Bracelet of Beauty

Chapter 4: Empathy

Elizabeth Feliz gathered her thoughts on whether she will tell the truth or hide it because of fear.

"Elizabeth, I will ask you again. Is there someone bullying you? You can trust me, Elizabeth. I will help you." The Values Education teacher asked.

"I am scared, Ms. Belle," Elizabeth replied to the teacher.

"Why are you scared? Tell me what really happened." Ms. Belle is curious.

"Earlier, during recess, I went to the girls' restroom. I went inside an empty cubicle then after a while, I felt something cold. When I looked above, I saw..." Elizabeth paused.

"You saw whom? What is the name?" Ms. Belle wanted to know the name because Elizabeth looked hesitant.

"I saw Denise. She poured iced coffee on me, Ms. Belle. When I asked her why she did it, she said I deserve it because I am a show-off and a loser then she laughed at me." Elizabeth was teary-eyed when telling this.

"This is clearly a sign of bullying. Is Denise alone when she did it or does she have an accomplice?" Ms. Belle is paying attention to this serious matter.

"I did not see it. However, I heard Denise talking to Stacy and Patricia. I do not want to point fingers but they seem to plan this together since they are a group of friends." Elizabeth explained.

"This must be so hard for you, Elizabeth. Thank you for trusting me with this matter." Ms. Belle replied.

"Ms. Belle, may I ask you a favor?" Elizabeth asked.

"Of course! What is it, Elizabeth?" Ms. Belle agreed.

"I do not want my parents to be worried about me. Is it fine if they will not be involved in this matter?" Elizabeth requested.

"Elizabeth, your parents have the right to know. They need to know about this matter so they could protect you in the future. Your parents know what is best for you." Ms. Belle gently tapped the head of Elizabeth.

Elizabeth became silent after she heard that her parents will be notified about this matter. She started thinking if what she did is right and the best solution to the situation. Ms. Belle noticed that Elizabeth seemed troubled.

Ms. Belle gently wiped the tears from Elizabeth's face.

"Do not worry, Elizabeth. What you did is the right thing to do. If you remained silent then there is a possibility that other students could also become a victim of bullying. We need to correct the wrongdoings of your classmates as early as now so they will learn their lesson. Trust me on this one. Okay?" Ms. Belle tried to calm Elizabeth.

"Thank you, Ms. Belle. I appreciate your help." Elizabeth expressed her gratitude.

"You are welcome, Elizabeth. Are you ready to go back inside the classroom?" Ms. Belle said.

Elizabeth nods and said " Yes, Ms. Belle."

Both Ms. Belle and Elizabeth went inside the classroom. Elizabeth walked towards her seat and Ms. Belle started the discussion about Values Education.

"Class, please bring out your book and turn to page 35." Ms. Belle said.

Everyone in the classroom took out their books. Elizabeth seems surprised because they usually discuss in chronological order of the topics in the table of contents. However, this time, Ms. Belle decided to skip some topics and proceeded to discuss about "Empathy".

"Ms. Belle, we have not yet discussed the previous topics before Empathy," Denise said just in case the teacher has forgotten to discuss the other topics.

"Thank you for reminding me, Denise. However, for today, we will proceed with Empathy and discuss the other topics next meeting." Ms. Belle said.

Unknown to Denise, Ms. Belle intentionally decided to discuss Empathy today because of the bullying incident that Denise did to Elizabeth. The Values Education teacher wanted the class to observe empathy, especially for the victims of bullying.

"Okay, before we start, does anyone has an idea what empathy means? Even in your own simple words, please explain empathy." Ms. Belle asked. She looked around the class and many hands are being raised to have points for the recitation. Unexpectedly, Elizabeth is not raising her hand. Perhaps this is because of being overwhelmed by the series of events that happened today. Ms. Belle understands the situation and called another person instead.

"Yes, Stacy. What is empathy?" Ms. Belle asked.

Stacy was happy because she was chosen and she knows the answer. She stands up and said, "Empathy is putting yourself in the shoes of other people, Ms. Belle."

"Very good, Stacy." Ms. Belle intentionally called her and intends to ask Patricia and Sabrina for the subsequent questions.

"For the next question, can you give an example of empathy?" Ms. Belle said.

Stacy only prepared for the definition of the term but she was not able to think of an example as of the moment. Ms. Belle noticed this and stated, "How about calling a friend of yours, Stacy, to help you with the example of Empathy?"

Stacy was happy because she does not need to give an example. She looked around the room and saw Sabrina and Patricia raising their hands.

"Stacy, choose me. Stacy, pick me." Denise whispered while persuading Stacy.

Due to this matter, Stacy called Denise instead of Patricia. "I chose Denise, Ms. Belle." She said.

"Yes!" Denise was happy because she was chosen.

"Okay, please take your seat, Stacy. I will repeat the question for you, Denise. Could you give an example related to Empathy?" Ms. Belle asked.

"If someone fails a test, you will show empathy by not bragging about your achievements and comfort that person who is sad." Denise confidently said.

"Great example, Denise. Do you show empathy to your classmates as well?" Ms. Belle replied.

"Of course, Ms. Belle," Denise stated.

Unexpectedly, one classmate said, "Denise is the one who fails the test so she is the one who needs Empathy." Everyone in the room laughed. Denise felt embarrassed because of what she heard.

"Who said that?!" Denise was angry and looked at her back to find the classmate who made fun of her.

"Silence, everyone. This is Values Education. Please practice what you preach, students. I will not tolerate bullying in this class. Understood?" Ms. Belle said and everyone became silent.

"Last question before I start the discussion. What will you do if you found out that someone is a victim of bullying? How will you show Empathy?" Ms. Belle called a random student to avoid suspicion from Denise and her group of friends.

"I would tell my friend that let us find the bully and have vengeance." The student said in a joking manner.

"Please seat down. This is not the right answer I am looking for." Ms. Belle said and called Patricia next.

"How about you, Patricia? What will you do?" Ms. Belle asked.

Patricia stood up and said nervously, "I will comfort my friend and advise her to report the bully to the Principal or teacher."

"Amazing answer, Patrica. Will you really do that to help your friend to refrain from being bullied in the future?" Ms. Belle responded.

"Yes, Ms. Belle," Patricia answered even though she does not mean it.

"I really hope so, Patricia. It is nice to have a friend to help you stand against the bullies." Ms. Belle replied.

Ms. Belle started the discussion about Empathy. "Indeed, Empathy is putting yourself in the shoes of other people and learning what to feel if you were in their position. It is important for us to apply it in real life because knowing the meaning of Empathy without application would be useless. Just like what your classmate, Patricia, said. If you are aware that someone is a victim of bullying, learn to lend a helping hand and comfort the person. Moreover, do not commit vengeance because it will just make the situation worse. Bullying the bullies will make you no different from them. Instead, ask for help from people with authority and knows how to handle this situation. Do not be afraid of reporting bullies because if you tolerate their wrongdoings, it will lead to a domino effect and another victim might be included next. Am I understood? " Ms. Belle told the class.

" Yes, Ms. Belle. " The students replied.

" Now, let us proceed with the exercises in the book. Please turn your book on page 50. I would like you to get a one-fourth sheet of paper and answer the ten items on this page. After 30 minutes, we will check if your answers are correct. Most of the questions are situational so answer it based on what you think is the right thing to do. I will be back later and no cheating. Shame on the students who cheat, especially in Values Education. You may start answering now. " Ms. Belle stated.

Elizabeth was smart enough to notice that Ms. Belle is trying to gain insights into the values that Sabrina and her friends have. She looked at Ms. Belle and smiled. Elizabeth realized that she is not alone after all. She also has a friend. It might not be her fellow students but she was able to find comfort in her teacher's care.