A baby as an empathy teacher
Miriam's teacher is a little tired today. She rubs her eyes, whines a little and yawns. Miriam understands this. The eighth-grader tilts her head to the side and smiles gently. After all, her teacher is only nine months old.
Her name is Lisa. Her task: on behalf of the non-profit Canadian organisation Roots of Empathy (ROE), she is to teach Miriam and her classmates at the Guggenbühl school in Winterthur about empathy and sensitise them to their feelings - so that the children ultimately understand their own better.
«Hello baby Lisa, how are you? How are you doing here today?» The pupils stand around a green blanket and sing at the top of their lungs. Carried by her mum, Lisa makes the rounds. Hands reach for her little feet, stroking her delicate hands. The baby laughs, the pupils are beaming.
«What's different about Lisa compared to her last visit, have you noticed anything?» asks Roots of Empathy trainer Daniela Mühlheim. «She has more hair,» exclaims one girl. The others nod. «And how many teeth were there last time?» «Five!» echoes the chorus. Then the trainer rolls a ball across the green ceiling. Silent as mice, the 20 pupils follow Lisa's efforts to crawl after the toy. To make it easier, they all hold on to the blanket.
«Do you want to ask Lisa's mummy what she needs to do to make sure nothing happens to Lisa now that she can crawl?» Safety is the topic of today's lesson. In the preparatory lesson, which precedes every baby visit and is followed by a follow-up, the class thought about dangers in Lisa's home.
Create space for negative feelings
The baby lessons, developed by former primary school teacher Mary Gordon, have been running in Canada since 1996, followed by schools in the USA, New Zealand, Ireland, England and Germany. The project was then launched at four Swiss schools in October 2014. The full ROE programme comprises nine school visits by a mother or father with their baby. The specially trained trainer moderates the visits. «When was the last time you felt like the baby?» These and similar questions are intended to enable the pupils to give space to their negative feelings such as fear, anger and disappointment. Daniela Mühlheim explains that this ability is needed to resolve conflicts and live together peacefully. A baby as a peacemaker - a high standard.
«When was the last time you felt like a baby?»
«Roots of Empathy» trainer
«Dance with your fingers, dance with your shoes», the pupils start a new song, clapping their hands. Daniela Mühlheim holds Lisa under her arms, her little feet touching the floor. The trainer moves the baby rhythmically back and forth. His face: expressionless. «What do you think, did Lisa like it?» The pupils are sceptical. «I think it was too loud for her,» says Sarah. Lisa's babbling turns into a soft mewling. She crawls across the ceiling, the bunch of keys of a pupil in her sights. «How do you think she's feeling?» «She's unhappy.» But then, with the object of desire firmly in her grasp, the baby starts to gurgle. Miriam and her friends laugh with relief. This Thursday is the sixth time Lisa has visited them.
Class teacher Rahel Wepfer stays in the background as an observer during these lessons. She had read about the programme and thought it was a useful way to teach the upcoming lesson sequence «Living together» in a different way. «The class is already very empathetic, but I've noticed that the boys in particular are slowly closing their minds to topics such as emotionality, resolving conflicts and talking to each other,» she says. «It's easier to talk about someone else and then come to yourself.» And no one can shut themselves off from the emotions of a helpless baby. Rahel Wepfer admits that the boys are more reserved than the girls. «But you can see the enthusiasm on their faces.»
«The relationship between a child and its mum is unique.»
Lisa laughs, the boys beam
«Look, the fingernails need to be cut again, otherwise Lisa could hurt herself,» says Daniela Mühlheim and looks round. Three boys squat on their knees and slide forwards until they are at eye level with the baby. Their fingers gently stroke the tiny little fingertips. Lisa laughs, the boys are beaming.
After 40 minutes, the little teacher is tired and fussy. «Lisa held out for a long time today,» says Martina Scheidgen, Lisa's mum. She is friends with the teacher's daughter, which is how she came to be involved in the project. «Lisa enjoys the children, it's fun for her, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it,» she says. Now she takes the baby in her arms and gently strokes its head. The little one nestles contentedly against her mother's neck.
«The relationship between a child and its mum is unique, Lisa knows that she is safe with her,» Daniela Mühlheim comments on the picture and asks her pupils: «How do you feel now?» «Good!» exclaims Sarah. «When a baby laughs, I have to laugh too.»
Then everyone stands up again and joins in: «See you soon, baby Lisa, goodbye, we'll see you again!»
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