West Hartford’s Renbrook School welcomed internationally-renowned educator, best-selling author, parenting, child development and bullying expert Dr. Michele Borba on Monday.

Dr. Michele Borba speaks to a crowd at Renbrook School. Submitted photo

Submitted by Stacy Routhier, Renbrook School

On Monday, Oct. 17, Renbrook School welcomed internationally-renowned educator, best-selling author, parenting, child development and bullying expert Dr. Michele Borba. She discussed her latest book, Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About Me World. 

She also spent the day at Renbrook speaking to students in grades four through nine, Lower and Upper School faculty, and in the evening, to parents and public and private school educators from 19 schools. Her message was full of practical suggestions based on years of research and experience working with students and parents all over the world.

According to her research, teens today are 40 percent less empathetic than they were 30 years ago. Borba calls this the “Selfie Syndrome” –  a focus on “me” instead of “we.” She explained that lack of empathy leads to bullying and can hurt kids’ academic performance and can lead to an inability to collaborate, innovate and problem solve skills necessary in a global economy. The Harvard Business Review named empathy as one of the “essential ingredients for leadership success and excellent performance.”

The good news is, according to Borba, empathy can be taught, but needs to be nurtured or it will lie dormant. Her latest book, UnSelfie: Why Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World is chock full of real, meaningful and authentic ideas for teaching empathy to our children. She has created a Book Guide for Parents on her website. To view this and learn more about Borba, visit: www.micheleborba.com.

About Renbrook School

Founded in 1935, Renbrook School is a pre-eminent preschool-grade nine co-educational independent day school located in West Hartford, CT. The school enrolls students from 30 cities and towns in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Renbrook experience is defined by a high degree of academic rigor, personalized attention as a result of small class sizes, a nurturing environment, and an emphasis on values and respect among members of a tight-knit community.  Their next open house is Sunday Oct. 30, at 1 p.m.

For more information visit: www.renbrook.org/visit.