Everybody loves a winner. Losers? Not so much. Witness the daily comments in the Journal bemoaning the fact that the Lobos are ranked the worst college football team in America by ESPN. Lobo fans can’t wait for basketball season to begin. Rather than looking for the positive signs of progress in the team, fans measure success by wins and losses. Of course that is easy for me to say since I am an alumnus of the University of Oregon – currently ranked #2 in the nation. I am certain if my beloved Ducks were at the bottom instead of the top, I’d be miserable and calling for the coach’s firing too.
It’s hard to always look for the best in others, particularly in times of stress and emotion. In the heat of a sporting event I have heard fans say awful things to the referees, opposing players, even to their own kids. I know – I have done it myself. But passion for the game does not excuse boorish behavior from adults who ought to know better.
Rachel Scott’s first challenge: To always look for the best in others – really is a challenge because it is so easy to look for the worst in others. As I confessed in a previous column, I am a recovering perfectionist. Looking for imperfections is as natural to me as breathing. I have to work hard at looking for what is right in a situation. So when I am challenged to always look for the best in others, I have to admit that is a true challenge. But it is a challenge I accept because I know ultimately it will make me and everyone around me happier.
The second part of Rachel’s challenge is to eliminate prejudice. Prejudice simply means to prejudge another. Do you prejudge others? At times I do, I admit it. I might look at the kind of car a person drives and make a snap judgment about the person. Or their bumper stickers or the lawn signs in front of a house and on and on. It’s wrong I know because a person’s bumper stickers aren’t the person. More toxic is the kind of prejudice that discriminates against another person based things they can’t control (a disability or their native language). It is a challenge but I am working harder since Rachel’s Challenge to eliminate prejudice in my life.
One hundred eighty Taylor students attended a special training Monday afternoon to learn how to implement Rachel’s Challenge in our school. That is nearly one third of our student body. They are hungry to learn ways to spread kindness and compassion at Taylor. I am working with several adult sponsors to start a Friends of Rachel Club for these students. These students are our future leaders. They are the ones who will learn how to see the best in others and strive to eliminate prejudice at Taylor and in our country.
Parents, you can help us with this effort by having a conversation with your child about this first challenge. Start by examining yourself and asking how frequently you look for the best in others and looking at your prejudices. Then talk to your kids about it. Kids learn prejudice – it isn’t transmitted genetically. I know I taught my kids a few bad habits that I now hear repeated in my grandchildren. Yikes! Talk about humbling. Then have a family discussion about how you can help each other look for the best in others. Talk about how you prejudge others. Challenge yourself to become a better person. Then proudly put on your UNM sweatshirt and count down the days until the start of the basketball season. Go Lobos!
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