Joshua Acampado

Dr. Frank Abrahams

Critical Pedagogy II
October 29, 2015

A Critical Review of;

Empathy in the Classroom; Can Music Bring Us More in Tune with One Another?

Empathy is a topic that is picking up steam in the realm of education. With the discussion
of entanglement appearing on National Public Radio, and the discover of mirror neurons in the
human brain, scientists and educators alike are trying to find how empathy engages the body and
improves the overall welfare of an individual. In the realm of education, educators are exploring
how empathy affects how students interact and act in a school setting. The question is, how? In a
typical classroom settingsubjects such as math or scienceempathy cannot be promoted
outside of class projects or mundane group work. For music educators, however, empathy is
naturally promoted and fostered in all grade levels due to the sheer nature of a music classroom.
In examples such as Orff, where children must share their instruments and perform a melody
together, a natural sense of community is established because the class as a whole must decide on
the outcome and come to a general consensus to what the piece should be while respecting each
others ideas and decisions. In Lynda Lairds article Empathy in the Classroom; Can Music
Bring Us More in Tune with One Another? she discusses what empathy is, its relevance to the
classroom and why music educators should promote it in their lives.

The article begins by describing the origins of empathy and what the word means. The
word first appeared in 1909 when a psychologist translated it from the German Einfhlung,
which means feeling into or in-feeling (Laird 56). This makes the concept of empathy a
relatively new idea considering that the idea of sympathy has been traced all the way back to
Aristotle. Empathy is defined as the state of satisfying one of eight conditions such as when an
individual is imagining how one would think and feel in the others place or when feeling
distress at witnessing another persons suffering (Laird 57). The concept is then broken down
into three sections, discussing the difference between cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and
compassionate empathy. Cognitive empathy is when an individual is seeing from anothers
perspective. Emotional empathy is when an individual is able to synchronize his/her feelings
with another, feeling as the other would. It also mentions the concept of mirror neurons, which is
how individuals are able to empathize and connect with one another due to a system of nerves in
the human brain. Finally, compassionate empathy is when an individual can understand what is
happening to someone else, and then is moved to help that person. Laird continues the article by
discussing how empathy is a natural result of music making. Due to the intimate nature of music,
participants must be willing to interact with one another in an emotional state and be open to
different participants. Studies have shown that this intimate action of creating music in groups
resulted in higher scores of emotional empathy in comparison to those who simply participated
in games of storytelling or drama. The article concludes with Laird elaborating on how empathy
is applicable in the classroom situation and how to promote it through different activities.
Through this mutual progress in achieving a common goal, music then becomes a more
meaningful experience for the students. Laird also mentions how a teacher must be empathetic

with his/her students so he/she can really foster a greater sense of community in the class, thus
ultimately creating an environment in which learning can be promoted in a safe environment.
Empathy in the classroom and social identity theory relate to one another in regards that
both depend upon interactions within the group. In fact, it can be argued that empathy relies upon
social identity theory. This theory was proposed by Henri Tajfel who was a Jewish survivor of
World War II. In 1979, he stated that a person identifies who he/she is by which groups he/she is
in (McLeod). Within Social Identity Theory (SIT) exists a psychological process known as
Identity Activation. The first step is categorization. The subject first categorizes him/herself into
a social category. Such examples would be race, religious beliefs, or even academic standings
such as student or teacher. Once a subject is categorized, he/she then adopts the identity of the
group, otherwise known as social identification. He/she does not typically do this consciously;
he/she simply conforms to social norms. A student fits the identity of the student by going to
class, doing homework, and being assessed. How an individual acts in their own group affects
their self-esteem and emotion significance to the group. Empathy in the classroom revolves
around the concept of social identification and how an individual will interact within the group.
Finally is social comparison, where groups compare themselves to one another. This begins to be
the source for competition, leading to intergroup conflicts and prejudices. On top of the
psychological process is the idea of identity management (Lange, Krugianski, Higgins 382).
Individual mobility is when an individual denies belonging to a certain group, and attempts to
pass off as a member of another group. Social creativity is when members of the group associate
themselves with more positive aspects rather than focusing on the negatives. For example,
members of a migrant group may state how they are well off in comparison to their country of
origin rather than in comparison to the host country. Finally, social competition is when a group

challenges the status quo through a series of actions. Examples would consist of women working
for equal wages in a male dominated work environment or members of the LGBT community
fighting for the right to marriage due to a political presence (Lange, Krugianski, Higgins 383).
The article offers a interesting perspective on how to establish and promote a community
within the classroom and why empathy is crucial in this process. Through the lens of social
identity theory, however, the biggest part of this article is how individuals within a group interact
with one another. Specifically, the article refers to how compassionate empathy makes an
individual want to reach out and support someone else in a time of difficulty. When in a music
class, the group, in terms of social identity theory, is established. Within the classroom, however,
individuals from multiple other groups interact within this group. How individuals within this
group interact determines the outlook of the students as they disperse into other groups outside of
the classroom. By establishing empathy within the classroom and creating community, this
breaks the chain of social comparison that is so apparent in a school setting. In a period of time
in which people are still developing their identities, breaking down social comparison in the
negative sense allows for a safer environment in the school in general. Another crucial aspect to
this is how social identification plays to how important the self is within the group. When
belonging to a group, an individual can compare his/herself to other members within this group
to try to adjust their own attributes to really belong to this group. In the case of a high school or
middle school student, this is crucial. The fact that an individual will define his/herself based
upon the group(s) he/she is in shows how important it is to establish empathy in the classroom so
students can accept one another and allow each other to develop into an individual he/she wants
to be rather than needs to be. This concept of emotional significance should only benefit and
support the character of an individual rather than force him/her to change to survive the situation.

Through the vulnerability of music, and the raw sharing of ideas and emotion in certain musical
environments, emotional significance shifts from corroding a personality to how the individual
can add to a group in a positive way.
One of the key points that this article mentions is how a teacher needs to empathize with
his/her students and recognize how they have a world outside of the classroom (Laird 60). This
mutual understanding of personality is crucial in social identity theory because this not only
breaks the social comparison of how teachers view their students but also how students view a
teacher. Rather than seeing a teacher as an authoritative figure that simply gives instructions, the
empathy in the music classroom, between student and teacher, promotes the idea that the teacher
is simply an individual who wants to create music with everyone. When a teacher recognizes and
respects a students cultural capital and habitus, this allows for a once rigid environment to
become more freeing and accepting. Students then recognize that they need to treat one another
with the same respect the teacher treats them. By breaking barriers through empathizing with one
another, the teacher sets up for a community that grows together. In turn, this community
promotes a sense of empathy agency, allowing students to go beyond the classroom into their
futures with the ability to recognize the viewpoints of their colleagues and loved ones in their
lifetimes. Working towards a collective ideal allows not only for a group to grow musically, but
empathetically, thus fostering a nurturing community within the classroom.
One part that this article fails to mention is how empathy in the classroom promotes
better learning environments for all students. The article primarily discusses how empathy is a
natural consequence of music and that empathy is a key concept to consider with establishing
community within a classroom. It does not go beyond how music unites an ensemble. Empathy
and social identity go hand in hand when it comes to group learning. In an environment where

teachers are stressed to adapt all types of learners, it can be helpful for students to learn from one
another in group situations. Empathy, social identity theory, and mirror neurons capitalize upon
this concept. Within the group established within the class, subgroups of different learners can
identify themselves and recognize within each other their strengths. In a high school setting, it
can be assumed that students at the junior and senior level have achieved agency within their
own learning style. As a high school choir begins to learn a new piece, the older, more
experienced members of the group could offer to help younger, less experienced members
through the process. Through the community that has been set up through empathy, students can
learn from one another the skills of learning in a different style. That being said, an older type
four can really offer a different perspective to a young type two.
Empathy not only lends itself to foster students learning different methods of learning,
but just how to learn music itself. Music, though very emotional, raw, and human, is also very
methodical, and technical. Without formally teaching the proper technique or drawing out a
certain sound, mirror neurons allow for students to learn from each other and the conductor in a
high school ensemble setting. Mirror neurons are a relatively new discovery that was made in the
1990s as a result of a study on macaque monkeys. Scientists discovered a series of neurons
lighting up when the monkeys would receive and eat peanuts with one another (Winerman).
Through a series of more experiments and scientists then translating the effects to human
subjects, it was theorized that mirror neurons are the source of empathy and mimicry. When a
conductor is up front conveying a certain emotion, the ensemble reacts according due to these
mirror neurons. Empathy is directly linked to the same process, so by strengthening the
empathetic bonds between individuals. Students can learn from one another when practicing with
each other by simply listening and watching the individuals they are rehearsing with. Older

students offer that expertise, while the conductor of the ensemble conveys a bigger message to
the entire group, making the entire experience more unique, thus more meaningful for the group
which in turn further strengthens the community.
This article provides a very solid basis as to how to why empathy is extremely relevant in
todays music classroom. Using empathy as the basis to promote community further strengthens
not only the technical skills and knowledge of the individual but also aids them in a human
sense. By connecting student to teacher, and student to student, a greater sense of community is
established, promoting a sense of a safe environment for students to grow as musicians, and as
people. Empathy has a way to not only allow individuals to be more in tune with each other but
also more in tune with themselves.

Reference List

Laird, Lynda. Empathy in the Classroom; Can Music Bring Us More In Tune with One
Another? Music Educators Journal. June 2015: 56-61. Web. 29 Oct 2015.
Lange, Paul A. M. Van., Arie W. Kruglanski, and E. Tory Higgins. "45: Social Identity Theory."
Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology. Vol. 2. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2012. 379-93.
Print.
McLeod, Saul. "Social Identity Theory." Simply Psychology. N.p., 2008. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
Winerman, Lea. The minds mirror. American Psychological Association. American
Psychological Association, October 2005. Web. 29 Oct 2015.