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Teaching emotional intelligence

Roots of Empathy, Mary Gordon, The Experiment

After she became a kindergarten teacher 40 years ago, Mary Gordon learned there was only so much she could do in school. She started working with families caught in cycles of abuse and domestic violence, which taught her that children need to develop empathy to become good citizens and loving parents. So in 1996, Gordon founded Roots of Empathy, a Toronto-based program that aims to teach elementary school students an understanding of themselves and their peers. How? By bringing an infant and parent into the classroom once a month for half an hour and having trained instructors coach students to observe the babies, identify their feelings and investigate their own. This way, as Gordon writes in Roots of Empathy: Changing the World Child by Child, youngsters “learn how an understanding of temperament and gaining insights into their own emotions and those of others lead to empathy and build rich human relationships."

In this engaging book, Gordon describes how her program—which has expanded to other countries, including the U.S.—has helped reduce incidences of aggression and bullying. Through anecdotes, Gordon shows that the students sing out loud when the baby enters the classroom, ask questions, discuss the baby's behavior and celebrate milestones like the first tooth. This “emotional literacy" allows Roots of Empathy to educate, as Gordon puts it, “both the mind and the heart."