Step in others’ shoes

The teacher cuts the shape of two pairs of feet out of colorful paper. When two students disagree, place the pairs of feet on the floor and ask each student to step on one of the pairs, facing each other from about three feet apart. This practice works well when kids are having regular low-stakes classroom conflicts. The teacher then invites each student to state their side of the argument. The teacher then instructs them to stand on the feet of the other person. The teacher has each student fully repeat the position of the other student and has them switch feet as needed so that the other student's position can be stated and repeated as needed. The teacher then asks what the other individual said that they can agree with. The teacher concludes by asking what each of them can do so that the situation does not happen again.

Intellectual humility necessitates a willingness to listen and maybe see a viewpoint that differs from one's own. For most students in conflict, having to put oneself in the shoes of another is an unusual exercise. They are usually uninterested in hearing another person's point of view. This task necessitates that they do so correctly. They recognize that they will have to "drop their feet" during any such conflict, so it could be a good idea to start listening and evaluating their certainties sooner rather than later.