Twenty-five adorable little educators are celebrating a year of success helping Okanagan students as young as five learn some big lessons about empathy.
Babies are the instructors in local elementary school classrooms as part of the Roots of Empathy program.
Researchers at UBC have found that interaction with babies can significantly decrease aggression and bullying in children.
“I think our world needs a lot more empathy,” Roots of Empathy volunteer coordinator Colleen Edstrom said.
“It really was designed to teach compassion and empathy for others and that’s what the children are doing out in the playground.”
Begun in Toronto schools in 1996, Roots of Empathy is now offered at schools across Canada and the world.
Babies attend the same classroom once a month for nine months and a volunteer instructor visits twice more each month to deliver 27 empathy lessons as part of the curriculum.
There were 600 children in the Central Okanagan School District, where Roots of Empathy has been offered since 2008, who learned from babies this past year.
Parent Kendra Dueck brought her daughter Evelyn to a classroom where a young Syrian refugee was being introduced to his new school.
Dueck said the boy went from being shy and reserved with Evelyn at first, to showing immense interest in visiting with her during their last visits.
“It was really neat seeing that one specific kid as the year progressed really change,” Dueck said.
Volunteers said boys and girls showed equal interest interacting with the babies.
“It surprises you how gentle some of the boys can be when there’s a baby in the classroom,” participating parent Sara Lange said.
Lange said the babies show the children that it takes time and patience to learn new skills.
“I think boys and girls connect with that baby in so many different ways. There are kids that are shy around the baby, boys and girls,” retired principal Cathie Mutter said.
Mutter’s former school, Spring Valley Elementary, was where one of the first Roots of Empathy classes began in Kelowna in 2008.
“There are children who are desperate to interact with the baby and want to be first.”
“Every child feels that baby belongs to them in their school family,” Mutter said.
Roots of Empathy is looking for more mom and new baby volunteers for the 2017/18 school year.
Information about volunteering with the not-for-profit organization can be found at www.rootsofempathy.org .