Page 32 - Microsoft Word - Thinking like a wallaby 14DEC16.doc

This is a very delicate problem because it involves the deepest feelings of real people.

How do you avoid hurting the feelings of a good friend and avoid hurting the feelings of
your new friend?

Step 1. Make sure you understand the problem

This problem needs to be dealt with straight away and it is one that you would probably

need help with. So, some instant Ant-thinking is needed. Who do you need to ask for
help? If the problem happened at school, you should get help from a teacher. If it

happened anywhere else, you should probably ask your parents. Maybe there are other

people you know who could work with you on this problem – other friends, especially if
they are from refugee families, could offer sound advice.

The problem seems to be complicated, so let’s get some Monkey-thinking happening

here, and take the problem apart. Maybe, if we do that, it won’t seem so huge. So, here

is a breakdown of the bits of the problem, as we know them:
You, Grace and Arash are in the same class

You and Grace are friends

You and Arash are friends
Arash’s family are refugees

Arash and his family arrived in the country recently

Grace does not seem to like Arash

Arash is upset by this

There are some things that you would already know about your friends, Grace and

Arash, that you could add to the picture. You know

how well Arash understands English;
how Grace usually treats other people in the class and out of school;

the attitudes their parents have to people who are different in some way.

Monkey-thinking can help us to see what we know about a problem. It can also help us
to see what we don’t yet know. What we don’t know, among other things, are:

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