Do you take the time to see your students?

As teachers we see our students every day but do we actually take the time to really SEE our students? We are so distracted by the daily tasks we must accomplish as teachers that we rarely stop to actually see the students in our classrooms. Have you asked the student in the corner that always sits by herself how her day is going? Did you ask the student in the front of the classroom how his grandmother is doing after being in the hospital for a month? Did you ask the girl next to him who has a baby sister at home that she has not help take care of how she is doing? When we teach with empathy we must SEE our students. Teaching with empathy allows us to see all the students in our classrooms, the student who is always prepared and eager to learn and the student who is in the back of the classroom, struggling to learn. We need to step aways from our desks and presentations and create meaningful connections with our students.