Walk a Mile in My Shoes…
Someone who suggests you should “walk a mile in my shoes,” is asking you to see and understand what the world looks like and feels like from his or her perspective.
Often we do this naturally. With genuine interest, we ask and answer questions when we meet someone for the first time or find ourselves on a committee with people we know, but not well. Often as you listen and respond, you’ll notice a smile of recognition and your partner will say something like: ‘Oh, that’s exactly how I feel,’ or ‘the same thing happened to me,’ or ‘I love fill in the blank, too.’ Empathy.
When we exchange ideas or information about ourselves, we are instinctively trying to establish a connection. This is especially important now for our children. Because in today’s fraught and often politicized environment, children’s knowledge of people and the world may be confined to what they see, hear, and are taught in their own backyards. What lies beyond may seem foreign and scary.
Into the breach comes story exchange. The idea is not new. In its original format, it is an icebreaker used in both K-12 and college classes. Students are randomly paired, ask each other the same set of questions, and then read their partner’s bio to the class.
Story exchange 2.0 is not only more meaningful. It is life changing. In this version, for a few minutes, partnered students they take turns telling each other anything that they want to share about their lives. Listening is key for what comes next. Speaking in the first person, they tell their partner’s story as if it were their own. Conversely, they hear their story through the words and emotions of another.
Realizing how many parallel experiences two strangers can have, students can appreciate the feelings of connection and empathy that follow. Empathy: The place where barriers of culture, race, religion, status (economic and social), and geography begin to give way to seeds of a relationship rooted in common ground, budding trust, and shyly tentative but welcome friendships.
Students who take part in story exchange may come from different geographic regions, or from neighboring towns with different demographics. The power of story exchange will be the same and is best told by students themselves. Here is one example featured on the Today Show on March 3, 2023:
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch tells his daughter, Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
Bottom line: We do not always have to agree, but understanding each other is a good thing. It is liberating and makes the walk less painful, mutually purposeful, and much nicer.
Answer to Unpacking Education, No. 18, Question of the Day:
In 1970 America, the song Walk A Mile In My Shoes struck a nerve with its down-to-earth plea that we show compassion, tolerance, and understanding for one another. Elvis made it a #1 hit. The original version and video by country legend, singer-songwriter b) Joe South is worth your time.