Things Are Not Always Black or White
When I was in elementary school,
I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten
what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson I learned
that day.
I was convinced that 'I' was right and
'he' was wrong - and he was just as convinced that 'I' was wrong and 'he'
was right. The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson.
She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side
of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a
large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black.
She asked the boy what color the object was. "White," he answered.
I couldn't believe he said the object
was white, when it was obviously black! Another argument started
between my classmate and me, this time about the color of the object.
The teacher told me to go stand where
the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been.
We changed places, and now she asked me what the color of the object was.
I had to answer, "White." It was an object with two differently colored
sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side was
it black.
My teacher taught me a very important
lesson that day: You must stand in the other person's shoes and look
at the situation through their eyes in order to truly understand their
perspective.
by Judie Paxton
from Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul
Copyright 1998 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty
Hansen and Irene Dunlap