I believe my capacity for empathy is an essential part of my teaching persona. For that reason, I was more than intrigued by the title of Paul Bloom’s book Against Empathy (Jan. 2016). After reading it, I recognized that a number of his points have merit for teachers. I still believe that, ultimately, teaching requires the ability to “see” and experience things from the student’s point of view. However, certain aspects of empathy merit a closer examination when it comes to how we design course materials and in situations that arise with individual students.
