six blind man and the elephant by john godfrey saxe

Once upon a time, there were 6 blind people who lived in a village. This earliest parable (दृष्टांत) of this story is found in Buddhist, Jain and Hindu texts. It is a beautiful story which tells us about the concept of partial (आंशिक) reality that we experience. The Wikipedia version is here.And all were in the wrong! The Blind Men and the Elephant Story: A lesson on India would be enhanced by comparing the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, etc. Third, this story has a long history before Saxe wrote this poem. But adolescent ideas that other people have different perspectives is changing as their brains change: we call it maturity. Because of that, this reflection has a certain amount of subtlety. Parents may see their child’s point, but still not give them their way.

Fights with friends? Teacher gives good advice but you do what you do and fail? Point out that disagreement does not necessarily mean that both sides don’t see the whole picture. Has there been a time where you saw things one way, and someone else could not see your point of view? Think about what you want, and what your parents will let you do. Second, this poem can be used for self reflection.

An easy poem, it teaches a skill that can be carried over to other poems. You can then find several websites that have illustrations to go with Saxe’s poem. There are three natural lessons that I will explain.įirst, have students imagine what each of the six blind men sees. The group’s leader is a consultant in getting teens into college, so she has an obvious blind spot. If a student is not already working at a high level junior year, and possessing skills such as reading and writing, it makes more sense to look at the K-8 education than point fingers at their last years in school.

If the elephant is the supervisory union’s K-12 school system–and the experience of students over that time–this group is focused on the tail. Concerned about low test scores (a very legitimate concern) they are focused on AP courses and students not only getting into college (the high school has over 80% of graduates going to college), but the college of their choice. I was inspired to add this poem in response to a parent group’s approach to the local school board. It will also be easy for students to understand This poem is not art, but it makes an important point.

Six blind man and the elephant by john godfrey saxe