Do I Have the Full Picture?
When we are asked, "What is a dog?"- and the answer is "four legs... floppy ears... a wagging tail... warm fur..." each of those views is true! However, the COMPLETE truth is that it is ALL of those views seen together as one! All of these individual answers are valid knowledge, but without experiencing or seeing the other perspectives, one of those views alone is incomplete. If we can only see one of those facts from our limited view, then we are only seeing a partial truth. With a blindfold getting in the way of many realities in today's world, we only see partially most of the time. If issues, events or beliefs are only discussed from one perspective, the full picture will never be brought to light. This is especially crucial within the classroom. Bringing the needs and feelings of everyone involved into consideration when approaching differences in opinions is what will bring inclusion and unity. This is something that is not practiced as often as it should be in our world today; everyone can somehow be right, and nobody else's opinion is relevant... unless they agree. This does nothing but limit one's understanding and bring forth division. Things are not as commonly looked at from a holistic perspective, which leads to a lack of compassion and a more inequitable world for us all.
Perspectives do matter- to you and everybody around you. A man stranded on an island sees a boat and immediately assumes he is getting rescued, but the man that has been lost at sea on a boat for days sees land and thinks that he will have food and shelter. From both perspectives, things are different, but unless you are in one of their shoes, you will never know how it feels. Just to add another perspective into the mix: if a hungry shark sees both of the men in its surrounding area, they are food. That's perspective. We can't blame the shark, right?
Hi Taylor! I really related to your post, and enjoyed the examples you gave on perspective. I believe that perspective is everything, especially as future teachers. Having a classroom full of children from all backgrounds and cultures its almost a requirement to have multiple perspectives, in order to meet the individual wants and needs of our students. I think having perspective comes with understanding and empathy. As teachers we may get frustrated with our students if they are acting out, or not doing things like we had planned or hoped. But if we took a minute to put ourselves in the shoes of a child, maybe we would see the world a little differently. Maybe they havent had breakfast, maybe that had to stay up late because their newborn sibling was crying all night, maybe someone stopped playing with them on the playground. By taking that time to see the world from a different perspective we could learn so much. We can see the full picture, and we can take advantage of that and use it to better assist our students, to connect with them on a personal level, and make them feel seen and heard!
ReplyDeleteHi Faith! You're putting my exact thoughts into words- this was great! I think empathy and understanding are two of the more vital things to bring into the classroom. Those aren't only good for the teacher, but it helps set an example for the kids to follow!
DeleteHi Taylor! I really liked your example regarding the total image of a dog and what is truth. We often times do not think to put ourselves in the shoes of another person. This is something we must do everyday. If we see someone having a bad day we have to remember that we are each having our own unique experiences in life that we sometimes do not talk about. It is hard to ask or even talk about our issues in life but as educators we should always be a shoulder for a student to lean on. When we see ourselves in the shoes of another person we become empathetic and understanding of not only the issues a certain person is experiencing but the issues around us worldwide. While it can be hard to be empathic for someone when they act out of character we should ask ourselves maybe why someone is acting the way they are.
ReplyDeleteHey Erika! I completely agree! I love how you said that things we tend to go through remain unspoken, because we, as teachers, can create an inclusive, welcoming and loving environment that can encourage feeling and emotions being put into words by the students.
DeleteHey Taylor, first off I really enjoyed reading your post this week. Second I really liked your example of the dog and what truth is and our perspectives. I agree that perspectives are very important and matter. With history we may see one side of the story but in order to get the full picture we need to see and hear history with new eyes from the perspectives of others to fully understand what it is. I agree that in the classroom in order to bring everyone together as a teacher we need to practice the idea of being "open", that every thought matters good or bad. Bringing in the needs and feelings of the students in the classroom really unites the classroom through discussions and participation to truths we would most likely have never known if we didn't hear that perspective.
ReplyDeleteHello Hannah! I'm glad you enjoyed reading, because I definitely enjoyed writing this week's blog! I love how you said that there are some truths we would never know if we didn't listen to those with a different outlook on things, that really emphasizes the importance of perspective.
DeleteHi Taylor! I really loved your comment at the end about the shark. I agree with this post, that the "full story" is all about perspective. I also agree that we will never receive the full story about anything. In the world today, we think we are getting the honest truth, because it is what we want to believe. We want to believe whatever we see that we AGREE with, and we often find it hard to see any other perspective. However, like you said, the truth is not whole unless there are many perspectives involved. As a future educator, I am going to make sure that I get every student's perspective on any topic. It is important that all of my students are heard, and if there are disagreements, the students will be able to have appropriate conversations. I will be willing to have hard conversations with my students, and give them the full story on any topic. I feel that hard conversations will not only inform my students, but create an environment that is open and respectful. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey there Mallorie! I think I do disagree when you say that we will NEVER receive the full story, because with most things, it is possible, we just may not be trying hard enough! I love how you are taking my thoughts and words into consideration as you become a future educator!
DeleteHello Taylor!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see how everyone has their different view points in a subject and that will always stay the same no matter what. I think we all just have to accept that we can't change other peoples views, especially if they aren't open minded and are willing to listen to new ideas. Knowing that schools should be able to teach different perspective of history not just one point of view. I really liked how you used different examples and not just a school based example.
Hey Taylor, I first want to say I like how you started out your blog, it really helped me better understand how people see different perspectives. Sometimes we forget that not everyone has the same perspective as your own and this can cause complications. We can't understand other perspectives unless we're in someone else's shoes. Your right, it's very important to discuss different views and perspectives in the classroom, so we can see the full picture. This is a very big problem in today's world especially when talking about history, I mean most of our generation doesn't know the full picture of the world. As future educators we need to learn the importance of this, so we can learn how to implement this in our future classrooms. I also like how you used a wide range of examples, not just school-based examples because it helps to see real world examples too.
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