Building an Empathy Muscle

Five summer tips for getting children to think and care about people everywhere.

Summer offers a perfect chance to explore – ideas, places, experiences. Ideally, it’s a time for playing outside, slowing down, trying a new hobby, and more family time.  Among the “muscles” I like to exercise, when not as bound by classroom exigencies, are those that go beyond anything a subject test can measure.  These are the skills that really make us human – virtues like compassion, creativity, empathy, and generosity. Ultimately, these build better students once school starts again, too.