“Schools deal with people. And anyone who deals with people deals with emotions,” says educator and literary consultant Celinha Nascimento, who gave an interview to the Brinque Blog on this topic.

In the face of the new challenges of a changing world, topics that were already part of the school curriculum—though sometimes somewhat peripheral to it—are now gaining importance and prominence.

Empathy at School

“Diversity is the hallmark of our planet, of our humanity, and, therefore, of our society. Diversity is found in plants, minerals, ecosystems, peoples, physical traits, and spoken languages,” Celinha tells us.

All this complexity brings incredible opportunities—as well as some challenges, which can therefore be navigated through skills such as empathy.

Here are some tips and insights that can help you develop this skill with your students.

1- KNOWLEDGE AND SCIENCE
Knowledge comes in many forms, and children often bring their own tentative theories and prior knowledge to the table… Encouraging them to discuss their wide range of hypotheses is a good way to help them listen to one another.

Research itself is always a source of diversity, because the world being studied is diverse, and each child brings a unique perspective to what they see.

2- ART AND RELATIONSHIPS

“Literature may be an extremely rich path, because it’s precisely about connecting with others, isn’t it? How many scholars have defined literature as this ‘encounter with the other’?” Celinha recalls, emphasizing that art broadens our perspective.

And not only that: art broadens our range of emotions! When we allow ourselves to engage with diverse literature—what’s known as “bibliodiversity”—with films from many countries and genres, and with a wide variety of music, we expand our capacity to feel and to let ourselves be moved.

3- MISCELLANEOUS ILLUSTRATED BOOK

In picture books, form and content tell the story; words and illustrations also tell the story…

There are books in which the innovative format is what tells the story… Others in which the color of the images speaks volumes, drawing attention to—or diverting it from—the events.

In *Witch, Witch, Come to My Party*, for example, Arden Druce’s text takes on new meaning thanks to Pat Ludlow’s hyperrealistic and eerie illustrations.

*Go Away, Big Green Monster* by Ed Emberley makes use of the format, without which the story wouldn't exist.

In Kathrin Schärer’s *Joana on the Train*, colors distinguish the different parts of the story: the hand of the person drawing the story is in black and white; the characters are in color.

Always keep this in mind when choosing the works you’ll present to your students. It’s worth doing a lot of research and avoiding repetitive color schemes or illustrations: steer clear of the obvious and anything that underestimates children’s intelligence and sensitivity.

Visit the Brinque-Book Blog at https://blog.brinquebook.com.br/

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