Talk of the Town

Roots of Empathy, Changing the World Child by Child

Mon. Oct. 3, 7:30 - 9 pm

With: Mary Gordon, Educator and Author

“Mary Gordon, an educator who has worked for more than two decades with children from all kinds of backgrounds, has discovered that the solution to bullying and other anti-social behaviour lies within each child's innate sense of caring and compassion. She believes that infusing children with empathy constitutes nothing less than a new paradigm in our approach to child-raising.” Thomas Allen Publishing

When Mary Gordon began the Roots of Empathy as a pilot program in Toronto in 1996, there were six schools involved and about 150 students. In the 2004/05 school year Roots of Empathy programs were running in 1,141 classrooms across 8 provinces in Canada, in English and French, in rural, urban, and suburban communities, and in Aboriginal communities, both on and off reserve, reaching 28,525 elementary school children from Kindergarten to Grade 8. So far more than 67,000 children have taken part in the program. But what does Roots of Empathy set out to do? Here is a description of the program from the Roots of Empathy web site:

“The heart of the program is a neighbourhood infant and parent who visit the classroom once a month for the full school year. With a certified Roots of Empathy Instructor, students are coached to observe the baby's development, celebrate milestones, interact with the baby and learn about an infant's needs and unique temperament. The Roots of Empathy Instructor also works with the class the week before and the week after each family visit to prepare and reinforce teachings using a specialized curriculum that is developmentally appropriate for each of four age ranges.

The emotional literacy taught in the program lays the foundation for more caring classrooms. When children understand how others feel, they are less likely to hurt each other through bullying, exclusion and violence. In the Roots of Empathy program children learn how to challenge cruelty and injustice. Messages of social inclusion and activities that are consensus building contribute to a culture of caring that changes the tone of the classroom. As empathy rises, aggression falls. Research results from national evaluations of Roots of Empathy indicate significant reductions in aggression and increases in pro-social behaviour.”

In October 2005 Thomas Allen will publish Roots of Empathy, a book that captures the essence of the program and the experiences that have had such a profound effect on so many children.

Join us at Talk of the Town for a conversation with Mary Gordon.

The discussion will take place at a special location Magee High School, 6360 Maple St. Vancouver. Attendance is free of charge, but please pre-register at info.talkofthetown@ubc.ca or phone 604-822-5675.

Biography

Mary Gordon is the Founder, President and the inspiration behind Roots of Empathy. She has been a teacher of children, a teacher of parents, a teacher of teachers and a consummate learner whose award-winning programs have been informed by the power of the loving relationships of families. In 1996 Mary Gordon founded Roots of Empathy, a not-for-profit, evidence-based classroom program that has shown dramatic effect in reducing levels of aggression and violence among schoolchildren while raising social emotional competence and increasing empathy. The program is delivered in English and French in rural, urban, remote and Aboriginal communities, on and off reserve, across Canada and in international pilots.

Mary is also the founder of Canada 's first and largest school-based parenting and family literacy program, which she initiated in 1981. This program has been used as best practice model throughout North America and has attracted the attention of educators and policy makers from Japan, Australia, Jordan, South Africa, and England. In August 2005 Ms. Gordon was named to the Order of Canada.

Links

Roots of Empathy

The Roots of Empathy web site has detailed information on the entire program.

Global Tribe

A transcription of an interview with Mary Gordon on the PBS program, Global Tribe.

Thomas Allen Publishers

There is a synopsis of Mary Gordon’s new book at the publisher’s web site.