With the ever-increasing diversity and social complexity in Canadian classrooms, teachers need to understand and respond to current social issues from a place of compassion. This insightful contributed volume brings together leading academics from across Canada to discuss the evolution of student populations in Canadian schools, exploring the social issues that affect students’ lived realities. Using a student-centred methodology, the authors examine a wide range of critical topics, including mental health, Indigenous education, queer education, racism, youth radicalization, disability, religious responsiveness, high-poverty schools, teacher-parent communication, English-language learners, and refugee student support. Readers learn how to navigate difficult situations in the classroom with empathy and a thoughtful, informed ethics of care, and to consider the distinct experiences and sociocultural realities that inform students’ actions. Encouraging critical reflection and a deeper understanding of diversity, The Compassionate Educator serves as a vital resource for students in teacher education programs and for practicing educators across Canada.

In a world that judges teachers by appearances and scores, this book is about finding a healthier and more meaningful way to relate to ourselves, our students and our profession.

In a world where students are often seen as test scores and not as human beings, where their well-being is challenged by poverty, intolerance, and bullying, and where technological innovations frequently erode genuine personal contact, compassionate teachers are needed more than ever. Teaching with Compassion offers practical tools and strategies designed to help educators foster a culture of care and compassion. Organized around an eight-point “Teaching with Compassion Oath,” this book draws on real life examples and exercises to demonstrate the power and potential of teaching from the heart. Written for both experienced and novice educators alike, Teaching with Compassion is sure to stimulate inquiry and provide ongoing inspiration.

This resource pinpoints the most vexing challenges teachers and educational coaches face and offers practical advice for overcoming them.

Compassionate Music Teaching provides a framework for music teaching in the 21st century by outlining qualities, skills, and approaches to meet the needs of a unique and increasingly diverse generation of students. The text focuses on how six qualities of compassion (trust, empathy, patience, inclusion, community, and authentic connection) have made an impact in human lives, and how these qualities might relate to the practices of caring and committed music teachers. This book bridges the worlds of research and practice, discussing cutting-edge topics while also offering practical strategies that can be used immediately in music studios and classrooms. Each chapter is addressed from multiple perspectives, including: research in music, education, psychology, sociology, and related fields; insights from various students and teachers across the United States; and an in-depth study of five music teachers who represent a broad range of genres, student ages, and pedagogical approaches. The book is dedicated to exploring those conditions that help students not only to learn, but also to grow, thrive, and freely express—and become compassionate musicians, teachers, performers, and people as well.

There has never been a time in history when educators have felt such overwhelming levels of stress, burnout, and exhaustion. Still, we depend on teachers to be a positive guiding force in our children's lives - often playing simultaneous roles as educator, parent, mental health counselor, and caring friend. For educators to fulfill these vital roles, it's abundantly clear that they need to develop resiliency both inside and outside the classroom. Written by fellow educator and mindful self-compassion expert, Lisa Baylis, MEd, this book provides educators with simple, accessible, and easy-to-use practices that will inspire them to care for themselves - instead of adding to their chaos - so they can continue doing the profession they love. Within Self-Compassion for Educators, busy and overwhelmed teachers can learn how to: - Reduce feelings of shame, criticism, and self-doubt - Anchor themselves to the present moment - Develop greater compassion for themselves and others - Mitigate the effects of chronic stress and develop resilience - Cultivate a sense of gratitude - Practice self-care routines that create sustainable well-being - Avoid exhaustion and burnout

Ask any teacher why they went into teaching, and they'll invariably refer to students or their subject. Yet, modern educators are faced with a dilemma: the industry judges us primarily on outcomes, offering the justification that grades improve life chances. Grades improve life chances as much as money buys happiness: it's no more than a prop or a poor substitute. Unless the profession starts to get to the heart of its reason for being, we might as well all pack up and go home. Education has a problem with its `why,' and unless it starts to encourage and insist its stakeholders start to improve their understanding of why compassion and relationships should be at the heart of everything we do, the same familiar cyclical mistakes will continue to be made, and all of those lovely things that we say we do in modern education such as improving life chances, creating citizens of the future and shaping young minds will be no more than an accidental and indirect by-product of time spent in our educational establishments.

A far-ranging account of human altruism and of altruism as a scientific study.