EPISODE · Aug 29, 2023 · 19 MIN
The Right Way to Say “I’m Sorry”
from MindShift Podcast · host KQED
We all know how it feels to get a bad apology. “I’m sorry if,” “I’m sorry but,” and other ways people skirt real acknowledgement of wrongdoing. Effective apologies require empathy, perspective-taking, honesty and courage, and making amends is an important habit for healthy school communities. In this episode, MindShift talks with two authors who analyze apologies in the news for a website called SorryWatch. Then we meet a fifth-grade teacher who teaches her students a seven-step formula for apologies through role-playing and class discussions. Her students not only learn to recognize and enact good apologies – they also share that knowledge on the playground and with their families at the dinner table.
What this episode covers
We all know how it feels to get a bad apology. “I’m sorry if,” “I’m sorry but,” and other ways people skirt real acknowledgement of wrongdoing. Effective apologies require empathy, perspective-taking, honesty and courage, and making amends is an important habit for healthy school communities. In this episode, MindShift talks with two authors who analyze apologies in the news for a website called SorryWatch. Then we meet a fifth-grade teacher who teaches her students a seven-step formula for apologies through role-playing and class discussions. Her students not only learn to recognize and enact good apologies – they also share that knowledge on the playground and with their families at the dinner table.
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The Right Way to Say “I’m Sorry”
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