These days there is a lot of talk about empathy, and many people say we need a whole lot more of it in this world. But some countries seem to have a better handle on the concept of empathy, and its larger effects on our health and wellness, than others. Denmark is one such country, and many researchers believe it’s no coincidence that Denmark ends up with one of the top spots on the World Happiness Report, year after year.
As an undisputed leader in world happiness, it’s worth noting that Denmark doesn’t leave their happiness to chance either. They begin cultivating it on the first day of school at age 6, all the way through graduation at 16. They do this by way of a weekly hour of empathy training known as “Klassen tid,” or “The Class Hour.”
It’s a special time, set aside for everyone to come together with an eye toward collective problem-solving.
What Is Empathy?
Understanding the feelings of others and being aware and sensitive to them is what empathy is all about. This is a learned behavior and one that promotes strong feelings of togetherness, connection, and happiness. Learning a language, or a new skill, or conditioning your body… these things take time and effort. Training your “empathy muscle” is no different; it requires consistent attention too.
This is at the core of what Klassen tid is all about. Every week, for one hour, the class comes together to share their individual problems and concerns with the group. Classmates put their heads together in a non-judgmental effort to find a solution for their fellow classmates. In this way, everyone feels supported, and helpful too. When the tide rises, it lifts all boats, as they say.
Dedicated class time like this, seems like something that is desperately needed in the US. It might be time for teachers to offer a serious look at consciously cultivating empathy in children, as the Danes have been doing. Their happiness speaks for itself – while nosediving empathy in the US has some pointed things to say as well.
The University of Michigan News reports on a 2010 study from their school aimed at gauging empathy levels. It states: “College kids today are about 40 percent lower in empathy than their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago, as measured by standard tests of this personality trait.” It goes on to say “Compared to college students of the late 1970s, the study found, college students today are less likely to agree with statements such as ‘I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things look from their perspective’ and ‘I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me.’”
Well, that’s disheartening. Why don’t people try to understand how their friends are feeling?
Competition Kills Empathy
Since it’s a learned behavior, it’s possible that if empathy is never purposefully addressed, as it is in Klassen tid, it would fall by the wayside… especially in a competitive culture like the US. Almost from the get-go in our young lives, we are competing. In many cases, it’s not ourselves doing the competing — it’s our parents. They’re trying to get us into the best preschool, or jockeying for that new position at work, competing against that other guy in Accounting. Our parents buy a nicer car than the Jones’s, and they put us into the private school so we have the “competitive edge.” Then we start to play sports, go out to cheer squad or chess club. As adults, our employers stack rank us, and the bottom employees end up labeled with an inability to perform, even if there is nothing fundamentally wrong with their performance.
It’s easy to see how, in a culture like this, empathy often receives a sharp elbow to the ribs. Caring about another’s feelings is not where someone’s mind goes when they’re just trying to keep their own head off the chopping block.
Cultivating Empathy in Children
Anyone, at any age, can benefit from consciously cultivating stronger feelings of empathy for our fellow man. But the Danes have the right idea beginning in the earliest stages of social growth. Klassen tid has been a country-wide practice since the early 1990s, which means there will soon come a time when every Danish person will have grown up with a purposeful empathy practice as part of their lives.
A country full of people who are conscious of each other’s feelings, and genuinely curious about them too. How wonderful would that be? Stay tuned, we’re about to find out.