It’s an award winning program in Canadian elementary schools that is teaching students how to be more empathetic and it uses babies as teachers.
Called Roots of Empathy, grade 6 students get a half-hour lesson once a month with an infant. Throughout the year the baby and mom visit the students so they can watch the infant’s development, learn what makes them happy or sad and see what impacts their actions have on others.
At Bay St. Lawrence the baby is little Lia. The students sing hello and good bye to her and all feel as if they are learning to be more kind to other people because they are starting to understand how actions do indeed effect others.
The goal of the program is to create a better society, one that is more empathetic and one that perhaps doesn’t allow the bully to survive anymore. Future plans for the program is to start with students in younger grades. Only time will tell if the program is truly effective. [ Source ] [ Picture ]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgu_j20a8I4