When Loeb stated; "The more we listen to those whose experiences and perspectives are unfamiliar, the more we realize what draws us together" I think he means that even though we are different in many ways we can all relate to things on a common ground. Hearing different perspectives can change our veiwpoints of the subject and also hearing diferent experiences can help us open our eyes to the world and relate to one another.
An example from the text of how people came together and made a positive change would have to be Common Air, Common Ground. The story took place in Brooklyn over a 15 year time span. There were plans to build a 55 story trash incinerator but leaders from near by neighborhoods built a coilition to stop the incinerator from ever breaking ground. The neighborhoods have been fueding for years and leob says "they have built up a tremendous and seemingly insurmoutable leagacy of mistrust." But putting their differences aside they came together for their children.
Living in the United States i am surrounded by situations where people have different lives and different ideas. I try to stay close to what i like but i do not mind getting to know my neighbors and stepping out of my compfort zone. A good example would be this class, i went to a christain private highschool where the majority of the poeple belived what i did and acted similar to me. Being in this class and going to a public school again opened my eyes to how many different cultures are in the United States and i should try to get to know everyone of them for who they are and what they stand for.
John nice work man,i can definitely tell that you took the theme of this chapter to heart. It is also good to see how you related it to your own life. Its also funny to see the difference between private and public schooling it is usually much bigger a change than we think, good reflection.
ReplyDeletei remeber the first time i met, it was for orentation and now looking at you and knowing you. the idea that i had of you has changed a lot. You are differnt and very unique and when i listened to what you had to say i realised how kind and caring you are, and they variety you bring to the plate. Awesome reflection.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be hard to have come from a Christian school and then back into public schools because of people's viewpoints. But that would be an experience where you would have to be open to other people to an extent. Also I liked that story common air common ground because it showed how the people finally came together for a common cause. Sometimes we don't realize our similarities with others until there arrives a larger problem.
ReplyDeleteJohn stepping out of your comfort zone is a huge thing and you have definitely done so in coming back to a public school and joining in SLICE. This class is like our own little world where we all believe in the same thing of social change, yet we all have different view points about how to go about it. We all have different passions as well. If we don’t all listen to each others stories and thoughts we won’t ever be able to broaden our horizon when we think about social change. You are all doing great at that and I am glad that you realize that your eyes can be opened up to a whole new world once you listen to these stories.
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