Perspective
Face it. Humans are pretty self-involved. Whether we’re aware of it or not, most often, we look and act based on what we personally know and have experienced. This can, however, lead to confusion, misconception, misjudging, and misunderstanding. All of these can steal our joy and weaken our resilience. When we intentionally shift our mindsets to widen our perspectives, we can empathize with and connect to others, we can come up with better responses to situations, we can recognize what is within our sphere of control- and all of these strengthen our resilience.
As educators, we have to learn to be intentional in looking at situations and behaviors from multiple perspectives because not everything is as it seems. We can’t change where we come from or the experiences we’ve had, but we can change the way we look at things. When we change the way we look at things, we have a greater chance of cultivating the compassion needed for empathy and understanding.
Explore the resources below to learn more about the power of perspective in the work we do with our students and one another.
Explore Chapter 8, pages 197-218, of Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators for more detailed support for this month's disposition of perspective.
Consider including some of these as the topic of conversation during your weekly mentor/mentee meeting.
The Power of Perspective
"The way we see the world is the way we experience the world. When you’re feeling stuck, when you’re disappointed or frustrated, zoom out and see what else comes into your frame of reference. Changing the way you see changes the way you feel and act. "
– Elena Aguilar, Chapter 8 of Onward
Perspective and the Classroom
How WE, as teachers, view our students and their realities, affects EVERYTHING we do with them. These resources are the reminder that our perception, more often than not, is NOT our students' realities. To avoid negative fallout from these gaps, it is OUR responsibility to recognize and work to bridge them.
Student and Administrator Perspectives
The work in building our resilience through cultivating perspective is more than simply examining our own perspectives. True compassion and empathy come from raising our awareness of the "other side of the story." Here you will find student and administrator perspectives to ponder and consider.
How To Build Perspective
Read through any of the articles below and you should quickly see that many of the habits and dispositions we have visited this year ALL work to help us see the world through the eyes of others.
We just have to keep practicing and building that muscle and always strive to learn more about the things we don't know enough about!
