January 24, 2010

The Case for Listening

A message delivered by Scott Cooper

at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Prineville, Oregon

January 24, 2010

Let’s start this morning with a conversation I recently overheard between a young student and her elementary school teacher:

The teacher said: “Patty, if I give you two dogs and two more dogs and another two dogs, how many dogs have you got?” Patty, being a smart little kindergartener replied, “Seven!”


The teacher said patiently, “ Patty, you need to listen carefully. Let’s try this again: if I give you two dogs and two more dogs and another two dogs, how many dogs have you got?” Patty thought hard about this for a few seconds and replied again, “Seven!”


The teacher sighed. Obviously this wasn’t working.