SM Minute: Things Are Not Always Black or White

Another good Scoutmaster/Cubmaster/Denleader Minute:
Cheers
Lorie McGraw
Columbia SC

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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

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