Walkin’ it Back
Empathy/Self-Control
Joey has very little self-control. When he “teases” other students, he’s used to his peers standing apart and letting him do his thing.
He likes to imagine himself as the big, scary kid who can get away with anything. Luka feels empathetic for the students who experience Joey’s teasing. But he also feels flummoxed because he lacks the tools to express this empathy and help Joey regulate his energy. Parker, a positive and charming new student at school in Joey and Luka’s neighborhood, notices these behavior patterns and decides to help. She engages the audience with tools he learned at his previous school that enhance self-control and impulse control. This musical demonstrates how self-control and empathy results in improved cooperation and peaceful interaction between children.
Learning Objectives
- Define Self-control and Empathy
- Model coping strategies using the mnemonic BOUCNE (B: Breathe O: Own my Space. U: Use helper words N: New position, shoulders down) to enhance self-control
- Demonstrate how coping strategies empathetically enhance impulse control, especially in aggressive behavior
- Practice Bugs and Wishes as a way to self-advocate and de-deescalate conflict.
- Explore how empathy enhances the capacity for self-control and protection of peers
- Show how Self-control and empathy results in improved cooperation and peaceful interaction between peers