It is important to note that human beings and their behaviors are formed, developed, and influenced by their environment, which is not solely limited to social circles, but politics, culture, nation, and institutions as well. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, written in 2008, is an outstanding memoir that showcases how malleable children are in becoming the weapons of war and destruction. Thus, empathy should be a part of a high school curriculum because it is a skill that needs development and teaching rather than leaving it to form on its own.
Firstly, a high school curriculum is an ideal medium to instill empathy in children because the environment matters. Beah (2008) writes: “with the absence of so many people, the town became scary” (p. 22). High schools can create the necessary, safe conditions in which children are able to learn and acquire both knowledge and skills. Beah spent his childhood always in survival mode and afraid for his own safety, which is why he was vulnerable to indoctrination and abnormal influences. Secondly, a high school curriculum can instill empathy in children even if they are living in an empathy-deprived environment. Beah (2008) writes: “I have been rehabilitated now, so don’t be afraid of me. I am not a soldier anymore; I am a child” (p. 198). In other words, irrespective of his violent past as a soldier, he was able to become a child once again.
In conclusion, empathy is a skill to be developed and instilled among children, and a high school curriculum is an ideal method of doing so. High schools can create safe spaces and environments in which children can become empathetic, to begin with, instead of constantly feeling afraid and threatened. In addition, an effective curriculum can reverse the damage and rehabilitate a child, which means no child is a lost cause.
Reference
Beah, I. (2008). A long way gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier. Sarah Crichton Books.