Year 7 Enrichment: Is it better to be nice or empathetic?

During term 2, the Year 7 Normans had an enrichment lesson on emotional literacy. This has been helpful in many ways and has shown me that it is good to share your feelings – they could be holding you back. It has also taught me about anti-bullying and that there are always people you can talk to, such as the pastoral teams. 

We have also learnt about EQ and IQ. EQ stands for Emotional Quotient and  IQ stands for Intelligence Quotient. 

I think that the difference is important so that we can understand not only logic but emotions and to know how to act in emotional situations.  This is where E.Q comes in.

This term, we looked at the impact of bullying, in particular the bystander effect, where bullying is happening and an onlooker does nothing.  Not ‘calling out’ the behaviour could cause further impact on the victim and let the perpetrator continue.

There were also some helpful things that I have learnt to calm anxiety or stress. Firstly, I would like to say that breathing techniques are the best thing to try if you feel stress creeping up on you. I like to breathe in for 5 seconds, hold for 2 and breathe out for 7.  

Going back to the question: “Is it better to be nice or empathetic?”

This term, I have learnt that empathy is when a person shows a deep understanding for someone else. This is where the term of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes comes from. For that reason, I think that it is better to be empathetic to try and understand another person’s perspective.

Ella B, 7N