ONE STEP BACK TWO STEPS FORWARD
Ignorance is a loaded word. It’s associated with the habits of not caring, not paying attention, denial, and not living up to society’s standards. Usually if you describe anyone as ignorant, you leave the room with a bright-red handprint in the face. Even with its apathetic associations, ignorance isn’t something that should be taken as an insult. Laura Fox’s grandmother was never afraid to answer “I don’t know.” She didn’t know, so she chose to transform that uncertainty into exploration and ever since she moved to Qatar, Fox views ignorance as a path to learning herself. The absence of knowledge allows for the means to learn it and explore it, add another word to your everyday dictionary. The only issue we explore now is how to incorporate it into our society and inspire others to follow this path of learning.
First, let’s explore the implications of ignorance. In my book, “ignorance” can be the absence of knowledge You can play it safe, not learn anything, whether it be positive or negative. You don’t move forward or backward or expand or shrink, you simply exist. But I also define ignorance as the choice to deny the mind information. If you decide to not take a step backward, you will never take a step to advance. You have not harmed our environment, but you certainly haven’t benefited it. In contrast, the people who open their mind to something new might be shocked. Those who discover how quickly endangered species list is increasing realize they didn’t want to learn that truth. They step backwards once. But then, once you take that step backward, they can see the the picture better. That information is clear, in their head now, and shaking it out won’t work. Instead, the fact prompts them to rewrite it. They stand up for the animals, promote conservation, create legislation. They rewrite it to “the number of endangered species of 2016 has plummeted to less than 20 today.” Two steps forward. Knowledge allows for this action, this revolution to occur. Without that knowledge, you can never decide to either accept or deny information. That’s why we, as the upcoming generation, should focus on obtaining that knowledge in the first place and steer our students to accept and act on it.
So first, how do you learn more? In the era of the internet, a tremendous fraction of Americans gain their local, national, and global insights from social media. In a study by the Pew Research Center, 38% of American adults get their news online compared to the other forms of television, newspaper, and radio. Out of the different age ranges, almost 50% of both 18 to 24 year-olds and 30 to 49 years olds come online to expand their knowledge. But with 18 to 24 year-olds comes another form of education-- the classroom. In the classroom, a student listens, processes, and explores mathematics, history, science, geography, and art. If you spend everyday in school with textbooks and your phone, you have two of the most prevalent sources of knowledge ever. For those of you who know me well, I’m an avid Twitter user. I read about and tweet all things K-POP, League of Legends, world politics, the White House-related. On a weekday, I spend 30 minutes in the morning on it.Then, I go to school for 8 hours, spending at least 10 minutes of that on my phone on Twitter. And yes, I understand that it’s probably not what I’m supposed to be doing while I’m in Mr. Logsdon’s English class, but I am still updated on the situation in Aleppo, (unfortunately) the post-victory Trump tour, and the Student Voice Team. On Mondays, I hear a presentation about Korea, on politics, culture or history for an hour. Then, I go home and spend another hour on Twitter. Out of the 24 hours, I spend at least 9 and a half hours getting information on average. In the classroom and on the internet, not only can a student hold the potential to learn, but harness it for the better.
Why should we focus on educating children? Not only do they have the classroom and social media, but also provide a new outlook on today’s society. Older citizens have seen numerous and large changes in the world, that they reach a certain point of contentment with their society. Some feel as if they can no longer commit to operations of change. Others become tired of change: “why do they have to go and make bathrooms one gender? Back in my day, our biggest issue was uniting each race into two bathrooms!” An elder is accustomed to society; a child is a new mind to it. An elder merely sits and enjoys their stay in the life they have; a child can pick out the flaws in a new environment. The flaws inspire us do what our generation has done before them: change and improve.
So now, we know what ignorance is, how we get our news, and who to educate, so let’s figure out how to implement it. When you have a piece birthday cake but also have two scoops of double chocolate chip ice cream and Mom says “you can only have one”, you’re not going to want to. Instead, you half the piece of cake and get one scoop of ice cream. Previously I stated that the internet and the classroom are two of the biggest news sources. For us, let’s take a little of bit of each source and combine them. In seventh grade social studies, my peers and I watched the CNN Student News report every other Friday, provoking a short conversation about the topics covered. Continuing this tradition into high school or college would allow students to learn a little bit about the outside world every other week. Social studies teachers could select a controversial article off of popular news site, have students read alongside it, then discuss. Not only does this propose a way to increase the next generation’s news intake, but aides in social interaction and discussion skills utilized in an adult career. Maybe just ten minutes inspires a child to contribute to a cause for one step forward, or even join it for two. Then you act on it: create posters, present speeches, put it on the announcements, protest. Throughout history, we’ve propelled ourselves to change by protest and activism. Let’s think of The Civil Rights Movement, Gandhi’s salt march, the Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square: they reformed the Constitution, criticized the government, cut off the grip of Communism, exposed their country’s evil-doings. Those who lead took that knowledge and experience and transformed it into real change. Their actions have not only affected their nation. The American Revolution inspired slaves in the island of Haiti to turn the tide and demand freedom. The French stormed the largest prison in the country and cried “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” in the name of the citizen.
Works Cited
Fox, Laura. “Don’t shy away from ignorance. Use it to better yourself.” TED.com. TED Institute, July 2016. Web. 9 December 2016.
Mitchell, Amy, and Jeffrey Gottfried, Michael Barthel, and Elisa Shearer. “Pathways to news.” Pew Internet & American Life Project, July 7, 2016 Web. 10 December 2016.
Rosling, Hans, and Ola Rosling. “How to not be ignorant about the world.” TED.com. TEDSalon Berlin, September 2011. Web. 9 December 2016.
Studio12TV. “Global Education and Global Citizenship.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 3 January 2012. Web. 11 December 2016.
The Alex Jones Channel. “Mark Dice: America The Ignorant.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 27 June 2015. Web. 11 December 2016.
Non-print: https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_and_ola_rosling_how_not_to_be_ignorant_about_the_world?language=en
Non-print: https://youtu.be/Zikngm6cO6c
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