Students remain unaware of current world issues
In the current day and age, staying updated is as easy as clicking a button. We can find out about the latest celebrity scandal and the trending songs and artists by simply checking TMZ or turning on the TV to E! News.
However, fewer and fewer teenagers are aware of the mass shootings, political mishaps and international crises just a few channels away.
Most students can associate twerking with Miley Cyrus and rattle off the names of the entire Kardashian family, yet are unable to describe the Ukrainian-Russian crisis or even point out Israel on a map.
After a summer of catastrophe that has left the international world in limbo, many remain stuck in their own world and oblivious to the devastating wars and mysterious plane crashes that surround them.
Ignorance doesn’t only lie with students; Americans in general are so absorbed with their own families and communities that they seldom take the time to inform themselves about world affairs.
Students may be aware of some global controversies, but they often are blind to the specifics of each issue.
For example, it is generally known that there is deadly conflict transpiring in the Middle East.
However, to some, that issue seems too distant to be relevant to their individual lives, so they disengage from keeping updated.
In reality, the recent flare in Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza is a product of the decades of violence and hatred between the rivaling countries.
This July, due to failed peace talks, a series of kidnappings and murders, and a blockade of Gaza Strip by both Egypt and Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, resulting in nearly 2,000 deaths.
By just reading a couple sentences about Gaza, your knowledge and awareness of the current issue can increase significantly.
If students just spent a few minutes a day reading or watching the news, they would become more educated citizens of our community, nation and world at large.
Thus, we could become a more perceptive generation able to adapt to and impact our surroundings.