Hello everyone! I was reading an article online titled Matthew Sails, the story is about accepting known differences among people. Matthew, in the story is a special needs student who has cerebral palsy which afflicts his breathing, talking, and laughing. He and some of his other class mates have the same disability. But for Matthew, it strains his movement and speech too such an extant that he had to point to letters on a chalkbord, making words, in order to be understood by his peers and teacher.
One day the class was having a discussion. And as discussions go, a person would speak up out of the group to say what is on his mind on a particular topic. However, we all know that this could lead to exclusions from other people speaking. During class one day, Matthew motioned to speak. Instead of his classmates speaking over him or ignoring his commenting, they all hushed in order to hear him speak. It isn’t just Matthew’s confidence to be an active participant in class, but also the class’s awareness of his differences and their acceptance of them that makes this story a great example of acceptance.
Many people say seeing past someone’s differences is key to acceptance, but I think it is the opposite. In order to understand someone it is necessary to be aware of their differences and accept them whole-heartedly. Being overly conciouss, however, is a detriment to understanding.
In this story, the students responding to Matthew acted as leaders. Usually before someone is about to speak, someone has to notice they are about to talk. So the students listening in this instence acted as a ripple effect, because one after the other is paying attention to the one talking. So maybe it was one student that decided to lead by example and listen to Matthew or the whole class simultaneously. Either way, the class taught an important lesson not only to the teacher but to all witnessing this moment: how to be accepting.
What do you think about the message of acceptance and how that plays into leadership? What about Matthew’s classmates examplify leadership to you? What are your thoughts on acceptance?
October 23rd, 2012 at 10:54 am
Acceptance is definitely a trait that every leader should embrace, no matter what position he or she is in. The great thing about our world is that no two people are exactly alike. Everyone has differences, whether it is in beliefs, culture, educational backgrounds, etc. Being able to see past those things and accept someone for who they are is what being a leader is all about. Sometimes, us humans get so caught up in our own views that we are not able to fully open up to the idea of reception. However, as maturing leaders, we need to challenge ourselves to see things in a new light.
October 23rd, 2012 at 7:54 pm
I acceptance plays a great role in leadership. I agree with you whole heartedly that you don’t want to look past the disabilities. You want to embrace the differences and apply them for the better of the group. I think his classmates’ weren’t necessarily exhibiting leadership as it was good manners. The person who got them to all quiet down was however. He went on a limb.
October 23rd, 2012 at 10:08 pm
What an inspirational story!You can take that as a listen to never overlook anyone -because we are all different and I appreciate that is what we embrace about one another.
To be tolerant and have respect for others is of the utmost importance.
October 23rd, 2012 at 11:45 pm
Well, for starters… I think the picture is one of the best parts to the blog (only Funmi will know what I am talking about)- Nicely done, my friend! I agree with you wholeheartedly about shedding light on an important message. The ability to better understand someone is an essential skill to have in order to carry out group leadership. Group members being able to beter understand each other leads to effective, efficient, and a more successful strategy task rate. I like the relatability of this blog post in relation with our Leadership and Community Engagement group discussions in class as well; such as the example of Brigs Myers.
October 24th, 2012 at 12:47 am
I think acceptance is an extremely critical aspect of leadership. To me leadership is all about representing the people that you are leading and in order to do that you must be able to accept all differences. I think you make an excellent point when you mention that it is important to be aware of differences, as opposed to seeing past them. Whole-hearted acceptance only comes when you learn to understand a person’s differences. In reality everyone has something that makes them different and accepting and working with those differences is what leadership is all about. I think Matthew’s classmates showed excellent leadership skills, because they accepted the differences of their classmate and were able to move on and listen to his valuable opinions.
October 24th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
“You are a unique and special person. Just like everyone else”
Yeah, I also agree with what you are saying that leaders should accept people’s differences.
It might be difficult to do at first, but you have to live with it your entire life. Might as well start at a young age accepting everyone for who they are. It’ll get easier as time goes by.
Yeah everyone is different but that’s a good thing. If everyone was too much the same like each other, life would be too complacent.
Thanks for this article, it was interesting and thoughtful.