Module 2
Theoretical Framework
Chapter 1 Conceptual Framework
1.3 Human rights and democratic values through empathy
The term empathy refers to the set of skills needed to understand and relate to the thoughts, beliefs and feelings of others and to see the world through the eyes of others.
Empathy undoubtedly plays a very important role in achieving the goals of education in general and education on human rights and democratic values. This is because the feelings of the child attending a school affect the way they learn. Teachers must therefore be able to connect and understand their students, so as to serve the learning and psycho-emotional needs of children. But it is not only the teacher who needs empathy for their students in order to teach them in a more effective way, but also the students must cultivate this skill to the fullest extent possible.
When it comes to human rights and democratic values, the purpose of education is to help people grow to the point where they understand human rights and democratic values and feel that they are important and should be respected and defended. It is a fact that there is no better methodology than the interactive and participatory one, in which empathy plays a dominant role, so that children acquire knowledge about rights and democratic values. This is because in matters of human rights and values, where there are often many different views on a subject, the right approach is for the students themselves to seek answers through their active participation and not by becoming passive recipients of teacher authority. This is because empathy includes the ability to step out of our own psychological frame of reference and the ability to conceive with imagination and understand the psychological frame of reference and the perspective of the other. At the same time, through empathy, students can, in a more appropriate way, form and adopt attitudes such as that human rights are important, that human dignity is inherent in all people, that rights must be respected, that cooperation is better than conflict, that we are responsible for our actions and that we can improve our world if we try. These attitudes help children develop the skills necessary for living and participating positively in a democratic society.
In conclusion, participation in a democratic culture presupposes the attribution of value to human dignity and human rights, cultural diversity, justice, equality, and the rule of law, and all of this can be achieved through empathy.
Empathy undoubtedly plays a very important role in achieving the goals of education in general and education on human rights and democratic values. This is because the feelings of the child attending a school affect the way they learn. Teachers must therefore be able to connect and understand their students, so as to serve the learning and psycho-emotional needs of children. But it is not only the teacher who needs empathy for their students in order to teach them in a more effective way, but also the students must cultivate this skill to the fullest extent possible.
When it comes to human rights and democratic values, the purpose of education is to help people grow to the point where they understand human rights and democratic values and feel that they are important and should be respected and defended. It is a fact that there is no better methodology than the interactive and participatory one, in which empathy plays a dominant role, so that children acquire knowledge about rights and democratic values. This is because in matters of human rights and values, where there are often many different views on a subject, the right approach is for the students themselves to seek answers through their active participation and not by becoming passive recipients of teacher authority. This is because empathy includes the ability to step out of our own psychological frame of reference and the ability to conceive with imagination and understand the psychological frame of reference and the perspective of the other. At the same time, through empathy, students can, in a more appropriate way, form and adopt attitudes such as that human rights are important, that human dignity is inherent in all people, that rights must be respected, that cooperation is better than conflict, that we are responsible for our actions and that we can improve our world if we try. These attitudes help children develop the skills necessary for living and participating positively in a democratic society.
In conclusion, participation in a democratic culture presupposes the attribution of value to human dignity and human rights, cultural diversity, justice, equality, and the rule of law, and all of this can be achieved through empathy.
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