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>View discussions about this entry Country: Canada
Organization: Roots of Empathy
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 1996
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
Describe your program or new idea in one sentence. - Roots of Empathy (ROE) breaks intergenerational cycles of violence and poor parenting by raising levels of empathy (understanding how others feel) in children and youth.
What makes your initiative uniquely positioned to create change in your community? - We have failed young men in providing them with the socialization that would equip them with the emotional understanding and social skills that allow them to connect meaningfully in society. For far too many children, school is a fearful and unhappy prison.
The pervasiveness of bullying, societal violence and marginalization of all kinds can be addressed when we look at a common denominator of these ills – the absence of empathy. Rolling out a green blanket in the classrooms of the country and inviting a neighbourhood newborn and parent to become part of the community of the classroom, opens the minds and hearts of all students to understand vulnerability and the way an infant communicates their emotional needs. Along with the curriculum, the baby is the agent of change in helping the students understand one another’s feelings. They develop emotional literacy and perspective-taking skills which allow them to become empathic. Roots of Empathy turns classrooms into nurturing learning environments. Describe how you organize and carry out your work? - The ROE model is based on a community development approach and depends on the contributions of community organizations for instructors and the participation of school boards, principals and teachers to host the program, as well as community parents and newborns to be part of the program. Instructors are trained to deliver 27 lessons over the school year and receive ongoing mentoring. State/provincial coordinators strategize with communities through a Key Point Person from that community in order to support their growth.
What is your plan to scale and expand your innovation into your community and beyond? - Since 2000, the program has grown throughout Canada and was introduced in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. A courtship period is required in order to ensure readiness and sustainability for the program. In new countries, we require a plan with identified funding and engaged stakeholders. Starting the program in New Zealand, for example, took a few years of discussion and presentations before there was a sit-down with the Prime Minister and three Ministries put forward funding for three years which was supplemented by various foundations, corporations, and private donors. Over time, we would like Roots of Empathy to be global, but in the short term we want to be able to maintain the integrity of the program for every child.
After a dialogue in Washington with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in April 2008, we anticipate requests for the program from other U.S. states. We will expand as far and wide as our capacity permits. What other resources, institutional, or policy needs would be necessary to help sustain and scale up your idea? - We require resources for training, mentoring, research, and ongoing upgrading of curriculum materials. In countries where English is not the language of currency, we need translation, and sometimes we need cultural interpretation. For sustainability purposes, it is ideal to have a cadre of supporters who represent government, the corporate world, private funders and foundations.
We are championed by Justice in some areas and in others by Health (children’s mental health), Child Welfare (abuse and neglect), Education as well as interested groups such as teachers unions and special interest children’s groups (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), autism, English Language Learners (ELL)). We need policies that mandate social and emotional programming in schools, such as Roots of Empathy, endorsement from educational institutions and recognition from the policies around safe and caring schools, anti-bullying programs, character education initiatives, and stigma-prevention initiatives. These initiatives are often mandated through state or federal governments or handled through local education structures. Describe your impact in one sentence, commenting on both the individual and community levels. - Research has shown a significant decrease in aggression and increase in prosocial behaviour from children in Roots of Empathy.
What impact has your work achieved to date? - Several national and international studies have shown the effectiveness of Roots of Empathy. Research at the University of British Columbia, the University of Western Australia and the government of Manitoba have all shown a significant reduction in aggression and increase in prosocial behaviour in children who have participated in Roots of Empathy compared to those who have not. Results of a follow up of a Randomised Controlled Trial show that these improvements are maintained three years later.
What measure do you use to gauge your impact and why? - In addition to our research portfolio, we provide children with the opportunity to evaluate their experience of the program. From the children, we hear what they feel they have learned rather than what we think they have learned. They tell us that they are worried about many things. They tell us that they often feel sad and lonely. Their art tells a very deep story – a story that never exaggerates - it is the poetry of their souls.
How is your initiative currently being financed and how would you finance further expansion and/or replication? - Currently we are financed by a combination of government, foundations, corporations, private donors, revenue from trainings, keynote presentations by the founder, and the sale of intellectual property from the book "Roots of Empathy: Changing the World Child by Child" and other writings by the founder.
Provide information on your current finances and organization: - a. annual budget
b. annual revenue c. sources of revenue (please provide percentages if known) d. number of staff (full-time, part-time, and volunteers) a. and b. and c. please see attached d. 27 full time staff, 44 part time staff Who are your potential partners and allies? - Teacher federations, school trustee and parent associations, child advocacy groups, domestic violence and child abuse prevention groups, peace education groups, mental health agencies, children and youth rights advocates, pediatric psychiatrists, public health agencies, service clubs and faith-based organizations.
Who are your potential investors? - All levels of government: municipal, state, federal (health, education, justice, employment and immigration, aboriginal, social services and recreation) boards of education, and community based agencies who work with children’s issues.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - Mary Gordon began her career as a Kindergarten teacher, determined to make a difference in children’s lives. She was appalled at the inequity of readiness in her students. She realized that it was a combination of parenting and socio-economic circumstances that limited or liberated childrens’ opportunities to soar.
She was breathless in the face of the intolerance and marginalization of overall society, for the circumstances of her students’ families. Ms Gordon was determined to break this cycle of marginalization of children who were disadvantaged by birth. She wanted to prove that birth was not destiny. In 1981, she left the classroom and founded Canada’s first and largest school-based Parenting and Family Literacy Centres, to support families like the families of her students. Parents with infants and preschoolers were supported not only in their parenting issues, and bread and butter issues, but in issues of education, job training, abuse, legal and health. As the administrator of this program, she encountered a great deal of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect. Ms Gordon realized that the common denominator of the suffering was the absence of empathy. In 1996, off the side of her desk, she created Roots of Empathy. To make this a national agenda, she created a program which could be introduced universally to the classrooms of the country as children are mandated to attend and where the children would break intergenerational cycles of violence and poor parenting. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. - Mary Gordon, Member of the Order of Canada, is the Founder, President and inspiration behind the Roots of Empathy program. She was the founder and administrator of Canada's first and largest school-based Parenting and Family Literacy Centres. Ms. Gordon is a best-selling author with extensive experience as an educator, public speaker and curriculum developer. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards recognizing her contribution to innovation in education and international social entrepreneurship. She is an Ashoka Fellow.
Contact Information:
Mary Gordon
Founder and President Roots of Empathy (NGO) Discussions about this entry
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This is a wonderful program, and I must say I see the impact on the boys more than the girls.
I had two sons and most of my ideas about the sexes being 'identical' were blown out of the water! I realize that 'equal but different' is the real goal, and Roots is a program that promotes this beyond anything I've done in my 17 years in the education system.
This is my second year as a teacher with an ROE facillitator and mom/baby coming in, and the attitude of the boys goes from 'babies are for girls' to 'fathers are just as important as mothers'.
My favourite moment was when our baby stared at my smallest fourth grade student for the whole class. This boy has several learning/behavioural issues, but with our baby's eyes on him, he fell in love. You could see the walls soften, and the self-esteem (hey, the baby likes ME! Nobody usually likes me!) shoot upward.
Can't say enough about the value of this program!
We need to change the way we think as a community, a society and as a world. We need to stop thinking in a fear based capacity - and develop our abilities to see a situation through another's eyes. We need to understand empathy; not only as a definition, but as a concept we incorporate into our lives.
I am not involved directly in the program, but I have seen its results. I know the moms who participate on a voluntary level, and their babies. I know a facilitator, a trainer, and the children who have had the program in their classroom. This is something that needs to be a part of our school's curriculum.
We live in a time were bullying, despite its media attention, continues to be pervasive in our schools, and communities. It should no longer be considered a ‘right of passage” (as I have heard it explained away by some adults). It is a serious issue that can end in depression, anxiety, absenteeism, and even suicide and homicide. We also know that this behaviour can continue into adulthood and the consequences range from the aforementioned list to divorce, job truancy, and abuse. It is something we must change.
I am voting for Roots of Empathy because it is the first serious program that addresses the core of the problem at the beginning – when young minds are still malleable enough to LEARN empathy. I am also voting for this program because it touches all children within the classroom, not just those in the most need of empathy training. These young people either go on with a new understanding of empathy were they didn’t have it before, and/or they go on to propagate the message of compassion and understanding. Please consider all the lives and all the areas within the community this program touches when making a decision. It is the ROOT of empathy.
We have had Roots of Empathy in our district since 2005. What a wonderful program!!! I can't say enough about it and it would be my wish that every child could experience this program at least once in Elementary School and another time in Middle School. We have seen wonderful things happen in our classrooms and I agree that the boys are greatly impacted by this program. I was in a school this morning and a young man in my Grade 2 class who, according to the teachers, rarely expressed his feelings or smiled before Roots of Empathy was smiling widely, participating in discussions and he stayed to help me fold the Green Blanket at the end of our time together. The caring, non judgemental climate that is created in the Roots of Empathy classroom gives the students the permission to express their feelings and discuss matters that are important to them. We have a large number of dads who are participating in our Roots of Empathy classrooms and I think it is very important for the students to witness the fathers and their attachment and responsibilities to the baby. We can change the world one classroom at a time and this program in helping to do that.
I love this program. My youngest daughter and I have been involved in this program for about 5 months now and I think it is great. Her class just loves there visits and they ask great questions. I have notice changes in them all, especially the boys. They are definantly learning to see things differently.
Volunteering for the “Roots of Empathy” program is the best thing I’ve ever done! The program is professionally designed. I look forward to our monthly sessions with the kids. It feels good to know we are contributing to promoting empathy for today and tomorrows children.
It’s amazing to already see the positive changes in some of the children. They are learning to watch for the baby’s mood, and adapt accordingly to make him happy ie. singing, recommending a toy, talking softly, giving the baby space. A couple of the children, who started out loud, have begun to listen, and a couple of the children who were quite, are becoming excited, smile and ask questions.
Not only are we helping in the program, but the program is helping me as a new mother to be more in tune with my baby and other children.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to participate!
Both of my daughters have been Roots babies. I cannot say enough about this program. It is always a joy to go to the classroom each month and watch how these kids interact with my child. On the first day not everyone (especially boys) are willing to participate but by the third or fourth visit to see there eyes light up when they see the baby is an amazing change. I feel that this program is making a difference in everyones lives.
This is a great program. We were involved in it last year and I can see how useful it is in getting kids to think beyond themselves to take on the idea of looking after or caring for someone else.
My husband and I volunteer in the Roots of Empathy program with our son. I was thrilled to be a part of such an influential program. Children learn a great deal about babies and in turn themselves. I wish ROE could be a part of every classroom.
Sheri Burns
St. Francis Xavier University
BA Psychology/History
Following twenty years in education, this is THE FINEST LEARNING for a whole community which I have had the privaledge to participate in.Canada is changing our way of being and the meaning we make, one child at a time, one classroom at a time, one school at a time and our world is healing because of Roots of Empathy!
I'm a teacher in a small northern town in Ontario. I have the Roots of Empathy program in my classroom. It really teaches the kids about empathy and understanding emotions of others. It's a great opportunity. Please vote for Roots of Empathy!
I have 4 children (so far), 2 of which were eligible to be Roots Babies, so they were and I love it. I wish I could do it full time. Maybe one day I'll take a leave from teaching and do Roots. I am currently doing ROE with my 8 Month old, we can't wait until our next visit.
Love Roots Mama
VOTE FOR THIS PROGRAM!! My son loves his class. The look on the kids faces and his when we walk into the room is priceless. He had surgery when he was 5 months old and questions and concerns from the kids was amazing.
I was fortunate enough to have seen a television program on the Roots of Empathy program shortly after my 2nd son was born. I contacted the organization that night to volunteer and here we are some months later. As expressed in the other comments - what a simple and obvious idea (although the great ideas always seem that way after they've been thought of). It is a joy and an honour to be involved with this program - for myself & my husband, for my son and most importantly for the kids. They are simply beside themselves with excitement during the visits - it's hard for them to contain their enthusiam. Everyone has such interest in our son (who is now almost 9 months and just had his 6th visit today). Of course, what is easier for new parents than to talk about their new baby? I sincerely hope that our involvement with this program has a lasting effect on the kids - I know it will for us. This program definitely has our vote.
My girlfriend introduced me to the Roots of Empathy program. As soon as found out I was expecting with my second child I could not wait to share my experience as a mom with others. I look forward to taking my daughter to the school each month. She enjoys watching the children and always has huge smiles when they sing and talk.
The questions that are brought forward by the young men in the classroom we attend a re great and their participation is invaluable. My favorite so far is when one of the boys got to share the diaper bag he had made from paper; it was wonderful. I appreciate all the work the kindergarteners do to make us feel welcome.
My girlfriend introduced me to the Roots of Empathy program. As soon as found out I was expecting with my second child I could not wait to share my experience as a mom with others. I look forward to taking my daughter to the school each month. She enjoys watching the children and always has huge smiles when they sing and talk.
The questions that are brought forward by the young men in the classroom we attend a re great and their participation is invaluable. My favorite so far is when one of the boys got to share the diaper bag he had made from paper; it was wonderful. I appreciate all the work the kindergarteners do to make us feel welcome.
What a wonderful program!
My daughter is now 7 months old and we are apart of the roots of empathy program. My husband and I take my daughter in to the class room and love to watch her as she adores all the children. Its a great way for us as a family to share her in this experience and to share with them all of her developments for the first year of her life. My oldest daughter is very proud to share with everyone also for she attends this grade. Its something that we will always remember and be able to tell her when she gets older. Its amazing how these children are so interested in her. Its also a good way for them to interact and respect the younger generation. A great program!!!!!
What a wonderful program! My two and a half year old daughter was a roots of empathy baby. It was one of the many highlights of our first year together.
Roots of Empathy has my vote.
Susan Spence
My son was a Root's of Empathy baby. He's now 2 and a half years old. We still visit the Parenting Centre in the school and keep in contact with our ROE facilitator. Both my daughter's attend the school as well. It's a wonderful program and I wholeheartedly support it. I'm so happy to learn that it was a chosen finalist for this competition, and although I'm sure that all the programs are worthy, I do have a biased opionion on this subject. It's a simple, yet powerful program, as I've seen first hand. I wish it were available across the globe.
Congratulations Mary and all Roots of Empathy facilitators on a job well done!
My son and I are involved with Roots of Empathy! I absolutely LOVE IT! The children adore my son and are always excited to see him! My son is now 5 months old and I love that these children have seen him grow to this point! We are the first mother/son to be in this program at the school! So I am very happy with this opportunity! I feel that the children are learning a lot! As am I! I myself have already noticed a change in these kids reaction to my son! You have my Vote!!!
We are Roots of Empathy people too. My son is 7 months old and it has been fun. The kids LOVE him- the whole school has been watching him grow. He is doing SO many fun things now... It really makes an impact on the kids They see the growth, love the boy- and learn how much it takes to be a parent.
My son and I are involved with Roots of Empathy! I absolutely LOVE IT! The children adore my son and are always excited to see him! My son is now 5 months old and I love that these children have seen him grow to this point! We are the first mother/son to be in this program at the school! So I am very happy with this opportunity! I feel that the children are learning a lot! As am I! I myself have already noticed a change in these kids reaction to my son! You have my Vote!!!
As an instructor, I have seen how this program affects the classroom, the roots of empathy mom and baby and the instuctor. I think i learned just as much as the children in my grade four class did! this is a truly remarkable program. I am proud and honored to be a part of it!
Kaleena Woodhall e.c.e
As an instructor, and also mentor with Roots of Empathy, I am continually impressed by comments from instructors to say that they are surprised and delighted by the positive reactions of the boys in their classes, to the baby during the family visit, and to the information concerning infant/human development.
This is information and experience that they get excited about!
I am impressed by the simple, yet profound, philosophy of change behind Roots of Empathy. The program and the founder, Mary Gordon, deserve this recognition. They have my vote!
I have watched Roots of Empathy do amazing things in the classroom.
I vote for ROE. I have been part of the committee that brought the program into 5 schools in our school district. It is absolutley incredible to see the kids interact with the babies.
I have been a facilitator in a Northern BC Community. What an amazing program. I have seen the positive impact this program has had on children. My last class had the most impact. I was informed I would be working in a "difficult" classroom. The some children were on IEP's for behavioural reason, one child had to sit away from the group for fear of not keeping their hands to themselves, some children were influenced by some of the behavioural children which had a tendency to make the classroom dynamics tense. This green blanket is a miracle worker! Only 1 time during my 10 months in this class did this particular child have to sit away from the group, all the other times, INCLUDING family visits, this child participated without any diffitulties. This boy loved the green blanket. He would ask for help to set the blanket up. The dynamics on ROE days were wonderful. The children sang their songs, participated in class discussions and any art work that needed to be done. On family visits, the children sat and watched the mother and baby interact. ALL the children were eager to have family visits.
At the end of the year, the teacher was amazed. He fully believed that his classroom had changed their perspective of themselves and how they see others. He told me the amount of incidents out on the playground and in the classroom had reduced significantly. Office referrals were non exsistant! That was not how it was in September!
Some children who were on IEP's were not on the same category. Was it due to ROE? The teacher felt ROE had a huge impact on these children's lives and therefore the IEP's were modified. The teacher liked the idea that the programming co-incided with the curriculum that he was teaching in his class and the two complimented each other.I love this program! I wish that the program was offered until Grade 12. Our society will benefit greatly fromthisprogram!
ThankyouMary!
Hi Mary,
Congratulations on this acknowledgement. I am very pleased to lend my name to this challenge and will encourage all my colleagues and friends to register and sign in.
Soo Wong
Trustee, Toronto District School Board
When I read the book Roots of Empathy, I could feel my self changing. This is one of those amazing ideas, simple in concept yet sweeping in impact, that can transform society. In each chapter I found myself nodding my head, smiling, and exclaiming aloud, "Of course!", ""It's so obvious now!", "Why didn't I think of that?", and the like.
While few would argue that smaller families are best for everyone, we've not yet studied the effects of losing the experience of observing day-to-day interaction between parent and baby. Even for the youngest in a family, it used to be the norm for a tiny cousin or neighbour to be close enough to witness the miracle of the evolving bond between an infant and caregiver. Now, not only do we have single child families (like mine) or families with children born so close in age that the older children aren't mature enough to make intelligent observations of their mother and father with their new sibling, most of our extended families are spread far apart, so cousins aren't available to us. Neighbours often aren't emotionally close enough, because we move much more often than previous generations did.
I suspect that the experience of a Roots of Empathy program would go far in replacing something so vital we didn't realize we'd lost.
As a facilitator for the Roots of Empathy Program, I have found the effect on boys in particular, amazing. I have done the program in a kindergarten class, a grade 5 class, a grade 1 class and a grade 4 class. I am always amazed with the insight that all the students gain but particularly how the boys interact with the babies. This year, one of my classes has the participation a a father and a baby and the boys in the class are absolutely thrilled.
I vote for the Roots of Empathy. It is a transformational program that helps develop empathy and positive parenting in a most authentic and effective way.
Hello, Mary Gordon.
What a beautiful, brilliant, so-simple-yet-so-powerful idea you have developed! Congratulations. I hope one day we can bring it to Baltimore.
I see that you started ROE 12 years ago. What have you found to be its long-term effects? I ask because I fear that life for boys can be harsh, threatening and cruel as they enter adolescence -- and that the extinction of empathy can result. Here is one reference for that phenomenon: "Boys as young as 21 months old display a well-developed, natural, 'hard-wired' ability to feel empathy, including a wish to help other people who are in pain. Yet by the age of 7 years, boys begin to lose their capacity to express their own emotions and concerns in words as a direct result of a process of 'toughening up.' This toughening-up process begins when boys begin to feel society's pressure to avoid feelings and behaviors that might bring them shame. This leads to donning a mask of bravado, which contributes directly to violence." Pope, Mark, Matt Englar-Carlson, Fathers and Sons: The Relationship Between Violence and Masculinity. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, Vol. 9 No. 4, October 2001, 367-374, p. 368.
Is there a mechanism in your program for keeping the boys involved into and through adolescence?
Also, are you familiar at all with the research that indicates that the best predictor of empathy in boys is how much time they spend with their fathers -- more time is correlated with more empathy. (Farrell, Warren 2001. Father and Child Reunion.) Would your experience corroborate or possibly even help to explain that finding?
Best regards,
Jack (John R.) Kammer
University of Maryland
Current student, MSW/MBA Dual-Degree Program