I am terrified when watching the news each night: the growing tensions and terrorisms, the conflicts and the chaos. It seems so foreign to me. It seems helpless and hopeless and so far removed from the world that I inhabit. I believe that people are essentially good, that they are not malicious or evilly inclined. It may be a naïve view of the world, but it allows me to sleep at night and makes me empathetic of those around me rather than suspicious. I’m certainly of the view that we are “all in this together,” and would stop to help someone on the street if they were in distress.
I saw a recent cartoon that showed a man sitting in front of a television that screamed “WHAT CAN WE DO TO LESSEN THE FEAR OF TERRORISM?!?!” and then showed this man turning off his TV set and appearing very pleased with his decision. Although I agree with this approach to a certain extent, the saying that came into my mind was “ignorance is bliss.” I am not sure that by simply switching off our televisions, we are actually making enough of a positive impact on the world… at least not in the sense of working towards a peaceful, harmonious future for humanity.
This morning, I had a Skype conversation with some teachers at an Indonesian “national plus” school, to try and arrange some collaboration between our classes. These are teachers who work with Indonesian students, but using an international curriculum, hopefully preparing them for international universities in the future. Like me, these teachers are educators of seven and eight year old students. We are peacemakers on a daily basis, but only in terms of solving classroom and school yard problems, generally: like someone not sharing their lego or taking someone else’s biscuits. The unit that we are hoping to collaborate through is based on values and beliefs. One of the teachers, Ibu Nury was concerned about the sensitive nature of the topic, and wanted to make sure that we could all proceed without offending anyone or making any students upset. It’s a very valid point, students of this age are developmentally just beginning to realise that they are not the centre of the universe. That there are people who may challenge the views that they have always taken as gospel (so to speak). What they have been taught, or have absorbed from their family environments is what they often believe to be factual, and it’s around this age that they begin to be challenged by other ideas, by other children who feel just as strongly about their own values and beliefs.
I believe that this collaboration is a great opportunity to allow these students to safely explore their values and beliefs in a supportive environment. If it’s done effectively, it could be the beginning of some students seeing the world from other perspectives. It will be brilliant to be a part of allowing these children to explore how Indonesian and Hong Kong cultures are very, very different, and not just from a religious point of view. But essentially, we are allowing eight-year-old children to connect.
My hope is that we can expose these children to completely different cultures, values, traditions and beliefs. If we do this well, it may allow them the opportunity to see that other perspectives can be very different, but can be equally right or important. That these varieties of perspectives can provide the diversity that makes this world wonderful. That we can co-exist harmoniously and peacefully side-by-side: that we don’t have to fight to show who is more powerful, more influential or more right. At eight years old, that’s a pretty powerful realization.
I believe, above all that it’s not just about tolerance, but understanding, acceptance and love of humanity – no matter where people are from, how they dress or who they pray to. Not hiding away, believing that ignorance is bliss. But exploring the concept that true understanding of other cultures, beliefs and people can show that knowledge is power, and that’s much more powerful than turning off the television any day of the week.
With this hope, and the strength of my own beliefs and values (that people are essentially good…) I hope I can be a little less terrified when I watch the news tonight, and see the death toll of the latest bombing. Or maybe I will turn the television off instead and go for a walk outside…
