Things Are Not Always 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
was it black.
My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: You
must stand in the other person's shoes and look at the situation
through their eyes in order to truly understand their
perspective.
by Judie Paxton
事情并不总是有“黑”“白”两面
作者：久迪 帕克司通
当我还在小学念书的时候，曾与我的同学有过一次很严重的争吵。我已忘
记了那场争吵的原因，但我却永远也忘不掉那天我学到的重要的一课。
那时，我确信“我”是对的，而“他”是错的--他则确信“我”是错的而
“他”是对的。老师决定教我们重要的一课。她把我们带到了教室的前面，让他站
在课桌的一边，而我站在另一边。在中间的课桌上，放了一个园园的东西。我可以
清楚地看到它是黑色的。她问那个男孩这个东西的颜色。“白色的”，他回答。
我简直不敢相信他竟然回答那是白的，因为它的确是黑的！另一场争论在
我们之间展开，这次是为了那个东西的颜色。
老师让我到那个男孩的位置站立而让他站到我原来的位置上。我们交换了
位置，然后她问我那个东西的颜色，我不得不回答：“白色。”那是一个两边有著
两种不同颜色的东西，从他的视觉看到的就是白色，只从我这一面才看到是黑色。
我的老师那天教了我们最重要的一课：你必需站在另一个人的位置上才能
看到从那个人眼中所见的真正的事实而了解他们的观点。
追梦 译于2003 年 4 月
