"Nicole Mirra has provided an important addition to the teaching literature that will help teachers address daunting problems with civil discourse that have surfaced in the United States" —Teachers College Record
“ Educating for Empathy gives readers a concrete range of ideas and resources that they can incorporate into their classrooms to create a space where critical civic empathy and literacy development are synthesized.”
—NCTE English Education
“Mirra’s book serves as a testament to the complex and political nature of education, while still providing hope to those teachers, teacher educators, and researchers who endeavor to teach for justice”
—Journal of Language and Literacy Education (JOLLE)
"Very highly recommended for school district, college, and university library Teacher Education collections and supplemental studies lists."
—Midwest Book Review
“At a time when civil discourse and civic life are deteriorating, Nicole Mirra’s book is welcome indeed. This passionate, engaging book will inspire not only secondary teachers of English, but all teachers throughout the K–12 years and beyond to encourage civic engagement and address the widespread absence of empathy for those different from us. Equally accessible and theoretical, Educating for Empathy describes mindsets and specific teaching practices that embody what it means to educate for empathy. If educators were to follow Mirra’s model of critical civic empathy, we will have come a long way toward educating and motivating young people to become involved, engaged, and caring citizens.”
—Sonia Nieto, professor emerita, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
“In Educating for Empathy: Literacy Learning and Civic Engagement, Nicole Mirra demonstrates how empathy and care are not merely ‘soft’ interpersonal skills, but intellectually rigorous forms of critical discernment crucial for projects of educational equity and transformation. Deeply grounded in respectful research partnerships with youth and teachers, elegantly crafted, and ultimately hopeful, this is a book that will resonate with and inspire educators in these precarious times.”
—Gerald Campano, University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education
"If ever there were a time for a book on empathy in education, the moment is now. Nicole Mirra's book highlights some of the practical benefits of empathy for literacy educators and their students. Through Mirra's insightful theorizing and poignant examples of critical empathy, I am left with the hope that we can move one step closer to a more loving, empathetic, and civically engaged society.”
—Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Teachers College, Columbia University
