A desperate need for empathy
Making caring common at Mountain Elementary
Story by Samantha Rose McRae
Photos by Minesh Bacrania
By the end of the 2022-2023 school year, it was apparent something needed to change. The students who had just completed their 6th grade year were in 3rd grade when COVID forced everyone into isolation. For nearly two years students were placed in virtual classrooms and Google Meet boxes, away from their peers and teachers. For some families, the result of a world-wide pandemic meant changes to family dynamics and accessibility. Students weren’t able to see their friends or receive one-on-one help from teachers as readily as in the classroom. Experts and teachers alike knew there would be an impact on the academic advancement of students, not to mention their mental health, but the true impact of isolation is beginning to take shape in surprising ways for students, as became apparent to three 6th grade teachers at Mountain Elementary School.
“We weren’t really sure what to do, but we knew we needed to do something,” says Erin Cook, outgoing 6th grade ELA teacher at Mountain Elementary. Along with colleagues Brett and Mary Alice Hawkins, a married couple teaching 6th grade math and science respectively, the three teachers determined to not repeat the year they had just had. “We were seeing all sorts of issues come up that we never had to this extent before in 6th grade,” says Cook. Issues such as racism, cyber bullying, body shame, anxiety, self-harm, and others. Student groups that had once been considered more innocent for their age now showed signs of exposure to ideas and materials not appropriate for their developmental age. Time spent stuck at home during formative years created confusing times for students who lacked appropriate guidance to process the wealth of unrestricted online information at their fingertips. Some students accessed social media for the first time, often without parental permission, exposing themselves to content and influence they weren’t prepared to handle.
“Ask them why they are bullying you.”
During discussions with one another, the teachers found students had a more difficult time connecting with one another than in years past. Students struggled to form healthy connections and social interactions with their peers, or participate in group activities that had not previously seemed as challenging. More and more students were exhibiting signs of anxiety at school and having issues with peers that were not as prevalent, or apparent, as years before. One student, who was addressed for making a racist comment, stated they didn’t know the comment was racist because they had never been taught it was inappropriate.
Then Mary Alice Hawkins discovered the Harvard “Making Caring Common” curriculum through a conversation with her friend Kiran Bhai, the program’s director.
According to their website, the Making Caring Common vision is a “world in which children learn to care about others and the common good, treat people well day to day, come to understand and seek fairness and justice, and do what is bright even at times at a cost to themselves.”
The program aims to teach children how to develop empathy and create meaningful connections, providing parents and teachers with actionable strategies to “effectively develop children’s gratitude, empathy, and diligence.”
This became the starting point for what Mountain Elementary now calls Team Time. Twice a week, the three teachers (Cook and the Hawkinses), gathered students in their respective homerooms to discuss topics related to components of social emotional skills. Each teacher has a varied approach, but throughout the school year, students have an opportunity to connect with each teacher and their fellow classmates. One way they do this is through Humans of Mountain (an idea derived from Humans of New York). Students interview their peers and ask questions meant to create conversation and get to know one another on a deeper level. Questions such as “What is your greatest fear? What is your favorite pastime and why do you enjoy it? What do you wish others knew about you?” and others. Students then create a presentation, complete with a photo of the student and teacher-guided follow up questions to find commonalities and celebrate differences with the featured student.
Other connective tools include the practice of “Rose, Thorn, and Bud” in which the students and teachers share what went well for them in the last week (rose), what went poorly (thorn), and what they are looking forward to (bud).
When specific occurrences happen, such as instances where a student is displaying a lack of empathy, the three homerooms gather together for a large group presentation on the subject matter. One student will prepare a Powerpoint describing the definition of the topic, ways it might manifest, and how students can prepare themselves to change the behavior and/or address it when directed at them. Boomtown had the opportunity to observe two such occasions of Team Time discussions, including sessions over bullying and body image.
During the session on bullying, students were first given a definition of what bullying could look like, various aspects of bullying (including cyber bullying), and how it could appear in different circumstances. They were then asked to silently confront their own bullying practices they might have engaged in, whether intentionally or accidentally. Led by Hawkins, the students opened a discussion about the connections between instances of bullying and their potential catalysts, causes, and outcomes — how might a situation be de-escalated where bullying is occuring? What are potential ways to respond to a bully when you are the one being bullied, or you witness someone else being bullied? What is the difference between bullying and someone acting out of frustration, or one-time occurrences?
Students appeared engaged to the extent 11 and 12 year olds can be. Some propped up on pillows and watched silently, others braided friends’ hair or read silently under their desks. However, when the discussion opened to ways one could, or had previously, combat bullying, hands flew up excitedly. Students who had previously shown no indication of interest suddenly perked up and offered earnest responses and creative ideas.
“Ask them why they are bullying you.”
“Be more annoying than them.”
“Embrace the weird: become a monkey.”
Other students offered answers that sparked further discussion, such as when one student responded, in both humor and candor, “become their bully.”
Students were encouraged to report any bullying they witnessed, particularly cyber-bullying, which can often go unwitnessed in private settings. They openly shared instances in which they had stood up for themselves or others, further discussing what worked and what could have been done differently.
During another group discussion, this time over body image and body shaming, students were again encouraged to reflect on their own experience with these issues. Students raised hands and made unbidden connections between body shaming and previous issues, such as bullying or racism, referring to back-handed compliments and covert ways of shaming others. They responded with maturity and insight, as when one student said, “It has to do with knowing yourself and feeling good about yourself.”
Throughout the year, students have been encouraged to create poster campaigns to combat the issues they discussed. Each class created several posters and put them up around the hallways. One poster laid out step-by-step instructions when witnessing racism: “1. Call them out 2. Tell a teacher 3. Report that person (see something, say something) 4. If you have witnesses, tell the story to a higher authority! Racism is not allowed.”
Students at one time attempted to create a diversity fair to celebrate differences, but the project never got off the ground. One student instead created a symbol for the practice, a Zia-style pawprint reflecting four various shades of skin tones, which were printed as stickers and distributed before the end of the year.
Whose Responsibility? Teaching Social-Emotional Health
The creation of Team Time at Mountain Elementary School has opened up further conversation around the challenges students faced pre- vs. post- COVID, and what responsibility teachers play in their social-emotional education.
Kids used to be kids for longer, one teacher stated. Now the influence of social media and the algorithms feed what they research, often leading to unchecked and unverified information surrounding myriad topics. Online personalities have a growing influence over students, in some instances causing an increase in online hostility and decrease in the ability to communicate through safe and helpful discourse in person.
What teachers are noticing is that they are having to take on roles they were not trained for in teacher education, such as when students come to them with issues regarding self-harm, problems with their friends or peers, or increasing anxiety levels among students than have previously been reported. Teachers are finding it harder to teach students the required materials when students are facing unresolved social emotional struggles on a larger scale than one or two individual students. Since these teachers did not have this as part of their training, they are taking time out of their personal lives to find the training themselves and put together a curriculum for the students to develop a deeper understanding of empathy and find tools to guide them through these situations. Team Time was born out of a desperate need.
Some students have been found to have well-developed sense of coping skills and understanding of empathy towards others. These students were outwardly less affected by the virtual nature of the COVID pandemic, while the students who had the potential to struggle before the pandemic were found to struggle moreso. The 6th grade teachers observed that extensive time in virtual environments has blurred the lines between virtual and reality. There is a lack of distinction between social media and real life, and students often struggle to distinguish between online and offline. Students are becoming desensitized to topics, such as sex, violence, and prejudices, through access to shows like Hazbin Hotel, Game of Thrones, and Fallout.
However, the line between what is too much and what is not enough is a moving target. Students without access to phones, certain TV shows, and other online content often find themselves isolated due to missed pop-culture references, which feeds so much of school culture. Students who are sheltered from these materials find it difficult to interact with other students, while the students who are not “sheltered enough” are exemplifying more apparent social emotional disconnects. The discomfort of being bored is being pacified by smartphones, stifling creativity while inhibiting the development of problem solving skills.
It Takes a Village
When Hawkins presented the idea of adopting the Make Caring Common curriculum, it was with the idea that “we need to change something. You can’t expect a different result if you don’t change anything.” While so many teachers are already burdened by an increasingly heavy workload, Cook and the Hawkinses determined that doing nothing was no longer an option. Hawkins stated she easily spends several extra hours a week, in addition to her regular planning time, to organize and prepare the materials for Team Time. Though not adopted by the entire school system, when approached with the idea the LAPS school districts response was, go for it. Prior to presenting the material, parents receive information about the topics presented and have the opportunity to opt out their child if preferred, a right which has only been exercised once, according to the teachers. Outside staff and administrators are invited to attend meetings to witness the materials being presented and given the opportunity to adopt the model for themselves.
So far, the teachers haven’t received any negative feedback. However, one parent has reached out personally to thank the teachers for taking action and putting this program in motion.
The Harvard curriculum is not the only approach to Team Time they are taking. Each of the 6th grade teachers at Mountain Elementary have taken this curriculum a step further by seeking to support their students outside of the classroom as well as within. As Cook said, when you show interest in what is important to the students, they are more likely to show interest in what you are teaching them. “Kids want to behave for people they respect.” The teachers attend football games, plays, and band performances put on by students while also creating a safe space for them to openly express their concerns about life and school.
The teachers have reported benefits they have gained from Team Time this year as well, not only for the students. Creating a space where teachers share vulnerability has helped to change the dynamics of the classroom, paving the way for a deeper connection with the students as individuals and as a whole. “The discussion evolves because of relationships,” says Hawkins. The goal is to give the students the tools to have these discussions independently and be able to navigate these situations without adult intervention. “We’ve done our best,” says MA Hawkins. “Only time will tell.”