Can empathy be taught?

If I have taught them to memorise tricky things such as the different roles of water in living organisms(acronym - TOWNPET), the different types of respiration and the reactants and products for each type, the different things that plasma transports (acronym - VICHPUSH), but at the end of the day, have not taught them how to put themselves in the shoes of others, have I succeeded as a teacher?

The age-old (?) dilemma resurfaces: am I supposed to be a role model and influence them in terms of character development, or merely to teach an academic subject well? Am I really teaching only Biology, or as the (so oft-repeated that it becomes a cliche) story goes, teaching students?

And if it is truly my responsibility to teach them how to empathise, how can I do that? Can I do it merely by setting a good example for them? Should I scold? Should I lecture? Should I nag? Or should I just be kind?

How can I measure my success as a teacher?

Dear Ranjitha, thanks for the Deepavali goodies! They were much appreciated! I was so surprised and happy.

Wishing all my Hindu students a blessed Deepavali.

it's amazing how a few simple words of thanks can perk up my day and make all those hours of exhaustion and exasperation completely worthwhile.