Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.”
Parenting, teaching and just plain living, is often a process of dealing with personal opinions and assumptions. On many occasions my children and my students had opinions that clouded the truth. Their “window on the world” not open to new ideas and opinions. The most common example is an assumption based on rumors or tall tales that seen to morph into the truth. Students entering a new class have already been prepped by older students and have made assumptions about the teacher. During my teaching career, I had a habit of saying off the wall remarks to help stimulate and motivate students. The frivolous remarks sometimes took on a life of their own and over the years they were assumed to be true. I had a very shy freshman student who seemed to be troubled and would not look me in the eyes. He was quiet and his work was exceptional but sporadic. I kept him after class one day to see if I could find out why such a good student was so troubled. After a lot of prodding he told me that their was no way he could make an A in my class. I informed him that he could certainly make an A, if he would turn his work in on time. He said it was impossible because his sister was in my class and made an A and everyone knows that you only give one A to a family. One of my off the wall comments had come back to bite me. His assumption seemed absurd and I never thought anyone would take it serious. That’s the problem with a cloudy outlook on the world, it dims our view of reality.
My children often fell victim to many faulty assumptions or opinions. They had to struggle with keeping a clear vision of the world. Like most children they fell victim to stories about neighbors with a dark past, or stories of eccentric street people who steal little children and countless stories about teachers and their methods. However, it is good to be wary of strangers because the world can be a dangerous place. But, it is good idea to help them “scrub their windows” once in a while
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