Listen

Recently our eldest had a bac blanc for his philosophy class. After the 4 hour exam he joined us at the office for lunch. (as he often does, much to his mama's joy) I asked about his exam. He had to write a paper about a text by Locke about property and ownership. Someone in the kitchen asked him if he disproved the philosopher's ideas. Will pointed out that the purpose of the exam was to display that he truly understood what Locke believed. For some reason this really struck me as a wonderful excercise. What if, instead of instantly seeking evidence to prove others wrong, we actually listened to others and first displayed that we understood what the other was saying?