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Adventures in Education | Experiences of a Classroom Teacher
Description: Cultivating Peace and Nonviolence in the Field of Education
An old and well-known parable tells the story of a group of blind men and an elephant. Originating in the Indian subcontinent, many versions have evolved over time, but each telling carries the same core element:
A group of blind men encounters an unfamiliar animal – something they are told is called an elephant. Curious about the creature but unable to see its form, they resolve to learn what it is by touch. Reaching out, each man felt a different part of the animal. The first man’s hand fell on the trunk – he proclaimed that the animal must be like a thick snake. The second man’s hand reached out toward a leg, arguing instead that the elephant must be like a pillar – a tree. Another, feeling the wing-like shape of
The moral of the story is to problematize the truth each man arrives at with their limited perception. While their subjective experiences may be real for them, that does not constitute an objective truth of the elephant itself. To bring the story into focus with the concept of perspective-taking, in some versions, the blind men gather together to share their experiences to create a greater picture of the elephant as a whole, arriving at a shared truth. By understanding what the other participants were doing
Home - Jimmy Longoria
Adventures in Education | Experiences of a Classroom Teacher