Kindness 101: Building caring citizens through Roots of Empathy

Rainbow District School Board Chair Tyler Campbell, Executive Director of Our Children, Our Future, welcomes Baby Vania to the Roots of Empathy celebration at Algonquin Road Public School on May 12, 2011. Proud parents are Luisa and Joe Cimino.

Baby Ella Laframboise has been visiting students at Long Lake Public School as part of the Roots of Empathy program in Rainbow Schools.

Tyson Pellinen, a Grade 4 student at Algonquin Road Public School, enjoyed playing with Baby Vania during class visits as part of Roots of Empathy in Rainbow Schools.

Grade 4 students at Algonquin Road Public School watched baby Vania Cimino grow throughout the year as part of the Roots of Empathy program. Students include, from left, Jillian Walker, Jeneviève Cannard, Sara Tower, Courtney Schutz and Matti Allen. Mom Luisa Cimino enjoyed bringing Baby Vanier to Algonquin for her monthly visits.

Rainbow District School Board paid tribute to its tiniest teachers at a Roots of Empathy celebration held on Thursday, May 12, 2011. The character development initiative, presented by Rainbow District School Board in partnership with Our Children, Our Future, was delivered in Grade 4 classrooms throughout Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin.

Each participating class adopted a baby who visited the classroom, along with his/her parent and a trained Roots of Empathy instructor, once a month for the entire school year. As the children observed the parent-infant interaction and followed the baby’s development, they learned how infants grow and develop.

Rainbow District School Board Chair Tyler Campbell, who is the Executive Director of Our Children/Our Future, said Roots of Empathy babies are tremendous teachers. “When students develop empathy, they gain an appreciation of the uniqueness of each individual, their opinions, beliefs and contributions. They gain respect and other important values,” he said.

During the school visits, a number of themes are explored including meet the baby, crying, caring and planning for baby, emotions, sleep, safety, communicating, who am I?, and good bye and good wishes. With each classroom visit, students learned empathetic responses to the baby’s temperament, facial cues and feelings.

“Our mission is to develop and promote innovative and sustainable community resources that nurture healthy children, healthy families and healthy communities,” said Chair Campbell. “The focus of Roots of Empathy in the long term is to build capacity for the next generation for caring and compassionate citizenship and parenting.”

The program is designed to foster the development of empathy; to develop emotional literacy; reduce levels of bullying, aggression and violence; increase knowledge of human development, learning, and infant safety; and prepare students for responsible citizenship and responsive parenting.

“Roots of Empathy has proven to be an effective way of developing positive student behaviour,” said Norm Blaseg, Director of Education for Rainbow District School Board. He added: “Character development is an integral part of everyday learning and life in Rainbow Schools.”

Empathy is among the 10 character traits adopted by Rainbow District School Board, along with honesty, respect, responsibility, integrity, courtesy, resilience, acceptance, courage and co-operation. These character attributes, being modelled, taught and expected in Rainbow Schools, provide the foundation for ongoing character development.

Parents expecting children in the next few months are invited to get involved in Roots of Empathy this fall. It’s important that babies be no more than three months when family visits begin in September. Students will watch the babies grow throughout the school year. For more information, parents can contact Executive Co-ordinator Carole Berthiaume at Our Children, Our Future at 705-677-0440, ext. 223.

Roots of Empathy reaches minds and touches hearts…

From: Melanie Paul and baby Zacharie

ROE Parent at Queen Elizabeth Public School

"I think the program is a wonderful experience for both the children and families who participate, as well as the schools and kids that they visit.  It’s been a pleasure to participate in such a great initiative."

From Rebecca Coulas and baby Clara

ROE Parent at Alexander Public School

“I thought the ROE program was an excellent program for my daughter, the students and myself. It was amazing to watch my daughter progress throughout the ROE program.  At first, she felt quite overwhelmed by the new environment and the amount of students present, but by the end of the program she greatly enjoyed playing and interacting with the students. I think that it helped my daughter get familiar with groups of individuals.  She definitely loved all of the attention as well! 

It was a great experience for me.  I learned a lot about my daughter’s developmental milestones and found the discussions with the students and instructor very interesting.  It was wonderful to see the students build a relationship with my daughter. Through this program, I think the students will have a better understanding of how we develop and how everybody is different and develops at different times.”

From Tanja Schaefer and baby Ella

Parent at Long Lake Public School

“I have had the pleasure of participating in the ROE program on two levels: as a host teacher and a parent. Bringing Ella to the school, and providing her with the opportunity to interact with the students, is a highly rewarding experience for everyone. My daughter enjoyed spending time with the students. She was as interested in them as they were in her. The students learned about so much through the lessons and the time they spent observing and interacting with Ella. They not only learn about child development, but were able to apply their learning to real-life experiences as they interacted with the ROE baby. The experience and knowledge they gained in this program further provided them with the opportunity to generalize their learning to other people. Learning about how to take on someone else’s perspective provides students with the ability to understand and accept other people. It was a wonderful experience for all involved.”

 
From Marilyn Beaulne

ROE Instructor at Northeastern Elementary School

“It is nice to see the changes in the students’ comments as the child grows. They notice all the big changes but it is especially nice when they notice the subtle changes. I have a young autistic girl in my classroom and she is totally focused on our Roots baby and the teacher tells me she absolutely will not go anywhere when our baby comes and her attention level is so much better when she knows that she will get the chance to see him. This is why I think that Roots of Empathy touches so many children in a positive way.”

From Nancy Griffin and baby Zoe

Parent at Churchill Public School

“Zoe and I are proud to have been part of Roots of Empathy. As a college professor, I have noticed a striking lack of empathy in many of our young people. I believe we are reaping what we have sown in the “it’s all about me” culture we have created. Rather than complaining about it, it was nice to have an avenue to do something that will make a positive change. Zoe and I have had a great time with our Grade 4 class at Churchill Public School and with our Roots of Empathy instructors.”

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Media Contact:

Nicole Charette, Senior Advisor,

Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning,

Rainbow District School Board, 705.674.3171, ext. 7217.