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Showing posts from May, 2015

Perspective is Everything

Perspective is defined as a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.  We all have our own perspective and use it to react or respond to everything we encounter.  Our perspective is usually based on our experiences; our background knowledge.  The problem with that, is that none of us have experienced everything there is to experience in life.  This fact leaves us sometimes lacking the ability or forethought to try to see another's perspective in a situation.  This is where empathy should step in to help.  "Cognitive empathy" sometimes called "perspective taking" refers to our ability to identify and understand other peoples' emotions.  These traits are so important for teachers to understand and use when dealing with struggling students. I have the luxury (although I wouldn't refer to it as a luxury on some days) of having two perspectives when dealing with students.  I have the perspective of being a mom to a child who