Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Pittsburg Shootings Accentuate Need for Education

The horrible events of Tuesday in a gym in Pittsburg point to the need for education that equips people for the real dilemma they will face in their lives. Two points that came immediately to mind when I read this shocking news of yet another example of people in our society resorting to such extreme measures is to shift the paradym in the way we educate our children in our society so that they: firstly, have a basic understanding of what a crisis looks like in real terms and can RECOGNIZE when they are being overtaken by depression, rage or any other negative state of mind; and secondly, so that they understand that we need to keep an eye on others in our community and engage with them and also recognize the precursors of a crisis in their lives as well.
I am sure there are those who will posit that it is genetics or some pre-ordained reality which is at the root of such terrible occurances. I don't dispute that these forces are at play. But let's not go to the other extreme of becoming so fatalistic that we are frozen in our tracks, unable to take the necessary action to turn the potential for these situations around.
How many times have we all heard from the people around us some variation of "what they taught me in school didn't prepare me for what I would encounter in the workplace"?
Nelson Mandela said recently that "nothing in the world is as powerful as education". If this is true, then we must use this most powerful tool at our disposal to build a balwark against the worst humans are capable of.
Eastern philosophy posits the concept that both good AND evil exist in every single human being.
When the conditions in the environment present themselves one of the two conditions become manifest. A practical example of this is that there are many cases of violent people, members of organized crime, gang members, etc who are loving family people - they exhibit genuine love for their children. We need to use education to help cultivate the good in people and minimize the evil.
In summary, we need to educate our children on matters of the human being as a whole as part of their basic education. It has been said that "it is the heart that is most important". And how much of our children's current curriculum are structured around the point which is most fundamental to how they will live their lives ? Far too little at present.

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