Have you ever had a conversation, and you thought you knew what they were talking about, but it turns out they were talking about something completely different. Things that they said seemed very strange. These false assumptions happen every once in a while in our household.
Rollercoaser Ride (against blue sky)
Sometimes these conversations can be quite funny. Here is an example. (I made this up.)
False Assumptions
Joe is recapping his previous day to his friend, Pete. He tells him that he went to the dentist to get a filling, first thing in the morning. Then he told him that went to Magic Mountain, the roller coaster theme park, later in the day. As he thought about the day’s events, he was most excited about the roller coaster. So that is what he began to talk about. Well, his friend thought he was describing his day chronologically. As he described the theme park, Joe’s friend was picturing that he was describing getting a filling at the dentist office. False assumptions! The conversation went like this:
Joe: Wow! I couldn’t believe how crowded it was. I think everybody in the county was there. The lines were so long it took about an hour to get in. It was sure a popular place to be! I can’t remember waiting so long to pay for anything. Well, we finally got in and we were on our way. We headed straight to my favorite part. I got strapped in my seat and click the seatbelt. I was ready for a wild ride. It started to go really fast. I couldn’t believe it when my seat went upside down and I was hanging from the seatbelt. I screamed out loud, “this is so fun, this is so fun.”
Pete: Wow! That’s never happened to me before. Are you sure you didn’t fall asleep and were dreaming?
Joe: Fall asleep! Of course not. It was way too exciting for that. I sure can’t wait until I go again. I think it was one of my favorite moments so far this year.
Pete: Well, I’d better get your dentist’ s number. I’m ready for an adventure. My trips to the dentist are much more boring.
Joe: Dentist? I wasn’t talking about the dentist. I was talking about the roller coaster at Magic Mountain!
This seems pretty extreme. But I have had conversations that seems crazy because I thought the person I was talking about something completely different. This can also happen easily when you’re teaching.
False Assumptions in Teaching
Have you ever been talking to a child and their mind is somewhere else? (of course, I know the answer to that) You might be telling them the story of Joshua and how he blew the trumpet and the walls came tumbling down. The child hears the word trumpet and immediately thinks of his older brother who plays in the high school band. He now is thinking of him practicing, and wonders if the walls of his house are going to fall any time soon. You will lose the important point of the story, that God fought the battle for him when he trusted Him, if you don’t get him back from thinking about his brother. (I know this is extreme, but if you have spent any time in the classroom of young children, you have probably seen similar situations.
What can you do to avoid this? A simple way is to ask them to repeat back what they understand. You can ask a student questions about things in the story or their thoughts, or you can ask them to put what you just said into their own words.
As you are teaching, it’s important to keep monitoring that they are tracking with what you are saying. When you are teaching in a group, asking questions is time well spent because it also serves as review for everyone. It propels discussion in the classroom which keeps the class more interesting.
Do you have a funny story that you could share with us? We’d love to hear about a time when you were misunderstood or did not understand someone else because you thought they were talking about something different. We’d love to hear about a time when an assumption caused a crazy result. 🙂