Middle School is a tough age for being empathetic. How can I help my students learn empathy?
Empathy is, indeed, critical for conducting a successful and satisfying interview. Students need to learn to listen non-critically and with compassion. The project must incorporate practice of good listening skills, which may include basics such as: not interrupting, maintaining eye contact, nodding to encourage the person to go on, staying focused on what the person is saying, and finding something of interest in the stories, even if they are “boring” to the student. The practice interviews offer a chance for student to develop empathy to care about and relate to the person being interviewed. In peer interviews, teachers might ask students to include topics such as fears, regrets in my life, favorite relatives, proudest moments, to help the interviewer to empathize with their interview subject.
