The Growth Mindset Playbook Chapter 7 Reflection

 Chapter 7 in The Growth Mindset Playbook is all about how the empathetic approach to students in the classroom is the best approach. Having empathy means you can feel what another person is feeling and be able to be in their shoes, while also being open for further discussion. Being empathetic with students in the classroom will showcase to them that you care, you feel similarly to them, and you are open to talk about it without judging them. Being empathetic also involves incorporating Unconditional Positive Regard. Unconditional Positive Regard essentially translates to "without condition prizing respect" (or I guess it would make more sense to say Prizing Respect Without Condition) (Paraphrased from Page 94 of The Growth Mindset Playbook Chapter 7: The Human Connection). When you showcase unconditional positive regard, you respect and value each student regardless of their behavior. You do not discriminate students because of their lack of appropriate behavior. Essentially, you don't play favorites. With unconditional positive regard, you accept and appreciate the entirety of the person for who they are, and you show kindness and empathy towards them without taking into account their negative qualities. Showcasing empathy and unconditional positive regard will result in a more trustworthy school setting and overall better relationships between students and teachers. You want to make the classroom feel like a home, and to do this you must show that you can care and can connect with the students in times of distress.

There is, however, a stark contrast between Empathy and Sympathy, and communication involving each is relatively different from each other. Whereas empathy is the ability to feel the same feelings and emotions as another, Sympathy is more or so just feeling bad for the person. Sympathetic people don't usually open the floor for further conversation, which can result in the other person not being as willing to communicate further. Empathetic people showcase that they are open to talk and help. With sympathy, one puts a "positive spin" on the situation, whereas with empathy, you let them know you understand and are available (Page 99). 

I appreciate how this chapter provides examples of communication between a student and a teacher both with empathy and with sympathy (Pages 98-101). From a larger standpoint, it doesn't seem as though both approaches would be that different from each other in effect. But the examples provided by this chapter show that, though similar in some ways, they have stark contrasts from each other. The sympathetic responses typically involve the teacher just feeling sorry for the student, whereas the empathetic approaches involve the teacher saying they feel in a similar way, and they are open to talk about it further with the student. Both are very powerful ways of showcasing care towards another, and both are definitely better than the shameful approaches, but as this chapter conveys, the Empathetic Approach is the most impactful.

This chapter also provides Mini-Lessons on empathy that a teacher can apply to the classroom in order to help the students become more empathetic as well. The book suggests making an Expression Scale, having students exchange experiences where they felt a certain way, and respond to each other in an empathetic way (Page 102). Other suggestions include Role-Playing scenarios where one should be empathetic in their response, reflecting on oneself to determine how empathetic one is (an Empathy Self-Assessment), and even having students come up with a solution to a global or school-wide issue (Pages 104-105). I think these are fabulous activities that one can apply in the classroom in order to help students, as well as the teacher, be more empathetic and understanding.

Lastly, this chapter discusses Restorative Justice, which is a way for teachers and badly misbehaving students to work out their issues with conversation. Typically, this is done between a teacher and a student who has done something in order to get them suspended, expelled, or arrested. This process puts "the focus on connection instead of isolation" (Page 107). This would reduce suspensions and expulsions and provide a more empathetic approach for these situations (as well as Unconditional Positive Regard), which would overall have a more lasting positive effect on the students instead of just kicking them out of school.