Every day in my Drama class, I ask a “Question of the Day” for our attendance; this gives students a chance to share personal ideas, opinions, and experiences, and learn something new about their classmates. Of course, as they are teenagers, we get the odd funny comment that is just shared to make others laugh; other times, I get the most powerful, insightful comments that really take me aback.
On Wednesday our question was: What worries you about the world?
This is a broad question, and to each student it will mean something different; I did not know whether they would take a global approach, or just something in their personal lives that they stress about. Surprisingly, many answers were the same, and it was not so much shocking as it was eye-opening to the perceptiveness of kids and teenagers. What were their answers? There were about five answers, shared in different ways; there are 21 students in the class.
- Donald Trump
- Global warming
- The human race
- We are heading towards extinction
Let me just gather my jaw off the floor. At this age, they are already so perceptive of what is going on in the world today. Yes, it is a daunting place, but the last thing I want for my students is to lose hope in the world and start thinking their voice does not matter.
Their worries are real. Their worries are justified.
#1 spews words of hatred, racism, and segregation. That is not what we need in the world. We need, above all else, to work together in all communities and with all people, to change things for the common good of the Earth.
#2 is changing the world like we have never witnessed. Storms are stronger, droughts are more prevalent, sea levels are rising, and water temperatures are rising. Have a look at who is polluting the world. We all are. We can do something about OUR habits.
#3 did not surprise me either. Kids are perceptive to how humans treat each other. To how they treat the planet. To how they treat living things. To the greed of the world. To how many people live and think only for themselves and how to better their own lives, rather than thinking of the big picture. They get it. They see it. And this is what we are teaching them every day with our actions.
#4 is similar to #3. Again, greed and power control this world. Individual thinking. Segregation. Fences, walls, boundaries, borders. Me, my, and I. Not us, we, and ours.
#5….. What are we doing to give them hope? Do they think it is hopeless to do anything? To change anything? Do they think their voice is too small, their actions not valid? What are we doing to validate their thoughts, to help them achieve goals, to help them be strong in themselves and their thoughts?
If you have children of any age in your life, make sure you have discussions about the big things, and about what really matters in this life. They have ideas and opinions already, and we need to validate those. Teach them how to be a good person, and how to do good things for other people or other things; change your own habits and let them be a part of that. Show them that it is not hopeless, and share stories of individuals or groups of people that are leading the way of change, and how this is affecting the world. Show them that change is possible.
Remind them that one voice is not silent.