I would like to take this opportunity to take you on a brief tour of what is available to you, the readers of this blog, beyond the opinions of the blogger(s). In fact, the other features of the blog may in many cases be of greater value to readers than the contributions of the blogger(s)!
On the left two-thirds of the cover page you have the latest posts, starting with the most recent. Please note that at the end of each post there is a box for you to express your comments, reactions or questions to each post. We really encourage you to do this! You can preview your comments before you are ready to post them. Also, you may want to review the comments of previous readers to each of the posts. You will find much thoughtful analysis and opinions from previous readers!
On the right margin, you find what may be the least interesting part of the blog: the "About Me" section, relating to my personal background. At the end of this section, you may click on the link to view a slightly more thorough version of my personal profile (does anyone really care about my favorite books, or what films I enjoy the most? Doubtful.)
Now comes the good stuff! On the right margin, below the "About me/Profile" section, there is a long section entitled "Comments/Links/Resources." It explains what links are available to the readers of the blog. These are invaluable resources to anyone who wants to develop his/her "State of The World Awareness" and his/her "Knowledge of Global Dynamics," as suggested by Robert Hanvey, in order to become an effective global citizen.
You cannot do any better than using these resources to learn about and understand what is going on in the world today. You will have direct access to: BBC Global News, perhaps the most respected news organization in the world (both print and TV resources); The New York Times Global Edition in association with The International Herald Tribune, the top news and analysis vehicles in the Western world; WorldPress.org, a thorough and invaluable resource for discovering what the world's media is saying about our global reality. (Often the stories covered and how they are covered will be substantially different from what we find in the Western media); and Worldfocus, an excellent and much needed effort by Western news professionals to cover the important stories that somehow bypass the mainstream media. We will return to these great resources in Part II of this post. For now, let's continue to discover what else is available in this blog.
Below the links just outlined, there are boxes for subscribing to this blog, and/or to our readers' comments. Below these boxes there is a "Search This Blog" box for locating material of interest in the blog without having to hunt through all posts.
Immediately below, still on the right margin, there is another box to subscribe as a follower of this blog; we hope that you will consider doing so and be notified of new entries as they are posted. A list of current followers is next.
Finally, the Blog Archive is shown, organized by month of entry. The entries of the current month are outlined; you have to click on each of the preceding months to access previous entries.
We hope that this brief tour will help you get the most from this blog. In the next entry, we will focus in more detail on the wonderful news resources that were mentioned earlier -- The BBC; The New York Times/International Herald Tribune; Worldpress.org; Worldfocus -- and we will describe in more detail the great information available in each of these resources.
Until soon, then.
October 25, 2009
October 10, 2009
CAN WE HELP OUR STUDENTS TO DEVELOP EMPATHY? -- PART III
In our last post we discussed how cultural and individual/personal conditioning can conspire to derail a student's normal development of empathy toward other humans who suffer in pain and misery. Now we will focus on how we as teachers can help to re-awaken our students' potential for empathy.
Following are some approaches -- not the only approaches -- that we can employ in the classroom. I invite readers to share (in the "Comments" section following this post) their opinions about these suggested approaches and all other ways in which our students can be helped in this often difficult process.
The possibilities suggested below have been intentionally stated in a very general manner. Global teachers wishing to pursue any of these suggestions should select the specific avenues most suitable to their students' situation.
(1) The first step should normally be to provide solid information to the students about the human condition around the planet. What is the extent of human suffering in the world? How many men, women and children suffer from destructive poverty, chronic hunger and malnutrition, lack of the most basic health services, elementary education, or other elements that we consider essential to a meaningful life as a human being? What human rights are not respected around the world? What is the condition of women around the planet?
How do the students feel about the answers to these questions? Are they comfortable with the status quo? Rarely will the answer be "yes." Students need to know what the state of the world is; often, they will be astonished at the extent of suffering among their fellow humans.
(2) A follow-up line of questioning: Do all humans start life from the same starting point, in the same level playing field? Do some of us have a head start over others? Why? What did we do to deserve that head start? What did the disadvantaged do to deserve their handicapped beginning and their very limited potential?
Let's bring the issue to a very personal level of reflection. If your parents had lived in a Mumbai slum, or a favela in Rio de Janeiro, would you be in this school today? Would you have the same potential that you now have? What would your life be like? What would your parents' and your siblings' life be like? How would you feel about your lot in life?
Would your disempowered and disenfranchised condition be your own fault? Do you think that you would want a better chance at life? How would you view those who enjoy all the material benefits that in fact you actually do enjoy today?
(3) Let's engage the power of the informed imagination. Ask your students to sit comfortably, close their eyes and allow themselves to be transported to an alternate reality that you will construct and narrate to them -- a reality that in fact reflects the real world of millions upon millions of humans around the planet.
Building on solid data known to you, ask students to imagine themselves living for 24 hours in the world of the downtrodden. Slowly narrate this verbal fantasy to your students. Describe the world that they would face as they wake-up in the morning. Take them with your narration through a day in the life of their new selves, somewhere in the world. Describe the details of the life they encounter. Slowly, let them face their new reality as you describe it.
At the end of the imaginary experience, ask them to explore their thoughts and feelings as they "lived" that imaginary life. Ask them to write them down, without discussion. Then, ask volunteers to share what they have written; allow discussion from other students.
This can be an enlightening experience for those students who allow themselves entry into their vicarious life.
(4) The power of good literature can be extraordinary. A good writer can make an unknown world come alive to his/her reader. Select, from the multitude of relevant options available, which books should be read by your students. Part of your assessment should be a written personal reaction to the existential plight of the disempowered characters in the book. After this has been written, a class discussion could expand the potential for empathetic understanding.
(5) Within the world of literature, poetry offers the most potential for affective growth. Choose the poems that would be most relevant for your objectives and situation. Have students familiarize themselves with the poems and then read them aloud in class. Explore, in class discussion, the relevant affective elements brought up by the poems. There is no need to overdo it. Let the truth of each poem speak for itself.
(6) We should not underestimate the power of music. From the "Ode to Joy" of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, to some of today's socially committed rap artists, great composers and performers have already communicated affective truths to our students with greater success than a brilliant scientist could.
Ask your students to identify music of any genre that communicates the plight of the dispossessed and the disempowered. They could bring a CD to play in class, provide copies of lyrics for reading and discussion, or -- in the case of the more musically gifted -- perform the piece for the benefit of the whole class.
(7) Many countries (like the USA) wisely forbid religious instruction in the public classroom. However, we can inquire into the social morality directives promulgated by the religious faiths of our students. All the major religious faiths clearly and powerfully enjoin their followers to care for their fellow human beings. Justice and charity are at the core of all major faiths, even if followers often ignore the teachings. (Unfortunately, the social doctrine of any religious faith is often the least emphasized message in sermons, writings, etc.)
We can ask our students to reflect on the directives of their faiths. What is the social doctrine of your church? What does your religion say about caring for others unknown to you? What is the place of justice? What does your religion say about charity? What does your religious faith say about the suffering of others? What does your religion ask of you when it comes to helping your human brothers and sisters?
We should be careful not to assume that all our students have a religious commitment (in the USA, 30% of the population -- and growing -- claims "no religious affiliation.") In the case of these students, ask them to reflect on what the application of social ethics might require. (You may need to explain the difference between "morality" and "ethics.")
(8) Ask students to share stories of individuals personally known to them who, through no fault of their own, lived lives of misery or despair. Discuss in class: Are people normally responsible for their own misery? What is the normal, human response to the misery of others?
(9) Discuss in class, "What kinds of things can interfere with our normal human capacity to develop Basic Human Empathy?" "What can we do to help develop our human potential for empathy?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
We can only help. Our students must do the hard thinking and the "hard feeling" for themselves. They have to be ready, willing and able to challenge any remaining insensitivity that remains like a hardened shell around their sense of empathy. Are our students capable of this? In the case of the great majority, yes!
Following are some approaches -- not the only approaches -- that we can employ in the classroom. I invite readers to share (in the "Comments" section following this post) their opinions about these suggested approaches and all other ways in which our students can be helped in this often difficult process.
The possibilities suggested below have been intentionally stated in a very general manner. Global teachers wishing to pursue any of these suggestions should select the specific avenues most suitable to their students' situation.
(1) The first step should normally be to provide solid information to the students about the human condition around the planet. What is the extent of human suffering in the world? How many men, women and children suffer from destructive poverty, chronic hunger and malnutrition, lack of the most basic health services, elementary education, or other elements that we consider essential to a meaningful life as a human being? What human rights are not respected around the world? What is the condition of women around the planet?
How do the students feel about the answers to these questions? Are they comfortable with the status quo? Rarely will the answer be "yes." Students need to know what the state of the world is; often, they will be astonished at the extent of suffering among their fellow humans.
(2) A follow-up line of questioning: Do all humans start life from the same starting point, in the same level playing field? Do some of us have a head start over others? Why? What did we do to deserve that head start? What did the disadvantaged do to deserve their handicapped beginning and their very limited potential?
Let's bring the issue to a very personal level of reflection. If your parents had lived in a Mumbai slum, or a favela in Rio de Janeiro, would you be in this school today? Would you have the same potential that you now have? What would your life be like? What would your parents' and your siblings' life be like? How would you feel about your lot in life?
Would your disempowered and disenfranchised condition be your own fault? Do you think that you would want a better chance at life? How would you view those who enjoy all the material benefits that in fact you actually do enjoy today?
(3) Let's engage the power of the informed imagination. Ask your students to sit comfortably, close their eyes and allow themselves to be transported to an alternate reality that you will construct and narrate to them -- a reality that in fact reflects the real world of millions upon millions of humans around the planet.
Building on solid data known to you, ask students to imagine themselves living for 24 hours in the world of the downtrodden. Slowly narrate this verbal fantasy to your students. Describe the world that they would face as they wake-up in the morning. Take them with your narration through a day in the life of their new selves, somewhere in the world. Describe the details of the life they encounter. Slowly, let them face their new reality as you describe it.
At the end of the imaginary experience, ask them to explore their thoughts and feelings as they "lived" that imaginary life. Ask them to write them down, without discussion. Then, ask volunteers to share what they have written; allow discussion from other students.
This can be an enlightening experience for those students who allow themselves entry into their vicarious life.
(4) The power of good literature can be extraordinary. A good writer can make an unknown world come alive to his/her reader. Select, from the multitude of relevant options available, which books should be read by your students. Part of your assessment should be a written personal reaction to the existential plight of the disempowered characters in the book. After this has been written, a class discussion could expand the potential for empathetic understanding.
(5) Within the world of literature, poetry offers the most potential for affective growth. Choose the poems that would be most relevant for your objectives and situation. Have students familiarize themselves with the poems and then read them aloud in class. Explore, in class discussion, the relevant affective elements brought up by the poems. There is no need to overdo it. Let the truth of each poem speak for itself.
(6) We should not underestimate the power of music. From the "Ode to Joy" of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, to some of today's socially committed rap artists, great composers and performers have already communicated affective truths to our students with greater success than a brilliant scientist could.
Ask your students to identify music of any genre that communicates the plight of the dispossessed and the disempowered. They could bring a CD to play in class, provide copies of lyrics for reading and discussion, or -- in the case of the more musically gifted -- perform the piece for the benefit of the whole class.
(7) Many countries (like the USA) wisely forbid religious instruction in the public classroom. However, we can inquire into the social morality directives promulgated by the religious faiths of our students. All the major religious faiths clearly and powerfully enjoin their followers to care for their fellow human beings. Justice and charity are at the core of all major faiths, even if followers often ignore the teachings. (Unfortunately, the social doctrine of any religious faith is often the least emphasized message in sermons, writings, etc.)
We can ask our students to reflect on the directives of their faiths. What is the social doctrine of your church? What does your religion say about caring for others unknown to you? What is the place of justice? What does your religion say about charity? What does your religious faith say about the suffering of others? What does your religion ask of you when it comes to helping your human brothers and sisters?
We should be careful not to assume that all our students have a religious commitment (in the USA, 30% of the population -- and growing -- claims "no religious affiliation.") In the case of these students, ask them to reflect on what the application of social ethics might require. (You may need to explain the difference between "morality" and "ethics.")
(8) Ask students to share stories of individuals personally known to them who, through no fault of their own, lived lives of misery or despair. Discuss in class: Are people normally responsible for their own misery? What is the normal, human response to the misery of others?
(9) Discuss in class, "What kinds of things can interfere with our normal human capacity to develop Basic Human Empathy?" "What can we do to help develop our human potential for empathy?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
We can only help. Our students must do the hard thinking and the "hard feeling" for themselves. They have to be ready, willing and able to challenge any remaining insensitivity that remains like a hardened shell around their sense of empathy. Are our students capable of this? In the case of the great majority, yes!
October 4, 2009
CAN WE HELP OUR STUDENTS TO DEVELOP EMPATHY? -- PART II
In our last post we proposed that the normal, healthy emotional and intellectual development of adolescents would lead them to develop "Basic Human Empathy." We defined Basic Human Empathy as "The intellectual and emotional ability to feel the joy and pain of others who are not personally close to us." We also raised the questions of whether we as teachers could help in the development of Basic Human Empathy and how we could do so.
We will now try to explore what factors intervene to thwart the normal development of Basic Human Empathy. Two such factors are: (1) cultural conditioning, and (2) individual, personal conditioning.
(1) By "cultural conditioning" we mean the sum total of the conditioned learning provided by the culture or sub-culture in which we live, injected unconsciously into our minds through associative learning. Some sub-cultures glorify individualism and denigrate (at least in practice) normal human concern for others. In the USA, for instance, there is a profound theological / philosophical under-current among some religious groups which minimizes the value of empathy as it glorifies an emphasis on individualism. This under-current is sometimes mistakenly referred to as "the Protestant ethic." This is an unwarranted term, as most major Protestant denominations do not subscribe to it. More accurate terms are "the Puritan ethic," or "the Calvinist ethic."
As dogmatic practitioners of strict Calvinism, the Puritan settlers in what would become the United States of America believed that their God had already predestined all human beings to either eternal heaven or hell, and that the human experience on earth correlated to this divine judgment. The "saved" would enjoy riches and benefits on earth; the "condemned" would not -- they would experience want and despair.
While this "Puritan ethic" is not always consciously embraced in American culture, it has undoubtedly had a major impact on the ethos of American culture due to the importance of the Puritans in the American story. It is an under-current that pervades many sectors of secular culture (such as the business world) and is predominant in some religious subcultures.
The practical effect of the conscious or unconscious spread of this Puritan ethic is the logical conclusion that (having accepted the predestination premise,) if God has condemned the unworthy person to hell for his/her iniquity, why should I care about his/her well-being on earth? Thus, the poor are condemned for their poverty, the weak for their own powerlessness, and the sick for their sickness. The Puritan ethic blesses our indifference and our lack of caring. It undermines the normal development of Basic Human Empathy.
We must stress that many or most Protestant denominations -- among them Lutherans, Methodists, Anglicans and many others -- do not subscribe to this theology or its consequent social doctrine of non-empathy. Neither does the Catholic church, whose social doctrine is among the most empathetic of all, even if most Catholics are blissfully unaware of their own church's social teaching.
Due to its historical importance as a foundation stone of American culture, the Puritan ethic has created a powerful under-current of insensitivity in American society -- even among members of religious groups that do not support the Puritan theological premise or conclusions.
Other nations and cultures have their own historical and philosophical barriers that interfere with the development of Basic Human Empathy. We each need to explore our cultural and historical contexts in order to identify what variables are at play.
(2) Individual, personal conditioning often builds on cultural conditioning. Continuing the USA example, wave upon wave of immigrants struggle in the "land of opportunity" to reach the "American dream." Those who reach the dream of material welfare, unaware (and uninterested) in the real difficulties faced by others, often assume that if others haven't found the same level of material success it must be due to their lack of trying, some moral failing, or some other internal weakness.
The adults in American society who hold such views may intentionally or unintentionally condition their children to believe that if others suffer, it must be due to their own avoidable failings, or lack of hard work. Didn't they, recent immigrants, reach success through hard work? Therefore, why waste time, energy and money worrying about the downtrodden?
We can now explain how, in the richest large country in the world, we accept homelessness, poverty, lack of access to health care or legal care, etc. and do not appear to be particularly motivated to take political steps to bring about greater social justice.
Often, adolescents reach our schools carrying the huge burden of non-empathetic cultural and personal conditioning. This conditioning has been unconscious and not requested. They usually have not stopped to reflect on their own mental schemas about empathy, economic success, and how pain and suffering can come to those who do not deserve it. That is the beginning of our work as teachers.
In our next post, we will explore some specific avenues to help our students breakaway from any residual cultural or personal conditioning and recover their potential for development of Basic Human Empathy.
We will now try to explore what factors intervene to thwart the normal development of Basic Human Empathy. Two such factors are: (1) cultural conditioning, and (2) individual, personal conditioning.
(1) By "cultural conditioning" we mean the sum total of the conditioned learning provided by the culture or sub-culture in which we live, injected unconsciously into our minds through associative learning. Some sub-cultures glorify individualism and denigrate (at least in practice) normal human concern for others. In the USA, for instance, there is a profound theological / philosophical under-current among some religious groups which minimizes the value of empathy as it glorifies an emphasis on individualism. This under-current is sometimes mistakenly referred to as "the Protestant ethic." This is an unwarranted term, as most major Protestant denominations do not subscribe to it. More accurate terms are "the Puritan ethic," or "the Calvinist ethic."
As dogmatic practitioners of strict Calvinism, the Puritan settlers in what would become the United States of America believed that their God had already predestined all human beings to either eternal heaven or hell, and that the human experience on earth correlated to this divine judgment. The "saved" would enjoy riches and benefits on earth; the "condemned" would not -- they would experience want and despair.
While this "Puritan ethic" is not always consciously embraced in American culture, it has undoubtedly had a major impact on the ethos of American culture due to the importance of the Puritans in the American story. It is an under-current that pervades many sectors of secular culture (such as the business world) and is predominant in some religious subcultures.
The practical effect of the conscious or unconscious spread of this Puritan ethic is the logical conclusion that (having accepted the predestination premise,) if God has condemned the unworthy person to hell for his/her iniquity, why should I care about his/her well-being on earth? Thus, the poor are condemned for their poverty, the weak for their own powerlessness, and the sick for their sickness. The Puritan ethic blesses our indifference and our lack of caring. It undermines the normal development of Basic Human Empathy.
We must stress that many or most Protestant denominations -- among them Lutherans, Methodists, Anglicans and many others -- do not subscribe to this theology or its consequent social doctrine of non-empathy. Neither does the Catholic church, whose social doctrine is among the most empathetic of all, even if most Catholics are blissfully unaware of their own church's social teaching.
Due to its historical importance as a foundation stone of American culture, the Puritan ethic has created a powerful under-current of insensitivity in American society -- even among members of religious groups that do not support the Puritan theological premise or conclusions.
Other nations and cultures have their own historical and philosophical barriers that interfere with the development of Basic Human Empathy. We each need to explore our cultural and historical contexts in order to identify what variables are at play.
(2) Individual, personal conditioning often builds on cultural conditioning. Continuing the USA example, wave upon wave of immigrants struggle in the "land of opportunity" to reach the "American dream." Those who reach the dream of material welfare, unaware (and uninterested) in the real difficulties faced by others, often assume that if others haven't found the same level of material success it must be due to their lack of trying, some moral failing, or some other internal weakness.
The adults in American society who hold such views may intentionally or unintentionally condition their children to believe that if others suffer, it must be due to their own avoidable failings, or lack of hard work. Didn't they, recent immigrants, reach success through hard work? Therefore, why waste time, energy and money worrying about the downtrodden?
We can now explain how, in the richest large country in the world, we accept homelessness, poverty, lack of access to health care or legal care, etc. and do not appear to be particularly motivated to take political steps to bring about greater social justice.
Often, adolescents reach our schools carrying the huge burden of non-empathetic cultural and personal conditioning. This conditioning has been unconscious and not requested. They usually have not stopped to reflect on their own mental schemas about empathy, economic success, and how pain and suffering can come to those who do not deserve it. That is the beginning of our work as teachers.
In our next post, we will explore some specific avenues to help our students breakaway from any residual cultural or personal conditioning and recover their potential for development of Basic Human Empathy.
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