Design for Change Ireland Competition

The difference between Apathy and Empathy

WORLD’S LARGEST

SCHOOL CONTESTEH G

DES GN for

irirelelaandnd

This is the recommended first step in the ‘feel’ stage of the design process. I ran this process with kids in Gardiner Street Primary school, 5th class girls, and they really responded well to it, and it is a very worthwhile introduction to the program as it gives the kids something to tangible to relate to. Even if the kids go home knowing that empathy is a good thing, and apathy is a bad thing, that’ll be a success! I think this is the perfect starting point in the whole process.

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STEP 1

STEP 3

STEP 2

Ask if anyone knows the difference between apathy and empathy, after writing them up on opposite sides of the board. If the answer if no(which it will most likely be!) then explain first what apathy is. Act out yourself a playground scenario as if you were playing inthe yard and tripped over, and everyone around you kept playing. Hold your hand up and ask ‘Will anyone help me up?’ and then act really disappointed when nobody does.

Then explain that apathy is when people are only interested in what they are doing, and don’t care about other people’s problems. Then mime out the opposite of apathy, empathy, and ask one of the kids to help you up.

Go through loads of different examples of situations where someone has shown apathy and empathy and then ask the

kids to volunteer to run forward to the board to circle which one they think it is (and make a smiley face under it if it’s empathy, and a sad face if it’s empathy), then you can tell more empathy situations than

apathy ones, and then ask the kids which they think is the better one of the two.

You could get the more dramatic kids in the class to act out a situation involving apathy and a situation involving empathy and then ask the other kids watching to guess which it is at the end – would be a way to make it more fun for the kids and would also really make them remember it.