Jan 14, 2010

Fresh Eyes

Fresh eyes can see things that you cannot.

When you put your house on the market for sale, the first thing an agent does is walk through your house with a clipboard, making notes and pointing out things that need to be fixed. Dust the top of that doorjamb, change that light bulb, tack down that sticking up piece of rug... Did I even realize those things needed doing? No. I've lived with them so long that I don't see them any more.

I worked at a church, where fresh eyes were a definite advantage. They were trying to reach out to the community with their programs, using language that only an insider could decode. I advised them to explain more and assume less if they wanted to reach the unchurched.

Kindergarten is fun to teach, because 5 year olds have very fresh eyes. Everything you teach is wonderful and new to them. They make you assess everything you thought you knew, and explain it in the simplest form. I handed out the worksheet, and read the directions: "underline the word 'is'." One precious child asked "What does underline mean?" (Don't assume they know anything!) I said that it meant to draw a line under the word.

So this precious child drew a vertical line under the word "is."

Which of us, do you think, learned more in class that day?

What will you see with fresh eyes today?

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