"Yes, I'm empathetic. You need to be, in order to reach students. You ought to genuinely care about them, it is part of where my passion comes from. And I think the students can feel that energy. they know the ones that care and that can affect the classroom right down to the drive to learn. Empathy can even affect the opportunity to learn. For example, a few years ago, I had a student whose family did not have much, and they were open with me about it. We were about to go on a big class field trip that cost about thirty dollars per student, and I knew the family would likely not be able to pay for him to go. I sent the permission slip home to the family without sharing the cost to attend, and I quietly paid the student's share. I didn't want the family to sacrifice for this one field trip, and I couldn't imagine leaving the student behind."