SUBTEXTBREAKING THE BARRIERS
Among the things empathy can do is tear down the barriers between
ages, races, classes, and religions. Jack, who taught English in
a rough, urban area, found that his own education, mannerisms
speech, and color were all barriers between him and his students
"When I first began teaching," he said, "it was like a nightmare.
I wasn't used to kids like these. Oh, I had been warned, but the
reality was way beyond my expectations. I came from a caring,
middle-class family, and the kids knew it and disliked me for it.
Maybe disliked is too gentle a word. They didn't trust me, and
every day I'd find myself talking to a sea of closed, cold faces
and eyes that said, prove yourself!
"I knew I couldn't make it, and I just wanted to get through
that term and transfer or quit. Then, in an afternoon, it all changed.
The principal suspected one boy, Darryl, of marking the blackboard
with graffiti, but he couldn't prove it. I came into class one day
and caught Darryl red-handed spraying the board.
"I took the can away, and we were both standing there in front
of the class while I searched for something devastating and nasty
to say. I really felt hateful. Then the door opened, and the principal
walked in.
"He took in the situation and said, 'I see we have a little
problem.' At that moment, I don't know why, everything shifted
focus for me. Suddenly I knew what Darryl felt, the defiance,
not maliciousness, that had gone into his graffiti. I felt empathy.
"I acted instinctively. I put my arm around Darryl's shoulders
and smiled at the principal. 'Darryl's helping me to clean the
board. I sprayed it so the class could see how hard it is to get
paint off. It's a good object lesson, don't you think?'
"The principal was suspicious, but there was nothing he could