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Compassion in the classroom is reflected in two aspects: cultivating leadership in teachers and resilience in students. In fact, the common purpose of both is to increase happiness and inclusion in education. According to Cherkowski (2018), leadership is to promote the construction of human virtues by building positive relationships. Its essence lies in creating an environment of care and compassion and promoting happiness at work. Obviously, to cultivate resilient students, it is necessary to first cultivate teachers with happiness and charisma. On the other hand, providing support for students is indispensable. Sometimes external adversity cannot be changed, but changing students’ mindsets can enhance students’ confidence and courage to a greater extent. A core task of parents and educators is to prepare students to face these inevitable challenges (Yeager & Dweck, 2012).
I feel deeply about this, which comes from my teaching experience in a high school in China. Chinese education system still maintains absolute control and knowledge indoctrination. When I started teaching, I maintained sufficient energy and interest, but some tasks unrelated to teaching gradually wore down my will. For example, teachers need to complete political learning tasks including Xi Jinping Thought, traditional moral education, and reflection on illegal behavior in their spare time. In this kind of work environment, it is difficult for teachers to maintain positive communication with students.
In the high-pressure exam-oriented education, it is difficult for teachers to pay attention to the physical and mental health of each student. There are 70 students in each class in this school. For teachers, the easiest way to manage is to evaluate students by scores and take measures to improve scores. Scores become students’ labels, and mental health takes a secondary position or even is ignored. As Yeager and Dweck (2012) said, what students need most is not a boost in self-esteem or a personality label; instead, they need a mindset that sees challenges as something they can accept and overcome over time through hard work, new strategies, learning, help from others, and patience.
Reference
Cherkowski, S. (2018). Positive Teacher Leadership: Building Mindsets and Capacities to Grow Wellbeing. International Journal of Teacher Leadership, 9(1), 63–78.
Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindsets That Promote Resilience: When Students Believe that Personal Characteristics Can Be Developed. Educational Psychologist, 47(4), 302–314.
Your insights into the impact on both teachers and students highlight the urgent need for a shift towards prioritizing holistic well-being over academic achievement alone. It’s clear that fostering a growth mindset and supporting teachers in creating compassionate learning environments are crucial steps toward addressing these challenges. It’s time for a collective effort to redefine education priorities and promote the happiness and inclusion of all involved.
I find Solon’s post very interesting. I especially want to put focus on his quote from Cherkowski. If leadership means to promote positive relationships, would it be good to promote leadership, and not just resilience, amongst students? There have been countless studies on the issue of leadership and how effective it is to improve the quality of life. Still, does not appear to be a special interest in the curriculum to promote the development of leadership skills.
It is possible to assume that the younger one person starts learning about leadership (in particular self leadership) the better this person will be at it.
I took personal leadership seminars in my 30s and I know that I would have loved to learn that sooner.
You brought up a good point, Solon, about how large class sizes may impede the development of SEL and leadership skills. It is difficult for a teacher to have a relationship with 70 students, especially if there are only a few hours per week that they are together. However, Matias made a good point about cultivating leadership skills in students. That way, students with natural leadership skills could become mentors for their classmates who may need more guidance than what the teacher can provide. If we can build a compassionate classroom environment, it can increase connections and relationships among students especially in a highly competetive climate.