Empathy Interview Training

Script

Consent
To help [Your School] understand your thoughts, we’re recording this conversation, which will be transcribed and shared with educators and administrators. If you prefer not to participate, you can leave the conversation at any time.
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Conversation Norms
‍Before we get started, let’s go over a few conversation norms together.

Listen respectfully: Let others speak without interrupting. Follow along to keep the conversation going.
‍Step Up, Step Back: Share your thoughts, but make sure everyone gets a turn to speak.‍
Disagree Kindly: It’s okay to disagree, but assume people have good intentions.‍
Take Your Time: Pause and reflect before speaking, and if necessary you can ask to pass and we’ll come back to you later.‍
Don’t Name Specific People: We are here to listen and learn from you, but not to target specific students or educators. Please refrain from naming specific people. Instead, you can say “a teacher” or “a student”, etc. In addition, this conversation is anonymous and your name will not appear on the transcript.

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Do you have any questions before we begin?

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Introduction

To get started and test our recording, please share what grade you are in, and your favorite subject (if you have one).

Remind participants to speak loudly enough to be captured in the recording. They should not share their name.

Question Set

1. Look at the following images. [Display images below] Which image do you feel best represents your feelings about school? Why?

Please ensure peers state the number of the image for the recording. (As in, "I choose #2 because...")

2. Similarly, can you tell me one word that you feel best describes [your school]? Why?

3. Let’s think about the times when you’re most excited to be at school versus times when you really don’t want to be there. Tell me what those different days look like.

Context: What does a day look like when you’re curious and excited to be at school? When you’re excited to learn? Has there been a great day like that? If so, what happened? When was it?

Now think about the opposite... what does a day look like when you don’t want to be there? When you’re unhappy or bored at school? Have any of these bad days stood out? If so, how? When does this happen?

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4. Tell me about a time when you felt really connected to your school - this could be during class, at lunch, before or after school, or any other time.

Context: What made that moment special? What was happening around you? How did the adults and other students make you feel?

5. We hope that school is helping you grow as a person, not just learn facts. What parts of who you are do you wish your school knew about and supported better?

Context: Think about your interests, your family background, your dreams, or your challenges. How could school help you become the person you want to be?

6. Do you think students at our school are treated fairly by adults when they get in trouble? Why or why not?

7. What would you want adults at school (like teachers and principals) to know about what middle/high schoolers like you actually need to feel supported?

8. If you could change one thing about how decisions are made at your school - like rules, activities, how classes work, or anything else - what would that be? Why?

Conclusion

If you feel like the conversation has not gone on long enough and you're still looking for more folks to participate, feel free to use the Facilitator Training Cards from our training (linked above).

That wraps up our conversation. Thank you for joining me today. Stop the recording when applicable.