Empathy is important in educational support because this is where we begin.

When I first meet the student, I choose to try to see the world through their eyes. I choose to lean in, be engaged, and ask questions – without any judgement about the answers. I choose to see the student’s ideas, thoughts, feelings, and needs– from their perspective. Empathy is important so that the student can feel heard and accepted.

 

From there, if I am working in a school, we work as a team to support the student. If I am hired independently, we develop a plan together, that fits the student’s goals and needs.

In the book, “Empathy - Why It Matters, and How to Get It” (2014) Roman Krznaric states that empathy can be defined as, “the art of stepping imaginatively into the shoes of another person, understanding their feelings and perspectives, and using that understanding to guide your actions”.

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Also, in the book “I Thought it Was Just Me, But It Isn't” (2008), Theresa Wiseman describes four attributes of empathy:

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• See the world as others see it. This means we put our own “stuff” aside to see through another’s eyes.

• Be nonjudgmental. If we have judgement of another’s situation it takes away from the person’s experience.

• Really understand another person’s feelings. —In order to do this, we need to be in touch with our own feelings so that we can understand the feelings of others. But we do still need to put our own “stuff” aside so that we can focus on the other person.

• Communicate our understanding of that person’s feelings.

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By receiving empathy, not only do we understand how good it feels to be heard and accepted, we also come to better understand the strength and courage it takes to be vulnerable and share that need for empathy in the first place.