Activity 1: (10 minutes) PERSPECTIVE TAKING

Display the picture of the Holocaust shoes. Then read the quotes and definition:

“We are the shoes, we are the last witnesses.

We are shoes from grandchildren and grandfathers

From Prague, Paris and Amsterdam,

And because we are only made of fabric and leather

And not of blood and flesh,

Each one of us avoided the hellfire.” (Moshe Szulsztein, Yiddish poet)

• Inside the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum idle chatter “is rarely heard in these haunting halls. Choked emotion is mostly invisible until the tourists confront the museum’s final crescendo. The shoes. Still intact, perfectly formed, the remnants of lives piled one on top of the other…The shoes say more than words ever could.” (Katherine Boyle, The Washington Post)
• Alternative activity: Display the image of the I Have a Dream Speech. Then share the definition of perspective taking and have a discussion.
  • perspective taking: “looking at a situation from a viewpoint that is different from one’s usual viewpoint. This may involve adopting the perspective of another person or that associated with a particular social role, as in role-play exercises. The term is synonymous with role taking. See also empathy.” (APA Dictionary)

Share the other images in the slide presentation. How does our perspective of the event change based on where we are standing?

Have a discussion:

• How does perspective taking at a museum exhibit compare with perspective taking during everyday life? Why is that?
• What are some challenges of perspective taking?
• Why can changing your perspective be uncomfortable or upsetting?

Post the chart of varying perspectives:

Have a discussion:

• Who on this list would you find it easiest to see their perspective? Why?
• Who on this list would you find it hardest to see their perspective? Why?
• Whose perspective is the most comfortable to consider? Why?
• Whose perspective is the most upsetting to consider? Why?
• How do you believe each of these people should be viewed or treated? Is there any difference? Why or why not?

Extension: Read this quote: “In the way we regard our children, our

spouses, neighbors, colleagues, and strangers, we choose to see others either as people like ourselves or as objects. They either count like we do or they don’t. In the former case we regard them as we regard ourselves, we say our hearts are at peace toward them. In the latter case, since we systematically view them as inferior, we say our hearts are at war.” (Arbinger Institute, “The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict”)

As a group, brainstorm some noteworthy periods in history when people chose to treat others as objects, and better times when people chose to treat others like themselves.

Activity 2: (20 minutes) STAFF GAME

This activity is designed to spark fun and connection while also helping educators reflect on the different perspectives that exist within their school. Choose from 2 options for this game:

Option 1: Apples to Apples

Bring in the card game Apples to Apples. Divide the staff into groups of 6–10 and distribute the cards evenly throughout the group so that each group can play their own separate game of Apples to Apples. Someone familiar with the game can explain the rules, or you can watch the video, “How to Play Apples to Apples,” by Triple S Games.

Option 2: “Family” Feud

Play a game of “Family” Feud as a staff. You can create your own Google Survey with questions that best fit your school or use our pre-written survey by clicking this link. This activity works best if you send out the survey days before this activity. You will also need to compile the survey results so the game moderator can clearly see the top 3–5 answers for each question. Select 2 teams of 5 teachers to play the game. Have them stand in a line on either side of the game moderator. Invite one more staff member to keep score on a scoreboard. Read one survey question at a time and follow the game rules to find your winner.

Objective: The team with the most points by the end wins.

Scoring: Each guess that matches one of the top 3–5 answers from the survey earns the team 1 point. Points are awarded after every round and will be worth 3–5 points. All 3–5 points go to whichever team guesses the final answer for that round.

Game Play:

1. To start, each team sends up 1 player to represent their team. The survey question is read aloud. The first player that hits the bell or buzzer first gets to answer.
   1. If they get it correct, they can make 2 choices: (1) take control of the question for their team, or (2) pass the question to the other team.
   2. If they get it incorrect, the other team can choose whether to take the question or pass it back.
2. Whichever team takes control of the question tries to guess the remaining 3–5 survey answers, one player at a time. Every time they get a wrong answer, they get a “strike.”
   1. After 3 strikes, the question is passed to the other team, who can earn all 3–5 points for that round.
   2. If they guess all 3–5 survey answers before 3 strikes, their team earns all 3–5 points for that round.
3. After each round, begin at step 1 with the next question until you have battled over each survey question.
4. Tally up the points for each team and congratulate the winner.

Have a discussion:

• Is it important to you to have a relationship with your coworkers? Why or why not?
• What are the benefits and challenges of knowing the different perspectives that exist among your school’s staff?

Activity 3: (20 minutes) PERSPECTIVE IN PSYCHOLOGY

Watch the video, “School District Uses Virtual Reality To Show Students What Bullying Feels Like,” by CBS Mornings.

Have a discussion:

• How can virtual reality promote empathy and perspective taking?
• If you could create a virtual reality scenario for your school or community to experience, what would it be and why?

Read through some quotes about perspective taking. As teachers listen to the text, have them think of some synonyms or related words (e.g., empathy) that help them better explain what perspective taking really means.

• “We each have a uniquely valuable perspective on life—a lens through which we interpret our lives. Through our perspective, we define what makes sense to us, which is differentiated from how others see and experience life. However, we don’t know what we don’t know, and perspective taking provides a powerful tool to expand our own perspective by learning from the way others see life.” (Joscelyn Duffy)
• “Perspective taking is a multidimensional ability that includes understanding not only someone’s visual assessment of reality (their viewpoint), but also their perceptual assessment (their understanding). The process is one of leaning in to see the world through someone’s lens, rather than fully stepping into their shoes. Psychology supports that the ability to remain in our own shoes is effective and desirable because of the lower amount of emotional stress involved in the empathetic process.” (Joscelyn Duffy)
• One benefit of perspective taking is added dimension: “Our perspective is our version of reality. We each have our own unique reality, shaped by our experiences and the resulting lens through which we see the world. When we open ourselves to seeing life through the lens of another, it is like looking through a telescope, rather than a microscope … and with that added dimension comes personal growth.” (Joscelyn Duffy)
• Another benefit is learning and growth: “We are each others’ teachers. When we choose to learn from each other, we expand our awareness of what is possible for ourselves, on a personal and professional level, and for us as a global society. When you take a moment to “look through the lens” of another and momentarily embrace or attempt to understand their perspective, what you learn may very well be something that you may not have learned by continuing to solely look at life through your own lens.” (Joscelyn Duffy)

Have a discussion:

• How would you define perspective taking in your own words?
• What are the limitations of perspective taking and what implications can we draw from thosere limitations?
• How can we teach students to be better perspective takers?

Pass out the Lessons from Literature handout to each teacher. They will explore biographies’ synopses online and consider the value of each perspective found in every book. Invite teachers to share with neighbors or with the whole group.

Activity 4: (20 minutes) PERSPECTIVE GETTING

Invite educators turn and talk to a neighbor and discuss the following questions:

• What is a gift that you received that left an impact on you?
• What are some tips for and challenges of giving the “perfect” gift?

Read the story about perspective getting:

“Carefully considering another’s perspective is no guarantee that you’ll be able to do it accurately. I am reminded of this problem every year at Christmas, where the gifts I give after carefully, honestly, and deliberately putting myself in my family members’ perspectives seem to miss the mark as often as they hit it. One miss is particularly memorable. Several years ago, I got what I believed was the best gift ever for my wife: spending a day as an animal handler at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. My wife has always adored dolphins, and she loves the aquarium. If I had those two preferences, I reasoned while putting myself in her shoes, then this was the best possible gift in the entire city I could get.

I could not have been more mistaken. My wife was kind, as always, but she returned my gift. What I’d missed was how her current circumstances had changed what I believed were her long-term preferences, a common mistake among gift givers, according to research. She had just given birth to our second son two months before and was in no mood to squeeze into a wet suit and hold stinky fish while exhausted from a lack of sleep. This perspective is obvious in hindsight, and yet gift givers tend to overlook details of such new circumstances in foresight. I’d tried hard to take her perspective but ended up badly mistaking it.

What’s the best way to get someone a gift? The science is clear. You don’t try to adopt another person’s perspective and guess better. Instead, you adopt a different approach. You have to actually get the other person’s perspective, and perhaps the only way to do that is to ask what they want, or listen carefully while they drop hints, and then give it to them. That turns out to be widely applicable wisdom…If we want to understand what’s on the mind of another, the best our mortal senses can do may be to rely on our ears more than our inferences.” (Nicholas Epley, Mindwise: How We Understand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want)

Discuss the similarities and differences of perspective getting and perspective taking using the Venn diagram on the slides.

Have a discussion:

• Why is it helpful to ask someone directly about their opinion?
• How can we listen better without adding our own spin?
• What assumptions (or perspective taking) have you made previously about your class rather than “perspective getting?” What happened?
• How could we get more exact information about our students’ perspectives? What about peers? administrators? janitors? etc.

Activity 5: (30 minutes) SCHOOL CULTURE

Read the quote:

“The secret to understanding each other better seems to come not through an increased ability to read body language or improved perspective taking but, rather, through the hard relational work of putting people in a position where they can tell you their minds openly and honestly… Managers know what their employees think when they are open to the answers and employees feel safe from retaliation, not when managers use their intuition.” (Nicholas Epley, Mindwise: How We Understand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want)

Divide teachers into groups of 5–6. Pass out a poster to each team. Invite each group to brainstorm a list of 5 norms that could be applied at their school to increase listening and understanding between various perspectives. These posters will be used to discuss their school’s culture.

Next, you will have a discussion that could quickly turn political and divisive. Though important, the point of this lesson is not to discuss or solve political problems. Encourage teachers to pay attention to pedagogical techniques and attitudes that can be applied to a school’s culture.

Read and look through the following materials together:

“Self-censorship refers to a refusal to produce, distribute, circulate or express something out of fear of being punished for doing so. Self-censorship is different than tact or discretion. Fear of punishment is not involved. But if one shuts up out of fear of being harassed, bullied, shamed, or fired, this is indeed self-censorship.” (Lee Jussim Ph.D., Psychology Today)

Show the graphs:

Image Source: https://www.persuasion.community/p/americans-are-self-censoring-at-record

Read the quote:

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” (Abraham Lincoln)

Next, watch the video, “Braver Angels Debates,” by Braver Angels, a bipartisan non-profit group creating highly structured conversations that allow people to think together about polarizing topics.

Have a discussion and reinforce that comments should not be political:

• What elements help create a “safe” atmosphere for free expression, voicing opinions, or genuine input?
• What can we do to create a safe listening culture in our school for students? staff? administrators? other personnel?
• How does empathy improve a school’s culture?

Based on this discussion, invite groups to get back together and add thoughts to their posters. Then have each group share their lists with the class. Compile a list of ideas together on a poster paper or whiteboard and make a plan to implement.

Activity 6: (20 minutes) UNREASONABLE HOSPITALITY

Watch the video, “The Secret Ingredients of Great Hospitality,” by Will Guidara at TED. Have a discussion:

• How did the “dreamweavers” use perspective taking?
• How does Will Guidara’s message apply to schools?
• What are some simple or free ways to show hospitality at our school?

Invite educators to think of a person that they know. Have them brainstorm a meaningful service or experience that they would provide for that person if money was no object. Then, have several people share, by answering the questions:

• What person did you think of?
• What service or experience did you brainstorm?
• How can you tell that this person would love that service or experience?