2. The next scale is Empathy What does empathy mean?

3. Empathy Empathy is the ability to feel what others feel. Empathy is the key to being human. For us to be part of the social community we have to be able to be in touch with other people and their feelings.

4. Empathy is developed in people through their early learning experiences. We learn this through our own crying, hurting, sharing, being cared for and accepted, as well as having someone hold us and learning how to express feelings. The difficult thing for many people is that when they go to school they are often made fun of and teased. When this happens, we can quickly end up feeling alone and uncared for. For many of us, school is a painful experience. We seem to be surrounded by people and sometimes friends, but in reality, we can feel very alone.

5. It is possible to learn how to express empathy during these early years of childhood and adolescence. One of the things we need to do is learn to listen to others and learn how to understand someone’s feelings. When you are in your Teen Leadership class and someone is sharing something about the past or present that is painful or difficult, take time to try to understand and get in touch with what that person is feeling.

6. Empathy is caring about and understanding what the other person is feeling.

7. Answer in your spiral- Write answers only! 1. Can you see empathy? 2. How can someone show empathy to someone else? 3. How do you feel when someone shows you empathy? 4. How do you feel when you show someone else empathy? 5. What does empathy have to do with being a good leader? 6. What does it do to a group when someone is upset and someone in the group makes mean or sarcastic remarks about that person or how the person is expressing feelings? 7. When a group is able to express empathy to each other, how does this affect the group’s performance?