This week, we will look at the basic lesson from The Good Eggs, Chapter 1: Understanding. The best thing we can tell our children and students is to truly listen when someone is speaking to them. Listening is the best way to develop the virtue of Understanding.
The Lesson
The best way to understand is to first listen. When we listen, we stand under. When we stand under, we can truly understand.
Virtue in Action
With so much busy-ness in our day as parents and teachers, we sometimes are half-listening. We often get pretty good at pretending to listen to the stories our children tell us, nodding our head, making sounds of agreement, etc. It’s not that we are completely ignoring the story, but sometimes we may find ourselves not giving undivided attention – the kind we don’t usually tolerate from our children. If we truly want our children to practice the virtue of understanding, it's important to model good listening skills.
Undivided Attention
The next time your child or student is troubled by something that happened at school or with their friends, make it a point to practice that undivided attention we often expect from our children. Retell the story back to them and ask them if you are getting the story straight. Ask them how the situation makes them feel and ask them what they might be able to do to make the situation better. Lastly, thank them for sharing their story and feelings with you and remind them that they can come to you anytime they just want to talk and need somebody to listen to them.
And most of all, it's easy to do, but try not think in your own head what you will say next while your child or student is explaining a story to you. That distracts us from focusing on the them. TRULY give them your attention 100%, and they will feel genuinely valued!
When Benedict's friends sat him down and actually listened to his story about how he felt about moving to a new town, they were able to connect with him and provide examples of their own feelings, which made him feel a whole lot better! He was relieved and his behavior changed.
Next week will be the wrap-up for Understanding before we move on to Forgiveness for the month of October.
Enjoy the upcoming week and the beautiful fall weather!
Thanks for being a Good Egg!
Wishing you all GOOD things,
Sandy
