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ArianaBlack · 05-10-2021, 02:24 AM

SPOILER!!: Individual Replies

SPOILER!!: Noah

Finneas fidgeted a little too as he waited for hands to go up. He wasn't sure how people would respond to this discussion, but he felt it was important to have after a year spent derailing subject. He errrrrrrr felt slightly uneasy, uncertain of how to respond to this, but did offer Noah a humble bob of the head. "Understanding and respect," he smiled slightly, before turning to scribble this down on the whiteboard. He appreciated Mr. Mordaunt.

SPOILER!!: Nemesis

Nothing from Nemesis?

Finneas wasn't so much surprised as he was a little disappointed. This was something he could not help, but er. He tried not to linger on it for too long. And the stare. This always made him uncomfortable, so he quickly moved along to the next student.

SPOILER!!: Mamie

Finneas nodded slowly as Mamie spoke. "That is an excellent example of empathy in action. Empathy has, er, so much to do with recognizing an emotion in another person and then communicating that... Er, feeling with others, in a way." He bobbed his head before turning to jot this answer down on the whiteboard too.

SPOILER!!: Violet

When Violet offered an answer, Schmoe listened intently. "It does seem to be that we must work a step harder to move from sympathy to empathy," he offered a small smile as he turned to jot this down on the whiteboard.

SPOILER!!: Claudine

Finneas moved his noodley arms around as he looked around for more raised hands. "This is an important distinction you point to, Ms. Blaze." On the whiteboard it goes! "A person who feels pity is feeling something, but it may not be a shared emotional understanding, like what is present in empathy... As you described." Yes. Good. Excellent. AnYwAy.

SPOILER!!: Evan

As Finneas shifted his attention towards the young ravenclaw, he smiled a little bit. "Precisely, some call this quality perspective taking."

SPOILER!!: Phoebe

Unaware of her internal qualms, Finneas was curious to hear what Phoebe had to say. "This, er, this builds off of Mr. Nam's answer quite well." He gave her an appreciative smile. "Er, the ability to recognize that someone else's perspective is their truth." Which was often much easier said than done. Yikes.

SPOILER!!: Blake

Finneas nodded slowly as Blake offered up his answer. The word 'understand' was making a lot of appearances today. The basics were, for a lack of better terms, understood. "This shared quality of empathy often fuels connection between individuals." Excellent.

SPOILER!!: Ingrid

Finneas hid a small smile as Ingrid began to work through her thought process aloud. He nodded encouragingly as she offered her perspective and only when she was done, did Finneas reply. "Pity can be felt without sympathy, and er, maybe that is what Mr. Nam was speaking to?" He looked at the other Ravenclaw for a moment. Inherently, they weren't arguing for different things.

In any case, he offered Ingrid another small smile, before turning to jot a few things down on the whiteboard.

SPOILER!!: Victoria

Finneas hadn't heard the chatter from before class, he was too busy greeting everyone and taking role, but if it did start to bleed into class time, he would surely ask them to save the conversation for later.

"Thank you for your honesty," he .... wasn't sure there was much else to say in reply. "Your classmates have been offering some excellent insight." And he was writing stuff down on the board. Hopefully by the end of class, she'd have a better idea of what empathy is.

SPOILER!!: Emmerson

.................

Finneas Schmoe never knew what to expect with this one. "That is, er, quite the strong opinion, Ms. Cambridge." Not one that Finneas could say he agreed with, but er... "It sounds like these people, whoever they are, are not practicing true empathy then." And in that case, her final point did hold much water, did it?

He would let her think about this one.

SPOILER!!: Pax

If there were alternate meanings behind what Pax was saying, Finneas did not entirely pick up on it. Or maybe he did and he did not show it. Hm. "This is an interesting point," he nodded thoughtfully. "Often empathy can be a vital step towards compassionate action, but this, er, that is often reliant open taking it that step further." He appreciated answers such as these, ones that applied critical thinking.

SPOILER!!: Dahlia

Finneas wrung his hands as he turned to call upon Dahlia. "This respect is key," He nodded slowly. "It often allows us to stay out of judgement." Or was a step towards it, at least.

SPOILER!!: Lydia

Finneas was a little mind boggled by this question. Er. Therapy? No, er. "You are, indeed, in the right place." He ..... wasn't sure where the confusion was coming from, but er. "As we will continue to speak, I hope that the connection between muggle studies and empathy becomes clearer, but in order to learn about our muggle counterparts, leaving judgement behind and practicing respect, a foundation of empathy is almost always a vital first step." And perhaps Avalon's answer would help too. But er, that'd be coming in a few minutes. #FourthWall

SPOILER!!: Daniel

Finneas hadn't heard the chatter from before class, but if it started to bleed into his lesson now, he would certainly put an end to it. Especially if he heard anything unkind.

"Feeling with someone can be draining, yes, but it also helps us cooperate with others and allows for us to build friendships." He offered kindly.

SPOILER!!: Alfred

Finneas nodded slowly, noting the first year's answer with quiet encouragement. "This is an important point. Rather than fixing, we must acknowledge that a fix may not be universal. Er, because everyone has different needs." Excellent answer, Mr. Alfred.

SPOILER!!: Lisa

Quote:

Originally Posted by Watson

And Lisa really enjoyed Schmoe’s response to her salute as it was just as silly as hers. She beamed and then dropped her smile slightly, remembering that she was SUPPOSED to be suspicious of her head of house.... But he seemed like a nice noodle. But nice noodles could be spicy and dangerous, right?

Daniel’s reaction was much different from her own. Merlin. He did have a point to be skeptical of what the second year was telling them; however, Lisa wondered if Daniel was being too skeptical. He was really living up to the name he first introduced himself to V and her as. She half listened to the conversation, trusting that Daniel was doing all the proper detective-y things to find the truth out. He seemed like a boy on a mission to get as many answers as possible to what happened here beforehand. Lisa wanted to know too... however.... she had a sinking, ominous feeling that whatever it was, it wasn’t good. And she didn’t want to know about it. Thus as Daniel asked his questions and scooted along, she got distracted by a wave from her friend, Serena. Big wave and smile back to her.

And then V said something and Daniel rolled his eyes and told them off. Lisa simply remained quiet and just made a

face. She wasn’t getting involved but she DID feel for how embarrassing being called a crybaby was. However, V and Daniel were once again throwing verbal punches at each other with the names and Lisa wanted no part in it. “Not cool..” she muttered about the two’s interaction. She was about to speak up but Alfred had said something and she agreed with everything he said. It was true. Neither V or Daniel were bad people. Sure, they bickered constantly and disliked each other but they weren’t EVIL.

ANYWAY! Lisa turned and smiled at Alfred. She liked HIM EVEN MORE for that comment.

Lisa remained in her seat as the Professor began class. Empathy... Pity... Sympathy. She uncomfortably fidgeted with the hair tie on her wrist. She didn’t like talking about feelings. She wasn’t good at feelings or this empathy. She could acknowledge the sentiment but to relate to someone else’s emotions terrified her. So when Daniel spoke up and offered his two cents on empathy and it sounding tiring or feeling draining, she nodded in agreement and added loudly. “I don’t want it.” She shook her head.

“I think empathy is draining too. It requires a lot of energy- too much in fact.. I don’t like sharing or talking about my feelings...” she started with her arms folded across her chest, completely unimpressed with the therapy session that was starting. Her eldest brother popped into her mind. He was empathetic and he was good at it. He made it seem so easy. “However, I think empathy takes great humility, strength, vulnerability, and patience...” Lisa nodded at Alfred’s comment about resisting fixing the issue. She personally just wanted to fix something and not deal in feelings. “Sympathy is feeling bad for someone but not actually feeling bad or knowing what that emotion is. Let’s say your pet lizard passes away and you say ‘I’m so sorry for your loss’. That’s sympathetic and sometimes it can seem- no- be perceived as fake.” As she spoke, she continued to fidget with the hair tie.

Finneas nodded slowly. "It does require energy, er, yes, but we often partake in empathy more than we realize. When you're, er, when you're celebrating a friend's victory, for example, that can be empathy too." It didn't always have to be the big things, in other words.

He smiled in appreciate of her answer, jotting her words down on the whiteboard as she spoke. "Thank you, Ms. Nam."

SPOILER!!: Jacob

Actually, Schmoe wouldn't have minded the textbook definition either. He was approaching this with as little expectation as he could. Expectating the projection of a lesson never went well for him.

At least he could tell Mr. Rider-Mae was thinking. This was enough.

SPOILER!!: Kale

The ghostly silence did not go over Schmoe's head, but he also wouldn't draw attention to it. He simply offered Kale his silent support, before turning to call on the next raised hand.

SPOILER!!: Avalon

Finneas smiled gratefully when Ms. Sinclair answered. Hopefully Ms. Wolff was listening, as this answered her previous question. "Yes, precisely, Ms. Sinclair," he was glad someone had brought it up. "If we want to engage in muggle studies to the best of our ability, we must often make the conscious choice to call upon empathy."

SPOILER!!: Kaira

Finneas didn't think there were any arguments taking place. There were very passionate individuals who had perspectives that may not have been in agreement with one another, but often this happened in discussion. "Aiming to understand from their perspective, this is a good way to distinguish the two."

SPOILER!!: Eden

Errrr... Finneas wasn't entirely sure how to reply to this, but er. He. Er.

Well.

"I, er, yes, perhaps," he nodded slowly..... Trying to come up with a way to jot this down on the board.

SPOILER!!: Charlie

"Sincerity makes a world of difference," he agreed softly. He bobbed his head quietly.

SPOILER!!: Heathcliff

Finneas wrung his hands as he listened. "Perhaps we cannot relate to the circumstance itself, but the feeling itself, that is something that can, perhaps, be drawn upon. Thank you, Mr. Jones."

SPOILER!!: Ashley

Finneas tilted his head curiously, pausing to consider the answer. "Being in a similar situation can be a part of empathy, yes, but perhaps it may be possible to draw from the feeling itself rather than the situation in order to work towards understanding." Just offering anothe perspective here.

SPOILER!!: Camryn

Finneas nodded as he listened to Camryn's explanation. "It is difficult to draw from similar feelings without shared circumstances, but it is possible, isn't it?"

SPOILER!!: Serena

Er, no answer? Well, that was fine. As long as she was listening, Finneas took no issue to this. Sometimes things had to ~marinate~. He offered the first year an encouraging smile before moving to the next person.

SPOILER!!: Atlas

.........................

Finneas gave Atlas a pointed look, or er... As pointed as he could manage. Which was not very pointed at all, to be fair. "What we will not do, Mr. Flamsteed, is er speak of our classmates in such a way. Please be respectful." Otherwise, y'know, points and all that.

SPOILER!!: Valentina

Finneas smiled and tried to be encouraging as the third year responded to the question. "Excellent, Ms. Nichols. Aiming to relate to emotions is something that sets empathy apart."

Finneas finished up jotting down the last of the notes, and stepped aside so that others could look over for a refresher as needed. "Some of the answers your classmates have shared are written down on the board behind me, but er.... To recap...." He began, only to pause for a deep breath. The little things took a lot of energy these days. "We described empathy as the ability to recognize. To step into the shoes of another person and aim to understand from their perspective. But in doing so, we, er, we must be careful not to adopt a policy of treat others the way you want to be treated because - because everyone has different needs and empathy is taking the time to learn what these individual needs may be." These were all points they had touched on so far during their brief discussion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whiteboard

Empathy is......

Understanding and respect
Feeling with someone
Connection
Stepping into a person’s shoes
Sharing the feelings of another person
Resisting our urge to ‘fix’, staying in a person’s perspective, acknowledging as is
Humility, strength, vulnerability, and patience
Sincerity
Relating to a feeling, even if you cannot relate to a circumstance

Other Notes:

Pity can be hurtful
Muggle studies calls for empathy, in navigating our understanding of muggles and their world
Empathy on its own might not be enough - but it can often be a vital step towards compassionate action

"Empathy can help us cooperate with each other and build friendships. As you may have connected, it is important to muggle studies because it allows us to challenge our prejudices, overcome our assumptions, and discover our commonalities." He paused again to breaaaaathe. "Often empathy is a vital first step towards compassionate action, though taking that compassionate action is another step entirely."

Finneas was not a very long winded man, so despite all else that could be said about the subject, he'd leave it here for now. Well. There was just one more thing. "Empathy is a vulnerable choice because in order to connect with someone else's feelings, we er, we have to connect with something within ourselves that knows that feeling too." Easier said than done, he knew this.

____________

"Keeping our discussion in mind, I'd er, I'd like everyone to practice empathy for one another as we embark on what might be a vulnerable exercise. I'm, er, I'm going to pass around papers and markers," he grabbed supplies off the table and handed them to students in the circle to take what they needed and pass the rest on. "On your paper, please write down an assumption that someone has made about you - but what you choose to share is up to you and, er, if you do not feel comfortable sharing a personal assumption, perhaps considering drawing upon a general assumption that people make about your Hogwarts house or an assumption people can make about others before getting to know them." The House stereotypes were as old as the castle itself.

"After you have written the assumption down, please put it face down in a pile on this table over here." He gestured to the table he stood beside, just beyond the circle. "These will be shared with the class anonymously, but I do ask that we practice respect for one another and remember our conversation about empathy before we step into the next part of our activity."

He paused to grab a marker for himself. "Please take the next few moments to jot down an assumption. Once you've done so and left it on the table, you may return to your seat." He took a moment to jot one down for himself, before turning it upside down and leaving it on the table with the bank side of the paper facing upwards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The assumption Schmoe has written

A Coward

OOC: Sorry for the delay. This is the FIRST PART of our next activity. As Schmoe explained, have your character take a piece of paper and jot down an assumption (whether it is something personal that is assumed about them or something more general - like an assumption made about their hogwarts house or an assumption they've made about someone else - is up to them.

I'll move us along to the next part of our activity in 1.5 days (roughly 36 hours from now).

05-10-2021, 02:24 AM	#66 (permalink)
ArianaBlack Assistant Forum Manager Quibbler & Newbie Mod DMLE & DMT Ashwinder Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: #6e5f57 \|#ff5470 Posts: 13,677 Hogwarts RPG Name: Alfie Adair Hufflepuff Second Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Laini Gracae-Ryans Slytherin First Year Ministry RPG Name: Tomasz Łaska Law Enforcement x10 x1	doesn't proofread tweets \| #wrongaboutcereal \| #siriusly? \| emo to the extremo SPOILER!!: Individual Replies SPOILER!!: Noah Quote: Originally Posted by Stefan Noah, too, gave Claudine his own greeting with a nod and grin as she sat on the ground with him and Blake. He looked at them with interest as they exchanged a bit of banter and wondered about the food reference... or if it was actually literal. You just... don't know with Slytherins sometimes. The lesson commenced, and Noah pointedly looked away from the professor as he stood before them and gave them all a good look. It was a bit awkward, the minute of silence and observation, so Noah busied himself instead by fiddling with his shoelaces. It really was hard to go back to school, especially if they didn't know who to trust any more. Not only that, but it also didn't help that their own parents had their opinion about it too, leaving them poor kids to figure it out themselves. But just like what his great-gramps said, they all ought to move on. Things happen all the time in and out of school, and that was the nature of life whether it was lived in the muggle or magical world. As soon as the Shmoemeister started talking, Noah's gaze shifted from his shoelaces to their professor. Oh, no. Was it going to be just like the group therapy thing? If it was then the MS professor was doing better. Waaay better. But, empathy, huh? Well, their mummy has plenty of that, post-war or not, so empathy was something that he was familiar with, although Missus Sophie Mordaunt's definition of empathy had a bit of an extra punch. Noah raised his hand and waited for his turn to answer. "Erm...empathy is...exactly what you just did a while ago, professor." he said, retracting back his hand. "You sort of... know what's going on with us when you gave us a look." the quiet reverence was not missed, because he too struggled. "There's that, understanding and respect coming off of you without saying anything." Too much, professor? Finneas fidgeted a little too as he waited for hands to go up. He wasn't sure how people would respond to this discussion, but he felt it was important to have after a year spent derailing subject. He errrrrrrr felt slightly uneasy, uncertain of how to respond to this, but did offer Noah a humble bob of the head. "Understanding and respect," he smiled slightly, before turning to scribble this down on the whiteboard. He appreciated Mr. Mordaunt. SPOILER!!: Nemesis Quote: Originally Posted by Felixir The hesitance was obvious, just like the blinking and bobbing and, more recently, the twitching, always was. Nem didn't bother dwelling on it, just filed the information away instead. They'd been thinking about dropping by to see the Noodle Man anyway, might even bring along some salt for his wounds. They were not expecting anyone to join them, but found themselves unsurprised when Cambridge did just that. Nem stopped to consider the offer for a moment, about to turn it down but glancing up just in time to see Schmoe watching the third year commit the heinous crime of hanging around near Nemesis Upstead. Looking back at Cambridge, they gave her a small, conspiratorial smile. "When the fire gets going." The stuff was better when it was practically incinerated, in any case. While they waited for class to start, Nem watched everyone arrive, but already the ennui was creeping in, almost as if it had never left. Oh, they watched James join Trent, noticed their old friend Rider-Mae make a point of standing as far from them as he could, and saw all the different ways these kids looked at Schmoe as they arrived, but that was all. Kid stuff. Whatever. Let's get this over with. Nem was well-acquainted with the topic of empathy, as it happened. This would have been a greater than good opportunity to make a pointed comment or two, but they made no attempt to answer, even to give a straightforward textbook comparison of affective empathy versus cognitive empathy. No, they were keeping quiet for this one, and appeared to be totally unmoved as they stared unwaveringly at Schmoe. Had to be said, though: for once they were sort of interested in hearing what the others had to say on the matter. Nothing from Nemesis? Finneas wasn't so much surprised as he was a little disappointed. This was something he could not help, but er. He tried not to linger on it for too long. And the stare. This always made him uncomfortable, so he quickly moved along to the next student. SPOILER!!: Mamie Quote: Originally Posted by Waddles Some of these first years were...really something. Margaret tried her best to ignore them and sit quietly while they all waited for class to begin. This was easier once Gracelyn joined her on the tree, where Mamie immediately greeted the sixth year with a big grin. And then class was finally starting, and Margaret was...kind of worried about Schmoe. Was it normal for him to still be...shaky? After last year, she wasn't sure. Magic was weird. Adults were weird. Hopefully he could be happy. Were they having class outside so he could be happy..eer? Maybe. She frowned, trying to remember what the definition of empathy was. Was it really something they needed to define? Didn't everybody know what this was already? She raised her hand, just a little bit. "Empathy is when you, like, not just understand what somebody's feeling, but...like you feel it too," she said. "Like if your friend is sad about something, that makes you sad, too, because they're your friend and you love them." You could have empathy for people who weren't your friends, too, but friends were easier. Finneas nodded slowly as Mamie spoke. *"That is an excellent example of empathy in action. Empathy has, er, so much to do with recognizing an emotion in another person and then communicating that... Er, feeling with* others, in a way." He bobbed his head before turning to jot this answer down on the whiteboard too. SPOILER!!*: Violet* Quote: Originally Posted by MadAlice "It's like with empathy, you're experiencing, actually feeling what another person feels, whereas with sympathy, you might understand the other person, but only intellectually, you're more removed from it." Violet paused to reflect on the last word and why she detested it when others applied it to her. "And pity--pity seems kind on the outside, but there's a kind of condescending feel to it." When Violet offered an answer, Schmoe listened intently. "It does seem to be that we must work a step harder to move from sympathy to empathy," he offered a small smile as he turned to jot this down on the whiteboard. SPOILER!!: Claudine Quote: Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 Okay, so the boys didn’t mind her sitting with them. Not that they had much of a choice. Also… “Close your mouth, Blake. You might trap a fly.” Oh? What’s this? He had a comeback for her comment? An eyebrow went up. Said comeback was not impressive. “You get A+ for effort,’’ she told him as her gaze followed Heath. Was he ignoring her or something? No… it seemed he was too wrapped up in his thoughts. Claudine really hoped he wasn’t overthinking anything and making himself sad. Sometimes it seemed like no matter how many times she tried to distract him or cheer him up, it never worked; he always ended up thinking over things too much. It made her feel like a failure as his girlfriend. Anyway. Empathy. It seemed that they were starting off with some of the feelsy stuff, the stuff which Claudine wasn’t usually good at explaining most of the time. But she’d give it a shot so she took a minute or so to arrange her thoughts before raising her hand. “Pity is feeling sorry for someone if they’re stuck in a particular situation that you don’t consider to be a good one. Empathy is where you understand and share the emotions felt by another. So…” Claudine paused, thinking further. “The difference is for one, you don’t feel nor share the same emotions with someone but for the other, you do.’’ Finneas moved his noodley arms around as he looked around for more raised hands. "This is an important distinction you point to, Ms. Blaze." On the whiteboard it goes! *"A person who feels pity is feeling something, but it may not be a shared emotional understanding, like what is present in empathy... As you described."* Yes. Good. Excellent. AnYwAy. SPOILER!!: Evan Quote: Originally Posted by Chelliephone The chatter before class was rather loud today, though he couldn't say that he minded that. All of the first years excitement WAS quite helpful and a welcome break from all the remembrances of last term. They were new, hadn't been here for any of what happened ~~thank goodness~~ so seeing that excitement again was entirely refreshing. Even if it also made him insanely jealous. Magic had seemed so cool when he was 11 and it was all new. He still wasn't sure. But now... now they were talking about empathy. And Evan could make a logical guess on why this was being discussed, and while logically he knew it was not about personal situation but he still couldn't help his mind roam to where he had failed on this particular skill. Holding back a sigh, he raised his hand to offer his own response after having listened to his peers. "Pity isn't actually nice. It's like saying... 'I feel bad for you, but I'm above this happening'. Sympathy is little nicer, but like others have said it's still distanced. Sympathy is 'I'm sorry you're going through this' but without any personal attachment. Empathy is feeling sympathetic, but taking it one step further and trying to put yourself in the shoes of the person that's hurting so that you can really connect and come up with ideas on how to try to make that person feel better. Or at least let them really know they aren't alone." At least, that was his own interpretations on the matter. As Finneas shifted his attention towards the young ravenclaw, he smiled a little bit. *"Precisely, some call this quality perspective taking."* SPOILER!!: Phoebe Quote: Originally Posted by Cassirin Oh, DRAT, Schmoe had gone all misty over her coin, and Phoebe had a feeling that if he dared to cry, she would absolutely cry too. Then they'd all cry. Together. No thanks. She wasn't doing FEELINGS. And if she kept saying that, someday it would be true. It was too bad they weren't learning about some cool Muggle way to light a fire, because talking about empathy sounded a lot like feelings. She flicked at the end of her ponytail and tried to think of the chillest response that meant nothing at all but didn't do the RUDE thing of ignoring the professor. And really failed. Ugh. Fine. "I think empathy would be, like, recognizing that people feel about things differently than we do and see the world differently than we do, and actively trying to understand what the world looks like for them. Even if you disagree so much it makes your teeth ache, you at least recognize they come from some human place and deserve to be treated that way." Word vomit. Unaware of her internal qualms, Finneas was curious to hear what Phoebe had to say. "This, er, this builds off of Mr. Nam's answer quite well." He gave her an appreciative smile. *"Er, the ability to recognize that someone else's perspective is their* truth." Which was often much easier said than done. Yikes. SPOILER!!*: Blake* Quote: Originally Posted by love-for-HP Blake snapped his mouth shut at Claudine's comment ... man ... what was with this girl. Before he had anymore of a chance to respond however, Schmoe started class ... best to leave his retort for another time - there were sure to be more. "Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another." There an exact definition! Straight from Webster's dictionary. Finneas nodded slowly as Blake offered up his answer. The word 'understand' was making a lot of appearances today. The basics were, for a lack of better terms, understood. "This shared quality of empathy often fuels connection between individuals." Excellent. SPOILER!!: Ingrid Quote: Originally Posted by aRogueOne Sitting there quietly, her eyes on the ground around them, Ingrid wasn’t entirely aware of when exactly the lesson fully started but at some point, her eyes switched towards Professor Schmoe and the lesson at hand and for once, she didn’t put her hand up straight away. Not because she didn’t know the answer but because the answer was too personal to share. Sitting there, her hands playing with a bit of string that was handing from her robes, she listened to the answers of one of the older boys in Gryffindor (Atlas) and then to Margret’s, a fellow third year Hufflepuff who she’d actually saw in the summer. She didn’t really have much to add to those answers if she was being honest except to give an example of a time she was empathetic and well so instead, she instead chose to sit there and listen to the answers of the others around her. “Pitying someone isn’t exactly a bad thing, Evan”, her voice quiet and soft. It wasn’t that she didn’t see where he was coming from because pity could come across as a mean, bad thing. “I just…I don’t understand how feeling sorry for someone and pitying the situation that they’re in is saying you’re above them”. Honestly, she was just confused. Didn’t pity imply that pity came with compassion? “Unless you’re talking about pity in a sarcastic sense where you pity them in a mean spirited way? I guess it depends on the tone of your voice when you use the word or the thoughts you have about it”. “To me, empathy is understanding. Understanding a situation that someone is in and like everyone has said, putting yourself in their shoes and then maybe trying to help them somehow. Pity, well I guess when I pity someone, I’m feeling sorry for them. For whatever it is that they’re going through because it’s most likely something hard”. Finneas hid a small smile as Ingrid began to work through her thought process aloud. He nodded encouragingly as she offered her perspective and only when she was done, did Finneas reply. "Pity can be felt without sympathy, and er, maybe that is what Mr. Nam was speaking to?" He looked at the other Ravenclaw for a moment. Inherently, they weren't arguing for different things. In any case, he offered Ingrid another small smile, before turning to jot a few things down on the whiteboard. SPOILER!!: Victoria Quote: Originally Posted by kayquilz She wasn't alone for long, don't worry Lisa. First Alfie was here, and then Serena, both of whom Victoria was so far fond of. She noticed Alfie looking at her picture and nodded as he looked at Daniel. "It's of him. Because he is the worst person I have EVER met," she said with a flip of her strawberry-blonde hair over her shoulder. She was being dramatic, and she could actually recognize it, but it wasn't like she was far off. He was horribly UNFUNNY and RUDE. Serena, though, she smiled at. "I wish. It'd be the only points I've gotten so far," she mumbled as she continued putting the finishing touches on her Daniel portrait. "I'm drawing Daniel Yoon. Because I don't like him and I was bored waiting for class to start - " But Professor Schmoe was starting class, and V realized what a ridiculous name he had. Schmoe. Joe Schmoe. What if his first name WAS Joe??? V kinda' hoped it was because that'd be soooOOoooooo funny. She quickly closed her notebook so he wouldn't see her picture ~~and ruin his façade that she was taking notes~~. PAYING ATTENTION OVER HERE, YES. V had no idea what empathy was. "I've never heard that word before in my life, so I don't have an answer," she said when it got to be her turn to speak, shrugging her shoulders. That probably wasn't true; she probably HAD heard it, but didn't know it, and so she didn't process the information. And thus, it didn't exist to her. Was empathy even a word, then? Maybe this school made all of the things up. It seemed plenty of her classmates knew what empathy was, though. So it wasn't made up after all, which was a comfort. It had to do with feelings? V tuned out immediately. How was her picture coming along, then? She tried to take a peek. Also, would she share it with DANIEL? She smirked to herself as she thought about it. Finneas hadn't heard the chatter from before class, he was too busy greeting everyone and taking role, but if it did start to bleed into class time, he would surely ask them to save the conversation for later. "Thank you for your honesty," he .... wasn't sure there was much else to say in reply. "Your classmates have been offering some excellent insight." And he was writing stuff down on the board. Hopefully by the end of class, she'd have a better idea of what empathy is. SPOILER!!: Emmerson Quote: Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo Did she see the way Schmoe was concerned about who she chose to stand beside? Noooo. Emmerson was too busy appreciating the way she got a smile--even if only a small one--out of Nemesis Upstead. Not many got smiles from them, she would know, she paid attention. It was kind of a big deal, y'know? So the Gryffindor nodded eagerly at the counter offer. They could split the bread once the fire got going. For now, Emm pinched a piece and began stuffing her face while she listened. Empathy? Was that what they were doing today....? Well. Frankly. "Empathy is what people preach at you when they want you believing and feeling the same things they do. Empathy is the one thing they don't have in the middle of forcing their own on you to make you feel crummy for things you don't feel crummy about because you've got no reason to and then YOU become the bad guy because apparently your own feelings don't matter if they don't match the other persons." Nom. Nom. Nom. *"So basically, Professor,"* Nom. Nom. Nom. "Empathy is a crock of......dung. It's a crock of dung." ................. Finneas Schmoe never knew what to expect with this one. "That is, er, quite the strong opinion, Ms. Cambridge." Not one that Finneas could say he agreed with, but er... "It sounds like these people, whoever they are, are not practicing true empathy then." And in that case, her final point did hold much water, did it? He would let her think about this one. SPOILER!!: Pax Quote: Originally Posted by Tegz Was this a joke? Were they going to be studying muggle therapy or something because this line of questioning was not something Pax was here for. In Pax's view, empathy often proved a waste of time, as proved unequivocally by anyone the previous year who had tried to empathise with the neo-alliance and got nowhere at best and physically hurt at worst. She also found it was too often used as an excuse for lack of action, as though it somehow counted as enough, as evidenced by those who thought that empathy towards any kids who had been hurt or stuck in the room freed them of any complicity in the whole situation. Ditto for sympathy or pity. Typically, Pax chose not to answer most questions in class, but she put her hand up today, staring at Schmoe as she spoke. *"Empathy, and any other version of "feeling bad" ", air quotes, "for someone else is too often an excuse for inaction. You can still be complicit in the pain and suffering of others if you don't act on those feelings, especially* if you're in a position of power,", you know, like a professor for instance, "or if you benefit in some way from whatever negative thing that the so-called feelings of empathy stem from." Like being a pureblood during a time where anyone with muggle blood was being mistreated. Pax folded her arms and eyed the professor. "Empathy is a waste of time if you don't do anything with it." Subtext: talking about your complicity, Schmoe, and this lesson being a waste of time. If there were alternate meanings behind what Pax was saying, Finneas did not entirely pick up on it. Or maybe he did and he did not show it. Hm. "This is an interesting point," he nodded thoughtfully. "Often empathy can be a vital step towards compassionate action, but this, er, that is often reliant open taking it that step further." He appreciated answers such as these, ones that applied critical thinking. SPOILER!!: Dahlia Quote: Originally Posted by Kolyander Dahlia didn't completely buy into that smile that Schmoe had given her but that point of the matter was, he had tried. That in itself counted. She had not only seen it but she felt. Not to mention she knew a good deal of what he had gone through last term, seen it with her own blue eyes. Her heart hurt for him just as she was sure his hurt for them. Now she wasn't saying that the other professors from last term weren't hurting because they were, just some.. maybe she felt a little closer to. As the lesson began, Lia couldn't help but lightly tap her foot on the ground a little. It was more of involuntary thing and she wasn't really aware of it but it seemed to help her focus on the question a tiny bit. Empathy, sympathy and pity. What was the difference. Well this was one way to start a lesson. After listening to several of her peers give their answers she slowly raised her hand. "Well.. empathy is like that smile you gave me when I first sat down. It's how most of us sitting here have gone through something and we can all understand that and respect it because how we feel while not exactly like how they do, it's similar." She paused for a moment. "Sympathy is more of an understanding of what someone is going through and wanting to be there for them because you care about them and want to help them even though you aren't dealing with their current situation yourself." Finneas wrung his hands as he turned to call upon Dahlia. "This respect is key," He nodded slowly. "It often allows us to stay out of judgement." Or was a step towards it, at least. SPOILER!!: Lydia Quote: Originally Posted by lazykitty "Wait, I thought this was Muggle Studies, not a therapy session?" Had she somehow ended up in the wrong place without realizing it? Dia quickly checked her schedule to be sure. Nope, it said this was supposed to be a Muggle Studies lesson right in this part of the grounds. Not that she didn't understand the need of the therapy sessions. These Hogwarts brats had a loooooottttttt of issues they needed to work out. No, she just didn't appreciate being forced to be ~in her feelings~ when she was expecting something else entirely. Like a lesson. Times like these she missed Durmstrang. Finneas was a little mind boggled by this question. Er. Therapy? No, er. "You are, indeed, in the right place." He ..... wasn't sure where the confusion was coming from, but er. "As we will continue to speak, I hope that the connection between muggle studies and empathy becomes clearer, but in order to learn about our muggle counterparts, leaving judgement behind and practicing respect, a foundation of empathy is almost always a vital first step." And perhaps Avalon's answer would help too. But er, that'd be coming in a few minutes. #FourthWall SPOILER!!: Daniel Quote: Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi Being completely unaware at the moment that Victoria was making a mean drawing of him, Daniel turned his attention to the older Gryffindor boy (Atlas) who decided to intervene with his and Lisa's conversation. While Lisa was impressed, Daniel was not. He looked skeptical as his brown eyes went over to see the professor. "HE is a war hero?" he asked, not bothering with whispering anymore. "How do you know? " he knew what this curse was, Ashley had explained it to him back in Diagon Alley. "Did you witness it? Why did he get cursed?" He scooted closer to the second year and stared at him intently as if he could find answers by looking at him. He looked away however when he heard his name being mentioned and after a short look around he realized that it had been Victoria who stood with Alfie and Serena. He rolled his eyes at her comment. "Don't listen to her Alfie! Gellar is the WORST and a crybaby!" Daniel jumped in his seat as the professor began class all of the sudden. He listened to the rest of the students giving their answers to the question about empathy. "It's when you like, really FEEL what others are feeling right? Which sounds absolutely energy draining to me. I mean, who wants that?" Finneas hadn't heard the chatter from before class, but if it started to bleed into his lesson now, he would certainly put an end to it. Especially if he heard anything unkind. "Feeling with someone can be draining, yes, but it also helps us cooperate with others and allows for us to build friendships." He offered kindly. SPOILER!!: Alfred Quote: Originally Posted by Dumblydor Alfred had no idea what had happened between V and Daniel but he was sure it must have been something really bad to get to this point. "Daniel's not that bad. Sure, he did make me fall to the floor and hurt myself, but that was an accident." His head turned back towards Daniel as he offered his viewpoint. Wow, these two really had it in for each other. "I'm sure that's not true either. It's perfectly normal to cry on your first day." Even if she was the only one who did. Alfred raised his hand as Schmoe started the lesson. "Empathy in practice would be resisting our natural reflex to give a 'fix' to the situation. We stay there in their perspective, and acknowledge it as it is." Why were they being asked about empathy anyway? Was this a normal thing that happened in Muggle Studies? *"If the time comes for us to offer a solution, we do it from their* perspective, not ours." Finneas nodded slowly, noting the first year's answer with quiet encouragement. "This is an important point. Rather than fixing, we must acknowledge that a fix may not be universal. Er, because everyone has different needs." Excellent answer, Mr. Alfred. SPOILER!!*: Lisa* Quote: Originally Posted by Watson And Lisa really enjoyed Schmoe’s response to her salute as it was just as silly as hers. She beamed and then dropped her smile slightly, remembering that she was SUPPOSED to be suspicious of her head of house.... But he seemed like a nice noodle. But nice noodles could be spicy and dangerous, right? Daniel’s reaction was much different from her own. Merlin. He did have a point to be skeptical of what the second year was telling them; however, Lisa wondered if Daniel was being too skeptical. He was really living up to the name he first introduced himself to V and her as. She half listened to the conversation, trusting that Daniel was doing all the proper detective-y things to find the truth out. He seemed like a boy on a mission to get as many answers as possible to what happened here beforehand. Lisa wanted to know too... however.... she had a sinking, ominous feeling that whatever it was, it wasn’t good. And she didn’t want to know about it. Thus as Daniel asked his questions and scooted along, she got distracted by a wave from her friend, Serena. Big wave and smile back to her. And then V said something and Daniel rolled his eyes and told them off. Lisa simply remained quiet and just made a face. She wasn’t getting involved but she DID feel for how embarrassing being called a crybaby was. However, V and Daniel were once again throwing verbal punches at each other with the names and Lisa wanted no part in it. “Not cool..” she muttered about the two’s interaction. She was about to speak up but Alfred had said something and she agreed with everything he said. It was true. Neither V or Daniel were bad people. Sure, they bickered constantly and disliked each other but they weren’t EVIL. ANYWAY! Lisa turned and smiled at Alfred. She liked HIM EVEN MORE for that comment. Lisa remained in her seat as the Professor began class. Empathy... Pity... Sympathy. She uncomfortably fidgeted with the hair tie on her wrist. She didn’t like talking about feelings. She wasn’t good at feelings or this empathy. She could acknowledge the sentiment but to relate to someone else’s emotions terrified her. So when Daniel spoke up and offered his two cents on empathy and it sounding tiring or feeling draining, she nodded in agreement and added loudly. “I don’t want it.” She shook her head. “I think empathy is draining too. It requires a lot of energy- too much in fact.. I don’t like sharing or talking about my feelings...” she started with her arms folded across her chest, completely unimpressed with the therapy session that was starting. Her eldest brother popped into her mind. He was empathetic and he was good at it. He made it seem so easy. “However, I think empathy takes great humility, strength, vulnerability, and patience...” Lisa nodded at Alfred’s comment about resisting fixing the issue. She personally just wanted to fix something and not deal in feelings. “Sympathy is feeling bad for someone but not actually feeling bad or knowing what that emotion is. Let’s say your pet lizard passes away and you say ‘I’m so sorry for your loss’. That’s sympathetic and sometimes it can seem- no- be perceived as fake.” As she spoke, she continued to fidget with the hair tie. Finneas nodded slowly. "It does require energy, er, yes, but we often partake in empathy more than we realize. When you're, er, when you're celebrating a friend's victory, for example, that can be empathy too." It didn't always have to be the big things, in other words. He smiled in appreciate of her answer, jotting her words down on the whiteboard as she spoke. "Thank you, Ms. Nam." SPOILER!!: Jacob Quote: Originally Posted by Daemon Oh no. Schmoe, no. He couldn't resist the eye roll, despite really trying his best. He even turned away from the Muggle Studies professor so he wouldn't see. This felt far too much like therapy, and every time they'd tried to get him to talk to about these things, he'd sigh in exasperation. None of his answers had changed as the weeks passed, and eventually any talk of feelings would be immediately accompanied by an eye roll. Hard habit to break, turns out. Barely keeping himself from groaning as well, he looked around as people started to answer. He knew the textbook definition, sure, but that wasn't what Schmoe was asking for. His eyes fell on Nemesis just as Phoebe spoke. He definitely disagreed with them so much his teeth had ached, but he couldn't deny the obvious logic of their actions. Jacob wasn't sure what had made Nemesis join the Neo Alliance, but he'd supplied his own reasons for it in his head. They'd never know it, but Jacob had spent a good deal of his summer struggling to understand why his friend had done it. ... Former friend. Making up his own explanations had helped him move on back then, and it definitely also helped him keep his cool around them now. Was this empathy? Jacob didn't think so. It felt like he was justifying years of friendship to himself, more self preservation than anything else. And like Pax said, whatever it was, it was useless because he had no plans to act on any of it. Shaking his head to clear it of Upsteads, he considered finding a seat. This was tiring. Actually, Schmoe wouldn't have minded the textbook definition either. He was approaching this with as little expectation as he could. Expectating the projection of a lesson never went well for him. At least he could tell Mr. Rider-Mae was thinking. This was enough. SPOILER!!: Kale Quote: Originally Posted by pundantic Empathy. He'd been plagued with B I G F E E L I N G S his whole young life, but empathy, tbh, as a Gryffindor, hadn't really hit him between the eyes until the school had become a prison. And all the students' hurt and sadness had draped over the school like some kinda suffocating mist. Uh. Yah. No, sir. Kale wasn't ready to talk about any of that, especially not in Muggle Studies. The blonde sat in ghostly silence. The ghostly silence did not go over Schmoe's head, but he also wouldn't draw attention to it. He simply offered Kale his silent support, before turning to call on the next raised hand. SPOILER!!: Avalon Quote: Originally Posted by Fireheart Hmm. Perhaps campfire songs would have been preferable, because the way it sounded, this lesson sounded like a whole lot of talk about feelings. And Avalon didn't exactly want to share those with everyone in the class. Maybe Schmoe was just using this whole empathy discussion to introduce some new Muggle object or something, though. Her Head of House didn't really seem like the type to get deep into his emotions. He was just too...awkward. Her eyes narrowed at a few of her classmates' answers, particularly Emmerson's and Pax's. Avalon might not want to talk about feelings and stuff, but she didn't think empathy was stupid or a waste of time. In fact, come to think of it, lack of empathy was the reasoning behind everything that happened last term with the Neo-Alliance. So the Gryffindor calling it a pot of dung was...a little uncalled for. Thankfully, some of her other friends gave more acceptable responses. The Ravenclaw didn't have much more to add to the definition, but she raised her hand anyway to contribute an example. "I think Muggle Studies in and of itself is a good example of empathy. Not the strictly emotional kind, but the fact that we're trying to understand Muggles and put ourselves in their shoes. When we come into this class, we try to put away our magical abilities for awhile and experience what it's like to be a Muggle. You know, by using their inventions and what not." It was more than just feeling bad for Muggles that they didn't have magic to make their lives easier. And that was what really constituted the difference between empathy and sympathy, right? Finneas smiled gratefully when Ms. Sinclair answered. Hopefully Ms. Wolff was listening, as this answered her previous question. "Yes, precisely, Ms. Sinclair," he was glad someone had brought it up. "If we want to engage in muggle studies to the best of our ability, we must often make the conscious choice to call upon empathy." SPOILER!!: Kaira Quote: Originally Posted by Sangeetha Wow, Kaira had no idea that a discussion about empathy could turn into an argument of sorts. WOW! Ignoring this, she said 'Empathy is being in someone's shoes and relating to what they feel. Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone, and not relating to how they feel necessarily,' she answered. Finneas didn't think there were any arguments taking place. There were very passionate individuals who had perspectives that may not have been in agreement with one another, but often this happened in discussion. "Aiming to understand from their perspective, this is a good way to distinguish the two." SPOILER!!: Eden Quote: Originally Posted by Bryn Eden had participated in many a conversation on empathy before, usually in an office, hallway, or spare classroom, often accompanied by a sniveling peer, and ~~almost~~ always after her actions lead an adult to the conclusion that she needed a better grasp on the subject. She'd credit these many prior conversations and her almost-teenagerhood for her silence when...a certain Gryffindor third year opened her mouth. She didn't want to be like those whining first years, either. (Not that she didn't agree that empathy was a crock of dung...she did! Why should Eden burden herself with the feelings of other people? Didn't she have enough on her own plate without worrying about people who likely didn't care at all about her? ) The Ravenclaw fought the urge to cringe as she listened to her classmates respond. Couldn't they just ditch the feelings mumbo-jumbo? Ironically, it was only the highly effective pity-respect-commiseration combo Schmoe brought to the table that kept Eden from tuning the lesson out altogether. Heh. Some may even call that empathy. She raised her hand (fingernails decorated with little clouds on a sky-blue background) to participate in the discussion. "We can practice empathy by minding our own business and not trying to get revenge on those who did us wrong last year." Yeaaaah. Errrr... Finneas wasn't entirely sure how to reply to this, but er. He. Er. Well. "I, er, yes, perhaps," he nodded slowly..... Trying to come up with a way to jot this down on the board. SPOILER!!: Charlie Quote: Originally Posted by siriusblackliveson Charlie's eyes had skipped across each face sitting around the fire. This whole sit around the fire and share your feelings thing was getting old real quick. How many more times would she have to relive everything that she had been through? Seriously it was bad enough when she lived it now she was reliving it more than she ever cared for. Yet, watching everyone around the circle talk about empathy had her brows furrowing together. She felt all that anger surging, but part of her felt angry too. Empathy was great and all but most of the time people just gave sympathy or pity. She was over the pity glances from the adults. More than anything she was tired of the empathy from the village her parents had been in over the summer. Pity was like those old muggle movies where the woman looks at a young kid and says 'bless your heart' that was so much worse. But how did she say that to everyone around the fire pit? She couldn't. No she wouldn't, right? Ope, here she goes. Just don't say it... "pity is awkward as well as hurtful. Because it's just kind enough to feel sincere but just sharp enough to be harmful. Sometimes without ever knowing that you've been hurt." There was no taking that quiet voice back, so unlike her. "Sincerity makes a world of difference," he agreed softly. He bobbed his head quietly. SPOILER!!: Heathcliff Quote: Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy Sad wasn't the right word to describe what Heath was feeling. He was more confused than anything else. This felt like second year all over again when he was too scared to engage because he didn't yet know anyone's intentions, except… As he looked up, his eyes found Claudine. He gave her a slight smile, but there wasn't time to say hi before the lesson started. Schmoe's questions had him even more confused than ever! He blinked, his eyes darting from the professor to the fire pit. Empathy and… campfires? He had no idea how those two things fit together, but he considered the questions anyway. He knew what empathy was. It was feeling what another person felt. It was different from simply understanding their feelings, as in sympathy, or feeling sorry for them, as in pity, but all of those things had been said a number of times and there were only so many ways to reword the same information. Instead he chose to focus on the third part of the question: empathy in practice, and his thoughts immediately turned to acting. There was always some level of empathy involved with playing a character. You had to find a way to make their emotions your own, even if you couldn't relate to their situation; otherwise the performance would ring hollow. Was that anywhere close to what Schmoe was looking for? He wasn't sure, but he tentatively raised his hand and said, "I suppose one way to practice empathy is to think of a time when you felt what the other person is feeling if you can't relate to their exact set of circumstances. That can help you truly experience their emotions…" Did anyone see where he was going with this? Maybe he shpuld just stop talking before he made an idiot of himself! Finneas wrung his hands as he listened. "Perhaps we cannot relate to the circumstance itself, but the feeling itself, that is something that can, perhaps, be drawn upon. Thank you, Mr. Jones." SPOILER!!: Ashley Quote: Originally Posted by astrocat Ash did not like empathy. She did not want anyone to be in her shoes. And she'd rather not be in Cambridge or Upstead's shoes. And she did not like pity either. People who pitied her did not understand her pain. Sympathy was a good middle ground. "Empathy is when you feel the same emotions as someone else by being in a similar situation. Which sucks in a lot of cases. Pity is when you pretend to feel the same as someone else but you're actually just being condescending and insensitive." Healer Poppy. "Sympathy is better because you can understand someone without feeling their pain." She said it. Pity was the worst by far. Finneas tilted his head curiously, pausing to consider the answer. "Being in a similar situation can be a part of empathy, yes, but perhaps it may be possible to draw from the feeling itself rather than the situation in order to work towards understanding." Just offering anothe perspective here. SPOILER!!: Camryn Quote: Originally Posted by Daydreamer11 Camryn was glad when class started. She was ready to find out what they would be working on today. When the professor posed the first question though, well she wasn’t quite sure where the lesson was headed. Empathy. Yes, she was familiar with the word. Her classmates seemed to have a lot to say about the subject, so much that she wasn’t quite sure what was left to say. How many ways could one describe empathy? What could she say that wasn’t the same as the previous 20 answers? After giving it some thought, she raised her hand. “If you have sympathy for someone, you realize that they are hurting. If you have empathy for someone, you feel their pain. Kind of like you know what they are going through because you’ve been there too. If someone loses a family member and you’ve lost one too.....you can feel empathy for them. If you’ve never lost anyone close to you, you feel badly for them, you feel sympathy, but you don’t really know how they feel......so no empathy.” Finneas nodded as he listened to Camryn's explanation. "It is difficult to draw from similar feelings without shared circumstances, but it is possible, isn't it?" SPOILER!!: Serena Quote: Originally Posted by Deezerz So a Daniel Yoon had ticked off her roommate. Serena’s eyes followed V’s gaze and she studied him like the lil’ snake she was. Huh. V’s drawing was accurate. Save the mustache. Actuallyyyyyy…”There’s a potion for that to come true,” Serena said quietly as class began. Just a suggestion in case V wanted to make her drawing come to life. Switching gears, Serena turned her attention to Professor Schmoe. Annnnd the current topic threw her off. Empathy? What? That wasn’t just a muggle thing. This was MUGGLE Studies. Wasn’t it a universal thing, empathy? If it wasn’t then she was ready to write a letter to her mum and explain that she doesn’t have to be nice or whatever all the time because that’s a muggle thing. Listening to her classmates--when she wasn’t distracted by her earlier suggestion of giving someone a mustache--Serena picked up a few things. Things that seem to take too much energy. All the emotions and feels involved. EWW. Time consuming. The only thing she did focus on was the question about pity. If anyone would EVER...DARE...to throw HER a pity party….they’d P A Y. So no. She didn’t have an appropriate answer to contribute. Er, no answer? Well, that was fine. As long as she was listening, Finneas took no issue to this. Sometimes things had to ~marinate~. He offered the first year an encouraging smile before moving to the next person. SPOILER!!: Atlas Quote: Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie Lisa, Atlas decided, he liked. The other boy, the one who was practically looking at him like he was an ant through an magnifying glass on a sunny day (the second year felt the nervous sweats coming on so that would explain that heat)...Atlas was pretty unsure of. Unsure to leaning towards a hard pass. "B-because I was there. Everyone at Hogwarts last term was..." And even if the actual Crucio-ing hadn't been something Atlas had witnessed each and every time, the effects of it had been there. Still were for that matter. It was hard to pay attention to class when you didn't want to, this topic feeling like a potential mandatory therapy session of some variety and Atlas just wanting to sink his head between his shoulders or maybe just curl up under his chair. Though when the Hufflepuff boy spoke again...Atlas was quick to jump in and reply. "He," Atlas began, pointing blatantly at the first year Hufflepuff. "Shows a real lack of empathy." Sometimes the best way to describe a thing or concept was to show what it was not. ......................... Finneas gave Atlas a pointed look, or er... As pointed as he could manage. Which was not very pointed at all, to be fair. "What we will not do, Mr. Flamsteed, is er speak of our classmates in such a way. Please be respectful." Otherwise, y'know, points and all that. SPOILER!!: Valentina Quote: Originally Posted by Lady of Light Empathy. Val frowned, not sure what this had to do with muggle studies?? So, were they going to be discussing feelings and emotions this lesson?? UM. They'd only just started but she had a pretty good idea that this wasn't going to be a great lesson. She did like professor Schmoe though so.. there was tiny bit of hope. "It is to.. understand, to be able to share what someone else is going through.. if that makes sense. Like, to put yourself in someone else's shoes so that you can relate to their emotions?" Finneas smiled and tried to be encouraging as the third year responded to the question. "Excellent, Ms. Nichols. Aiming to relate to emotions is something that sets empathy apart." Finneas finished up jotting down the last of the notes, and stepped aside so that others could look over for a refresher as needed. "Some of the answers your classmates have shared are written down on the board behind me, but er.... To recap...." He began, only to pause for a deep breath. The little things took a lot of energy these days. "We described empathy as the ability to recognize. To step into the shoes of another person and aim to understand from their perspective. But in doing so, we, er, we must be careful not to adopt a policy of treat others the way you want to be treated because - because everyone has different needs and empathy is taking the time to learn what these individual needs may be." These were all points they had touched on so far during their brief discussion. Quote: Originally Posted by Whiteboard Empathy is...... Understanding and respect Feeling with someone Connection Stepping into a person’s shoes Sharing the feelings of another person Resisting our urge to ‘fix’, staying in a person’s perspective, acknowledging as is Humility, strength, vulnerability, and patience Sincerity Relating to a feeling, even if you cannot relate to a circumstance Other Notes: Pity can be hurtful Muggle studies calls for empathy, in navigating our understanding of muggles and their world Empathy on its own might not be enough - but it can often be a vital step towards compassionate action "Empathy can help us cooperate with each other and build friendships. As you may have connected, it is important to muggle studies because it allows us to challenge our prejudices, overcome our assumptions, and discover our commonalities." He paused again to breaaaaathe. "Often empathy is a vital first step towards compassionate action, though taking that compassionate action is another step entirely." Finneas was not a very long winded man, so despite all else that could be said about the subject, he'd leave it here for now. Well. There was just one more thing. "Empathy is a vulnerable choice because in order to connect with someone else's feelings, we er, we have to connect with something within ourselves that knows that feeling too." Easier said than done, he knew this. ____________ "Keeping our discussion in mind, I'd er, I'd like everyone to practice empathy for one another as we embark on what might be a vulnerable exercise. I'm, er, I'm going to pass around papers and markers," he grabbed supplies off the table and handed them to students in the circle to take what they needed and pass the rest on. "On your paper, please write down an assumption that someone has made about you - but what you choose to share is up to you and, er, if you do not feel comfortable sharing a personal assumption, perhaps considering drawing upon a general assumption that people make about your Hogwarts house or an assumption people can make about others before getting to know them." The House stereotypes were as old as the castle itself. "After you have written the assumption down, please put it face down in a pile on this table over here." He gestured to the table he stood beside, just beyond the circle. "These will be shared with the class anonymously, but I do ask that we practice respect for one another and remember our conversation about empathy before we step into the next part of our activity." He paused to grab a marker for himself. "Please take the next few moments to jot down an assumption. Once you've done so and left it on the table, you may return to your seat." He took a moment to jot one down for himself, before turning it upside down and leaving it on the table with the bank side of the paper facing upwards. Quote: Originally Posted by The assumption Schmoe has written A Coward OOC: Sorry for the delay. This is the FIRST PART of our next activity. As Schmoe explained, have your character take a piece of paper and jot down an assumption (whether it is something personal that is assumed about them or something more general - like an assumption made about their hogwarts house or an assumption they've made about someone else - is up to them. I'll move us along to the next part of our activity in 1.5 days (roughly 36 hours from now). __________________ Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Lemon!