Help us support ten more classrooms this week with DonorsChoose in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week! Use this link to find classrooms selected for our community to care for. Many donations are being matched today, so look for the 2x icon to find projects where your gift is doubled!

Remember, 100% of your donation goes directly to obtaining the supplies the teacher listed. You donate, and once the campaign is complete, all those resources are shipped to the classroom. It’s that easy.

Here are a few classrooms that need $50 or less to finish their projects:

• Mrs. Ilona Jones-Saffold in Sallis, MS needs $28 to give her students a magnetic drawing board, Play-Doh, mechanical pencils, and other essential classroom supplies, student incentives, and organizational tools to help create a focused, engaging, and well-managed learning environment. Support >

• Ms. Ornelas in Gardena, CA needs $26 to get her kindergarteners a color printer to personalize their writing and add a creative touch to their stem projects. Support >

• Mrs. Pearson in Memphis, TN has just $24 left to create storage charging station for her classroom’s tablets. Support >

• Mrs. Edwards-Smith’s classroom in Durham, NC needs $16 more to get tactile learning tools to help build their skills in math, reading, science, and social studies. Support >

Make America Care Again

The importance of empathy – from solidarity to schooling

Teachers across America have quietly led a revolution in how we understand education, championing empathy as essential to learning rather than merely a "nice to have" soft skill. Long before policymakers and administrators began advocating for SEL, classroom teachers see firsthand how students struggling with emotional regulation couldn't focus on academics, how social conflicts derailed learning, and how disconnected students disengaged from school entirely. These educators use innovative approaches—community circles, emotional check-ins, perspective-taking exercises—often without formal support or resources.

And these same teachers are now finding themselves in the midst of another social issue: the rise of the anti-empathy movement. Religious and political leaders have blamed empathy for the rise of the woke movement, the government’s “over-investment” in social services, and the pitfalls of the progressive agenda.

Many of the arguments are driven by conservative Christian ideology. Pastor Ben Garrett, a Protestant deacon, went viral for calling empathy a "sin" (Patheos). In his book "The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits," Joe Rigney claims emotions are being weaponized when church leaders talk about racial reconciliation or when doctors support parents of transgender children (Canon Press). He tries to separate what he calls proper "compassion" from what he sees as dangerous "untethered empathy" (Premier Christianity). Similarly, podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey wrote "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion," making nearly identical arguments about the difference between "toxic empathy" and biblical compassion (Penguin Random House). She attacks progressive positions that frame abortion rights or welcoming immigrants as expressions of compassion (Juicy Ecumenism). Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recently claimed empathy is "destructive" for immigration policy because "empathy means never having to say no" (The Conversation).

This anti-empathy movement makes perfect sense in the Trump era. The president rallies his base with cruel policies. Vice President J.D. Vance, who is Catholic, doesn't talk about the "sin of empathy" but instead promotes "ordo amoris" or the "order of love." He told Fox News: "We should love our family first, then our neighbors, then our community, then our country, and only then consider the interests of the rest of the world." Elon Musk, perhaps the most vocal against empathy, has called it a "fundamental weakness of Western civilization," pushing us toward "civilizational suicide" (CNN).

These opinions are influencing how empathy is prioritized in classrooms. School board meetings across the country have become battlegrounds where SEL programs face accusations of being "Marxist indoctrination" or attempts to undermine parental authority (NBC News). In Florida, Texas, and other states, legislation restricting discussions of "divisive concepts" has chilled teachers' willingness to facilitate empathy-building conversations about differences in lived experiences (Education Week). Florida's Department of Education has gone as far as targeting specific SEL curriculum providers, with a memo stating that certain materials had "divisive and discriminatory content branded as 'social-emotional learning'" that has "no place in Florida's classrooms" (EdWeek Market Brief).

Dr. Maurice Elias, Director of the Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab at Rutgers University, notes that anti-SEL campaigns often deliberately misrepresent empathy education as teaching children to prioritize feelings over facts or to reject their families' values (Rutgers University). These mischaracterizations put teachers in difficult positions, forced to defend basic emotional literacy as if it were controversial.

In some districts, teachers report being directed to remove books that feature diverse characters or explore emotional challenges— the literature that research shows helps children develop perspective-taking abilities. A 2022 survey by the RAND Corporation found that 34% of teachers had altered their social-emotional teaching approaches due to political pressures, even when they believed these changes were not in students' best interests.All of these perspectives skew what empathy truly is. Empathy isn't just a personal virtue – it's a social practice of finding shared understanding in the experiences of others, especially when their experiences are foreign to our own. Empathy forces us to acknowledge suffering and ask uncomfortable questions about who benefits from our current systems and who pays the price. 

We can build our empathy skills with practice, and are more likely to do so when surrounded by others who have the same approach. If you contextualize empathy as a system of governance, you can see how it might be a challenging practice for those who wield oppression as part of their own forms of control.  By encouraging people to consider perspectives outside their immediate circle, empathy education inherently challenges worldviews that depend on strict boundaries between "us" and "them."

Critics do make some valid points about empathy. Research shows we naturally empathize more with people who look like us or share our background, and that our biases may make it difficult for us to achieve true empathy. According to Dr. Jamil Zaki's work at Stanford University, this "empathy gap" appears early in development but can be addressed through intentional practice (Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab). Empathy has also been misused in cases of racial impersonation or colonial appropriation, where privileged groups claim to identify with marginalized people in ways that actually reinforce power imbalances.

But these manifestations of empathy are relatively rare and only highlight why practicing it thoughtfully is important. The solution to biased empathy isn't less empathy – it's more intentional empathy, one that fosters solidarity and helps us hold the dignity of human life above all political differences.

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Despite growing opposition, educators continue to develop innovative ways to nurture empathy in their classrooms, with documented success. At Valor Collegiate Academies in Nashville, Tennessee, a comprehensive social-emotional learning program called "Compass" includes aily circles where students practice deep listening and vulnerable sharing, Valor has achieved both top academic results and dramatically lower discipline issues compared to district averages (Valor Collegiate Academies).

In Milwaukee Public Schools, the implementation of "restorative practices" has led to a 50% decrease in suspensions over three years, while academic achievement improved (Journal of Educational Psychology). The program centers on facilitated conversations where students develop the capacity to understand the impact of their actions on others.

Even in younger grades, intentional empathy education shows powerful outcomes. A longitudinal study by Harvard Graduate School of Education tracked kindergarten students who participated in the SEL program "Second Step." By eighth grade, these students showed significantly higher academic achievement, better attendance, and fewer behavioral problems than the control group.

Without empathy, we’ll become apathetic – indifferent and undiscerning about the hardships and joys others face. When we're discouraged from emotionally investing in others' experiences, we're less likely to take action for others or ourselves. In some ways, this disengagement can benefit those who wish to stay in power without positive influence, perhaps preferring outright dictatorship or more unilateral means of control. When we devalue empathy, we build resentment between groups and weaken their collective power. When we can't see ourselves in others' struggles, we can't build the coalitions needed to challenge those in power. The war on empathy is, at its core, a war against collective action.

But this ultimately does more harm than good to political movements, regardless of political affinity. The conservative movement has grown partly through indifference toward racism and xenophobia. Yet at the same time, it demands compassion in other areas – for religious people who oppose abortion, or for cisgender girls they claim are harmed by transgender inclusion in sports. If apathy spreads, it'll deaden efforts to foster that sense of solidarity. The Trump administration weakens its own agenda by minimizing empathy, especially as its dubious economic decisions are already distancing the followers who are more motivated by the “head” than the “heart”.

As social media platforms back away from content moderation and political divisions deepen, finding reliable information becomes harder. Apathy discourages people from seeking truth, creating a cycle where less-informed citizens are more easily manipulated and less able to stand up for themselves. That could help with the distrust in media that’s been shaped by the Trump administration, but also doesn’t help leaders like Trump, whose leveraged social media to grow a loyal fan base. 

Teachers stand on the frontlines of this movement. In classrooms where empathy flourishes, students resolve conflicts peacefully, support peers through difficulties, and build the collaborative skills that modern workplaces desperately need. Conversely, environments that devalue empathy see increased bullying, alienation, and anxiety—creating wounds that academic achievement alone cannot heal. This is just a small reflection of how the war on empathy will shape society at large, and define how we care for others in the years ahead.

While some political and religious figures may frame empathy as dangerous or sinful, teachers see the truth every day: empathy doesn't create moral confusion—it lays the foundation for moral courage. By continuing to champion empathy in their classrooms despite cultural headwinds, teachers aren't just preparing students academically; they're nurturing the emotional intelligence our divided society desperately needs to heal and progress.

• I study empathy—Elon Musk gets it all wrong (Broadview)

• Empathy as a Strategy of Resilience (NonProfit Quarterly)

• The Christians Who Believe Empathy Is a Sin (New York Magazine)

• How Donald Trump Is Teaching Christians to Abandon Empathy (New Yorker)

• Empathy, Dignity, and Courageous Action in Schools (Harvard)