 | | 8th grade Servant Leadership Class: Empathy "Walk A Mile" Writing Exercise
In 8th grade Servant Leadership, we are reading Robert Greenleaf's 1970 essay "The Servant as Leader" and studying the 10 characteristics of servant leaders as identified by Greenleaf. One of the 10 characteristics of servant leaders that Greenleaf notes is Empathy, or put simply, putting ourselves into someone else's shoes. As part of our study of empathy and as an exercise in imaginative empathy, our students picked a shoe out of a bag and created a brief narrative of the person who they imagined wearing that shoe. They were put to the task of actually putting themselves in someone else's shoes, and came up with some beautiful and unique reflections on the prospective life of another.
Student Writing
The person who wears these shoes wakes up, brushes their teeth, and styles their hair into a messy ponytail. They are single and enjoy hiking. They also live alone in a camper. Their morning routine is always the same, brush teeth, do hair, eat, then leave for the long hike. They do not see many people each day, in fact, there are usually none. She travels a lot around the country and rarely sees family although she doesn’t know them too well. Her parents had passed away a couple years back and her siblings have all started families of their own.
-Juliana, Grade 8 |
This person's name is Jack McMack. Like many in his underserved community, he prays to God for an easier day, money for rent, a better life... Every Sunday, Jack attends church in these shoes. He walks two blocks down to the Methodist church with his children, grandchildren, and neighbors, often in the rain, snow, cold, or burning heat, over dilapidated sidewalks, to pray for something better.
-Mia, Grade 8
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