Generous Listening

"You may be right." "That is an excellent point (or observation)." "I had never thought of it in that way." Who wouldn't like to hear words such as these after expressing a thought or idea? These kind of statements open up dialogue. From this kind of dialogue can come even richer and more beneficial conclusions.

Not only is this true for conversation, but it is also true for research. It can be quite disconcerting when research is used as a weapon or an opportunity to attack the work of someone else....and sometimes even going so far as name calling. When examining the work of others, it is important to be generous and resist the temptation to highlight its weaknesses and reject it because it represents a view different than one's own.

Being generous in no way means that one shouldn't observe with a critical eye. That is crucial. Yet, one is in a much better position to offer a differing point of view if one has first been generous.

Those of us who advocate for the importance of looking at education through the eyes of diverse learners and seeking ways to better serve them must set an example by generously listening to diverse voices, including those that are diametrically opposed to our voice,....and do so with the desire to understand. There is always the possibilty that we will discover "kernels of truth" that we can build upon to better serve our diverse learners.