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06/02/2022

Setting Intentions for Compassion

To know how much there is to know is the beginning of learning to live.
Dorothy West (1907 - 1998), American novelist

A new masters-level course for pre-service early childhood professionals, called 'Compassion and Dignity for Educators' is being offered at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Lillian Mongeau, in her Hechinger Report article, explains that "many assume all teachers are innately compassionate," but educators who designed the new University course "say compassion is something that can and should be taught…

In the course, teachers learn about techniques for 'settling the mind' to allow for better focus and 'setting an intention' to provide a higher goal before a difficult interaction. For example, before a meeting with parents a teacher is worried might be angry, the teacher would stop, take a deep breath, and set an intention to stay calm and find a solution for the child."

In the Out of the Box Training, "Cultivating Compassionate Classrooms," Wendy Hinrichs Sanders declares that "valuing and modeling authentic compassion is an important part of this work. We need to talk with children about empathy for others, their community, and their world. We share stories, certainly in humility, about what we, as well as others, can do to help those in need."


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