Where Does Compassion Fit? >Susan Erdakos

"I always consider compassion as the key, not only for achieving and maintaining our own mental calmness, stability and happiness, but also as something extraordinarily useful for creating a healthy human society. By that I mean a happier and less harmful human society. Therefore--whether it be in individual cases, on a family level, a national level, or an international level--altruism, love, and compassion are the basis for success, for happiness, and for a happy environment." [Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection by the Dalai Lama]

In online environments, we have to consider the connection we make with students. The Internet has the potential to make us less connected as human beings, when in fact, we live in a time when connecting is so important. Connection, true connection, we must admit, includes compassion. And even though we have only an electronic connection with students, that connection can include compassion and empathy, which can further student commitment to their education and to the online community to which they belong – Kaplan University.

This past year I have heard much about the need to work with students on developing meaningful social and emotional skills. Childhood play, a main avenue to developing these skills, is less visible today. Neighborhood play has largely been replaced by individual and organized group activities. Most kindergarten classrooms, where school districts struggle to meet state learning goals, no longer include play. This lack of early play affects the ability of children to develop the empathy and compassion needed to maintain a unified, caring community.

To address this critical issue, schools and educators must recognize the classroom as a community of learners, see it as a microcosm where students feel and believe they have a stake in each other’s well being. We must understand that regardless of student academic achievement, the risks of poor peer relationships include later problems with employment, parenting, and other important aspects of adult life. "Indeed, the single best childhood predictor of adult adaptation is not IQ, not school grades, and not classroom behavior, but rather the adequacy with which the child gets along with other children" (Hartup, 1992, p. 1).

For Kaplan instructors, exploring ways to bring compassion, tolerance, peace, and happiness into the online classroom will improve teacher effectiveness, student learning, and affect our future as a society. Developing a compassionate classroom will allow for a more productive world and understanding of one another. Ways that we can create compassion in an online environment include the following.

Encourage more participation on the Discussion Board, especially when students share their personal experiences and knowledge. As the instructor, when appropriate, enter a post at the beginning that encourages a more personal approach to the discussion.

For example in EP220 Unit 1, the first discussion question states: What insightful information did you learn about effective reading methods and the reading process from your text?

By entering the following first posting before students participate, the instructor can encourage more thoughtful reflections:

Dear Class,

As we begin our exploration of the reading and writing process, you will find that like all knowledge, this process is a step approach. You will discover that to help students who are struggling with their reading and writing skills, educators must look back to the beginning stages of phonemic awareness. Educators must also look to their own personal experience with becoming readers and writers and what enabled them to succeed. You will also find that reading and writing support each other, and when taught in connection to each other, the results are measurable.

All in all, our journey together will be an exciting one and will prepare you to better help children become efficient and effective readers and writers.

Instructor name~

Create a positive feeling of community by making sure that the part of the response made by the instructor, the part that shows when students pull up the unit discussion, includes both the student’s name and a positive word. Some examples include:

Kudos Jane! Your ideas for….
Creative idea, Joe! Thanks for bringing up the fact that…
Thoughtful response, Nancy! It is so important to…

In another unit you might begin each posting with a word of appreciation. For example:

Thanks for sharing, Jane! It makes a difference when…
Thanks for your input, Joe! I’m impressed that you…
Nancy, thank you for reminding us that …
Merci Melinda! I’m glad you...
Grazie Jennifer! I agree that…
Danke Susan! Awesome reflection…
Gracias Susan! Sharing your thoughts helps us…

Saying thank you in other languages also indicates recognition and respect for our cultural/ global community.

Address your individual department’s plan for retention and success in a timely manner. In this process be sure to include an early phone call when a student has not participated by day five of the first week. The weekend is over by then and with Monday being the first day of the work week, it is a likely bet that students who have not yet participated need some encouragement or motivation.

No email will replace the sense of caring or community that a phone call provides. With this simple phone call you will establish a relationship with your students that makes the online environment a more secure and comfortable place, a place where they can safely participate, and a place where they are responsible members of a community.

Note: When engaging in personal discussions you need to consider what is or is not appropriate. You want to be understanding and supportive while remaining in the role of a Kaplan instructor.

Craft your course home page into a place where students come to find useful information regarding the course aside from the unit links. Make your announcements, doc sharing postings, and Webliographies useful and appealing.

Begin each term by encouraging students to participate in seminar. Hearing the instructor’s voice automatically introduces the human side of the student-instructor relationship. Be sure each student is recognized and valued by using students’ names and referring to their contributions to the discussions. Try to engage students who do not participate.

Remember that students frequently face constraints on their time. They may work, have family demands, or face family or personal crisis situations. Help students establish a healthy perfectionism: a healthy view of how to manage time and conflict. As Deepak Chopra (2005) states in his book Peace is the Way:

"Conflict…serves as the meeting point between two choices, and as long as we are on the path, choice is a constant. There isn’t a single choice you can make once and for all. The journey is too dynamic for that, and the deepest drives return time and again at different stages of life" (p. 224).

Helping students establish a willingness to learn from mistakes, to be compassionate with themselves, and to move toward an ‘I think I can’ point of view helps them build empathy toward each other, and they learn to see themselves as part of a caring team of learners, which includes the instructor.

References

Chopra, D. (2005). Peace is the Way. New York: Harmony Books.

Hartup. W.W. (1992). Having Friends, Making Friends, and Keeping Friends:
     Relationships as Educational Contexts. Elementary and Early
     Childhood Education. Retrieved November 18, 2009 from ERIC.

Susan Erdakos is an adjunct professor in early childhood education in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Did you know...

Susan is a member of the 100 Mile Swim Club at the Riviera Country Club in Orland Park, Illinois? Way to go, Susan!