‘Antidote to Intolerance and Bullying’ at Hill location

Posted 9/23/16

Christa Tinari will offer the free empathy workshop on Thursday, Sept. 22, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, 20 E. Mermaid Lane in Chestnut Hill. by Sue Ann Rybak Lisa Parker, …

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‘Antidote to Intolerance and Bullying’ at Hill location

Posted
Christa Tinari will offer the free empathy workshop on Thursday, Sept. 22, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, 20 E. Mermaid Lane in Chestnut Hill. Christa Tinari will offer the free empathy workshop on Thursday, Sept. 22, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, 20 E. Mermaid Lane in Chestnut Hill.

by Sue Ann Rybak

Lisa Parker, formerly of Mt. Airy, believes peace isn’t something that just happens. It requires action. It’s just one of the reasons she founded Peace Day Philly, a non-profit, local initiative for the United Nations International Day of Peace, observed worldwide on Sept. 21.

She said in order to achieve inner peace and peace within our community, people need to learn practices for peace building, such as conflict-resolution and meditation. She said School Climate Specialist Christa Tinari’s free workshop, “Empathy: An Antidote to Intolerance and Bullying,” provides an opportunity for educators, parents and community members to learn practical techniques to reduce conflict and violence within our home, schools and community. The presentation will be held on Thursday, Sept. 22, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, 20 E. Mermaid Lane in Chestnut Hill.

Tinari is founder of PeacePraxis Education Services, an organization that works to teach children and adults “the skills they need to resolve problems peacefully and to build equitable, caring and healthy, vibrant communities, where empathy plays an important role in creating a peaceful environment and culture. It allows us to care about and understand how people are feeling and understand the emotional experiences of others.”

Tinari said research has shown that the capacity for empathy is innate and is evident even in other species. “Even young children have the capacity for empathy, but I think there are a lot of things that can block it such as learned behaviors. Empathy has two pieces to it. One is the capability to understand and be emotionally affected by how other people feel. The second piece is called cognitive empathy, which is the ability to understand another person’s perspective or point of view.”

Tinari encourages adults and parents to practice their own empathy skills and to set a good example by modeling empathy and helping children to recognize their own feelings and express them in an appropriate manner. “Another simple strategy is reading books together and looking for different places in the story to discuss how people are feeling.

“Perspective techniques can be really fun, because kids enjoy imagining themselves in different realities and worlds. They can imagine themselves as a mouse or a schoolmate with a physical challenge. Encourage them to imagine how their day would begin or how they would tie their shoes if they were only able to use one hand.”

Tinari, 42, of Bucks County, said it’s important to give children opportunities to care for one another and help one another but that it’s not enough to just collect food for people who are hungry. “Helping to serve a meal at a church for homeless people or encouraging them to talk to someone there to find out more about them as people is an important part of it. Being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand their perspective is essential to nurturing empathy.”

For more information, call 215-247-3553, 267-885-4177 or visit www.peacepraxis.com.

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