The world has no shortage of opinions:
“I love blue.” “Blue is boring! Red’s the best.” “Darn. 10 problems will take forever!” “Only 10 problems? So short!” “YES! We’re playing kickball in gym today!” {Shudder} “Oh no…not kickball.”
We each see a single situation through our own set of lenses. The person on the left may experience it in a similar way to you, while the person to the right has a very different experience. One is not wrong. Both may be correct.
Whether you like the opinion or not, there’s a lot of power in being able to see another person’s point of view. It can help affirm your own stance. It can just as easily open your eyes to alternative ways of thinking.
Jimmy was thrilled because his teacher pulled out a couple of scooters at recess. He had his own scooter at home and loved it. Riding it was a little tricky at first, but his balance soon improved, and he spent hours zooming around his street on the weekends. Mrs. Smith partnered the children who wanted to ride the scooters into small groups. Jimmy was with Sean and Ezra. He went first, speeding down the blacktop without a care in the world. Mrs. Smith blew the whistle after a few minutes, giving Sean almost twice as long on the scooter as Jimmy’s turn. “That’s not fair! Sean’s not even good at riding the scooter,” he complained to Ezra. “Sure it’s fair,” Ezra replied. “Sean doesn’t have a scooter like you do, so the only time he gets to ride one is here at school. You can ride yours every day if you want! Don’t you want him to get good too?”
Jimmy still didn’t think it was fair that Sean got more time on the scooter than he did. But Sean was one of his best friends, and he did have to admit that it was cool Sean was having fun. He even decided to give him some pointers to help him balance better.
Helping Kids See Other Points of View
Perspective is a choice. You get to choose how you react to experiences – how you respond to people who are different than you or who share differing opinions to yours. You get to decide how you see the world – and therefore the impact you will have upon it.