Points of View

Dalat students collaborate effectively by understanding other points of view.

You don’t have to read very far or listen too long to any news reports today to see that each has a strong bias. The reporters speak from a particular point of view, but they present it as if it was the only reasonable perspective. This makes it challenging for the rest of us, as we have to check multiple sources to sort out what is fact, what is opinion, and what is fiction.

Unfortunately, this has also slipped into our relationships with others. It is natural to have our own viewpoint on things, but we also need to be willing to take the time to listen to others and seek to understand them. Tim Muelhoff and Sean McDowell, authors of End the Stalemate, point out that listening with empathy does not equal agreement.

The authors have noticed a great divide in the church today as we form our own opinions and are often unwilling to listen to others. Their main call for change is that we take time to listen to others. “Listening should be central to us as Christian communicators…listening to understand entails temporarily setting aside evaluation in order to understand not only the content of a message but also the emotions attached to a perspective.”

With all of these challenges in the adult world, it is critical that we teach our kids how to work together and understand other points of view. At school, we teach them to differentiate fact from opinion, determine the purpose of the author, and consider the point of view from which a piece was written. These are all very academic in the classroom context.

They also need to learn to carry these skills into the real world. Taking time to listen to others with the goal of understanding is time well spent. We will not always change our opinions, but we can still demonstrate care for the other person. Try to help your kids learn that there is usually another side to the story. Encourage siblings to practice listening with each other. These skills are crucial for the world we live in now and will become even more important in the future.