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 it was black.


Sometimes we need to look at the problem from
the other person’s view in order to truly
understand his/her perspective.
Author Unknown