How to Teach Kids Empathy Through Dance

Students in a small town in Michigan are outperforming their peers statewide. Over half of the students are American Indian and many come from low-income families. Because the town's reservation can't be taxed, the school receives additional federal funding. And teachers have put it to good use - by hiring more staff, decreasing class sizes, and frequently evaluating students' progress. One fourth grader offered her own theory: "Well, everyone's accepted here for who they are, no matter if they're Irish, Native, African American or just French."

Some European schools have long championed free play in the woods as a way to combat the increasingly mainstream idea of "nature-deficit disorder." In Finland, enthusiastic teachers dedicate all of Friday to outdoor "secret" education - students don't even realize they are learning academic lessons. Inspired by these models, scattered American schools are experimenting with the idea, with some finding reductions in bullying and improvements in test scores and focus issues.

A Mumbai school located in a remodeled shipping container meets kids on the street where they are at. Signal School results from a collaborative effort between the city and a non-profit, and focuses on bringing education to migrant children, so that they are less likely to be forced into child labor or street begging. Signal School does more than just teach, it also provides meals, works with families to change the cultural perspective that education is an amenity for the privileged, and helps migrant families find permanent housing.

Research has found that physical movement, such as dance, can be an affective treatment and rehabilitation for people with Parkinson’s Disease. The Dance Well Initiative brings people with Parkinson’s, as well as community members, together to stage dance performances in gallery spaces as treatment and a creative response to the surrounding art.

Schools around the world are increasingly teaching yoga as a stress management tool. And students are responding enthusiastically -- in one district, over 70 percent of kids chose to also use the techniques at home.

An initiative in House schools that gives students access to the arts in the classroom has positively affected students' ability to concentrate, write, and even show compassion to one another. The initiative, known as the Houston Arts Access Initiative, encourages schools to provide exposure to dance, music, and visual arts to encourage creative and kind interaction.

Environments designed with soundscapes and visual art help to reduce anxiety and pain. In London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has noted a marked improvement in patient experience, including decreased pain and even a reduction in the time women spent in labor, in the presence of artistic installations. Other hospitals in the UK report similar benefits.

A modest fleet of floating schools in Bangladesh ensures children can continue getting the education they need even if their village is cut off during the rainy season. The boats pick the kids up and they have lessons on the floating schoolhouse before being returned to their villages. There are now 23 such schools in the country and the model has grown to include floating medical clinics and a combination library and playground.

Over 40,000 U.S. schools take part in a program called Farm to School, which teaches students healthy eating habits through lessons in school gardens.

With an influx of COVID relief money, the Russellville school district began hiring and certifying more local, Spanish-speaking staff to help teach English language learners. Districtwide, the percentage of students who met their language proficiency goals increased from 46% in 2019 to 61% in 2022.