Changing the world, child by child

The expression on this boy’s face showcases his emotions as he tenderly wipes away the tears of his Roots of Empathy baby. In ROE, the Instructor guides the children to observe, comment on, and draw conclusions about how the ROE baby is feeling. This gives children a vocabulary for describing and understanding their own feelings and those of others. As students learn to identify, label, and discuss their emotions, student’s understanding of one another is increased.

As students observe the growth of the bond between infant and parent over the course of the school year, they are witness to the most influential relationship in the life span. They learn how the baby relies on the parent to understand the world and in turn, children learn the importance of warm, responsive care in the process of learning to read the baby’s cues and needs.

Mary Gordon signs copies of her book, Roots of Empathy: Changing the World Child by Child with the help of a Roots of Empathy “teacher” at a Baby Celebration. Baby Celebrations take place at the end of the school year to honour the babies who are the heart of the ROE program.

This little boy’s personal “trail of tears” and his ability to explain his sadness allowed other children in his class to understand the impact of bullying. The courage required to share humiliation is always respected in Roots of Empathy classrooms.