“Anthropologists have found that we’re very motivated to divide into teams, and once on a team, we’ll work hard to degrade the other team.”
I see all this talk about politics, cultures, and religions and it seems like everyone is on one team or another.
I guess I don’t know why everyone has to be on one team or another. Why can’t we all agree to disagree and then not be on any team?
I guess that is why I hated to participate in team sports. Whenever we played a game and there was someone on the other team struggling, I wanted to help them. I know that is crazy but I never felt so competitive that winning was the most important thing in the world. Whenever I watch school sports, I want whoever has the ball at the time to score a point. I want everyone to be a winner! I know this is unrealistic and not real life but that is how I feel at times like this. I somehow feel that competitions should not always be a life or death situation like a military action.
I’m more of a collaborator than a competitor. I feel like when I’m on a team and everyone has different strengths, we are a stronger team than one where everyone thinks alike and has the same point of view. It doesn’t bother me if people are from different cultures and I’m curious about our differences. I want to know more and learn more about a topic I don’t have enough information about.
I want my students to learn to collaborate with others and celebrate their differences. I want them to see that differences can be strengths and not something to degrade. I want to give them situations where they have to use their individual strengths to be a stronger team.
How do you feel about teams and differences? Please share.
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