Empathy Through Geography

Fifth Grade World Geography is all about broadening horizons. Following courses in US and Texas history, World Geography aims to expand how students think about the world. “We ask the girls to go into the course with two questions,” said Renee Lafitte, Middle School History teacher. “How do we engage with the world, and how does the world shape us?”

That philosophy makes this course a perfect fit as a designated class within the Institute for Social Impact. “We really focus on empathy throughout our studies,” said Mrs. Lafitte. We understand who we are, but there is a big wide world out there. When we interact with people, how does that come across? We learn empathy through understanding choices other people make, and how their history and culture determine their choices.”

The year starts with girls learning to think independently. “Our girls are used to having the right answers, but I want them to begin to think beyond that,” said Mrs. Lafitte. "We learn about how location can influence culture, food and language, and how the environment shapes us. We look for how we change the environment, and how we move around, and how that plays into what fuels we use.”

The girls do activities like a balloon map, which teaches them about distortion and map projections, and a food review video with their family, where they try a different culture’s cuisine and describe it objectively. “We look at ways cultures meet each other and the good and bad that can come from that,” said Mrs. Lafitte.

The class also looks at current issues and learns how humans have come together to solve problems in the past. “I try to be positive and enable them to find solutions,” said Mrs. Lafitte. “These are the girls who are going to be running the world someday! It’s important to walk away with an understanding of how to be a global citizen and understand someone else’s perspective.”