I think Roots of Empathy could teach the world that babies are precious.”
- Grade 3 Student, M’Chigeeng, Manitoulin Island, Ontario
Ontario is the birthplace, home, and international headquarters for the Roots of Empathy organization.
The program was created in the province in 1996 by Mary Gordon and offered in a Toronto pilot reaching 150 children in Kindergarten and Grade One. The program has since flourished, and to date Roots of Empathy has reached more than 143,000 children in the province and 373,000 children across Canada and in several countries.
Over the last 15 years, about 5,000 babies with the Roots of Empathy program have been the youngest teachers in Ontario classrooms. A similar number of volunteer parents have learned more about their babies and the key role they play in a child's development. Thousands of Ontario classroom teachers have learned about their students' emotional lives and witnessed first-hand the power of helping children to develop social and emotional literacy. The significant impact Roots of Empathy has had in Ontario's schools has been recognized through two awards presented to Mary Gordon from the Ontario Teachers' Federation: the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and the Ontario Teachers' Federation Fellowship Lifetime Award.
The Government of Ontario has been a major partner in supporting Roots of Empathy over the last decade, putting it at the forefront of a global movement to create a more caring, peaceful and civil society through the development of empathy in children. In 2000, Roots of Empathy received one of the first early years' grants from the Ontario government, and since then the organization has been generously supported by the Ministry of Education. With the support from the Ministry and the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Roots of Empathy has also been able to invest in capacity building for our programs for Ontario's francophones.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the first school board in the country to have the program, is also the site of the first Roots of Empathy Centre of Excellence in the world. In the 2010-11 school year, classrooms in seven schools at the TDSB are showcasing Roots of Empathy best practices in fidelity with the program’s curriculum and philosophy. The Centre of Excellence frequently hosts visitors from around the world.
In 2010-11, more than 18,500 Ontario children are participating in the program in more than 700 classrooms. The program is delivered in English and French, in urban, rural and remote communities including schools with high immigrant populations, schools with high Aboriginal populations and schools in First Nations.
For feedback from Ontario students and teachers participating in Roots of Empathy please read the 2009-10 Ontario Feedback Report. 
|
