There is hope for humanity.
I can feel it and I hope you can feel it too. It’s not easy. It takes time and effort. But its possible to see a wonderful future, despite the news reports on television, the gossip in our newspapers, and the verbose prophecies of doom in our grand institutions of higher learning.
There is a great deal of hope for the days ahead and strangely, this thought originates from a document I discovered this week. It is a United Nations document entitled Education 2030: A guide for ensuring inclusion and equity in eduction.
I agree.
The title needs a bit of work. It sounds very stiff and uninviting. I almost didn’t read it, as I prefer to dwell among great novels and spend my time listening to podcasts and audio books.
But this is an important step for humanity. This UN document deals with and pro ports the idea that we are all important.
You and I. Us and them. All of us. Without exception.
It begins with the assumption that we are all gifted. Have have many talents no matter where we come from, what the colour of our skin, who we worship, or what difficulties and disabilities we struggle with and face.
We are all equal, but we are not the same.
Equal. No one is better than anyone else, but that is not to say some of us don’t realize more of our potential than others. Some people just choose to be miserable. They elect to be stuck in a wold they can rave and get angry over. We are all equal, but we are not the same.
There is a bright future for our children and our children’s children. Despite the many problems and conflicts we see everywhere in the world. Despite the mass produced bullets, the many diseases, and the unfairness of some things, I can’t recall another time in human history when we were so connected to one another. I can’t recall another time when we discussed as a human race how to better educate our children.
Education was once reserved for the elite.
Monks and the royal families learned to read a write. Later, education was systematized, with the coming of the industrial age, in order to create great competent workers. And so here we are. We still have a long way to go to realize and actualize our human destiny, but I think we are at the beginning of something great.
Every human being has great potential, and I believe the days of standards and crawling your way to the top are slowly decaying. “Inclusion and equity are overarching principles that should guide all educational policies, plans and practices, rather than being the focus of a operate policy” (18). This is very important. We need to be united and understanding of everyone. This message has to seep into every aspect of education, and as a matter of fact it has to seep into every aspect of everything.
We can’t pick and choose.
We can’t pick men over women. Handsome over functional. Rich over poor. Yellow over purple. Straight over gay. Buddhist over Hindu. English over French.
A teacher’s role needs to change. How we view ourselves has to change.
I think we have to stop seeking instruction, and look for guidance instead.
We need more dialogue and a lot less debate.
There is no reason to be right, because it’s never been easier to adjust your course and change.
I awake this morning with a great deal of hope for humanity.
I’ve always felt it, but now I see it in places I never thought I would.
I hope you have faith in humanity too.
I hope you have faith and hope in yourself.
Cover photo generously provided by photographer Zac Durant via unsplash.com
