Students are 79% more likely to listen to adults if they know that they CARE about them.

is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It requires a willingness to sit, listen, and respond (appropriately) to students in both their highs and their lows.

It’s now nearly the end of May, and many school-based mentoring programs like Be the One are wrapping up this week. For mentors, that means we have one more opportunity to be with our students and care for them as they head into the summer months.

…students are more likely to listen to the adults in their lives if they know we care about them first.

As mentors, we can communicate that we care in lots of ways. This month we’ve focused on four of them:

Celebrate
Affirm
Remember
EMPATHIZE

This week, we’re focusing on that last word, “empathize.”

What is empathy?

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It requires a willingness to sit, listen, and respond (appropriately) to students in both their highs and their lows.

No doubt, this school year has brought some new highs and lows into your student’s life. And, empathy is a great way to communicate that you care for them. Ask yourself, how does my student feel about the end of the school year? Excited? Sad? Fearful? Angsty? Now ask yourself, how can I best communicate empathy to them in the hour (or hours) I have left with them?

Empathy and care are powerful tools for mentors, because when students see that you care about them, you are giving them the gift of hope. You are communicating to them that they matter. And, that’s a great thing to communicate as another school year winds down.