I should have known better.................

A neighbour runs several flocks of sheep on our farm and, over the last few years, I have come to the conclusion that sheep really aren't very smart. I could give you a bunch of examples, but let's leave it as a conclusion I have come to via observation.

 

In the flock that we see most often, there always seemed to be one sheep who was apart from the flock. Sometimes she seemed to be left behind, oblivious to the others moving on until the last moment when she followed bleeting. But on a recent occasion she was the only sheep munching away on a patch of grass well away from the rest, through an open gate and on the other side of a fence.

 

I made a comment about how dopey I thought this sheep was, not staying in the same areas as the others, at which point my husband made an insightful comment.

 

'Perhaps it is the only one capable of independent thought.'

 

Hmm. While I am not so sure it applies to sheep, I did feel a bit 'sheepish' at that point. I work with children and families who are often lateral thinkers, who see things differently and are quite clearly capable of independent thought. It was a good reminder not to only see what we are expecting to see and to avoid our tendency to make assumptions based on general perceptions. Instead of independent thought.