond social etiquette. Instead, empathy is a result of the fantastical connections we form with each other, with nature, and even with ideas we encounter on a daily basis. Empathy is at the root of our community and work with children. What we as educators look forward to is seeing those roots firmly taking hold, growing each individual stronger, and eventually branching out beyond the walls of school and home to impact the community at large.

Article: Briggs, Saga. “How Empathy Affects Learning, And How To Cultivate It In Your Students.” 11 Nov. 2014, www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/empathy-and-learning/ Accessed 4 Jan. 2018