Friday
was a humbling day. It was the last day of my school's homecoming week which
meant it was filled with our school colors: blue and gold. But for fifty
minutes, I forgot all about South spirit, and remembered just how lucky I am
not only to attend such an incredible high school but also how lucky I am to
attend school at all.
My
history teacher chose to show us a video that had gone viral the night before.
It was a clip of Malala Yousafzai leaving comedian John Stewart speechless.
Malala is a sixteen year old girl who, at fourteen, was shot in the head by the
Taliban in Pakistan for attending school and advocating for a girl’s right to
education. Her stunning quote was in response to how she would react if the
Taliban came after her.
I will tell him how important education is and that 'I
even want education for your children as well.' And I will tell him, 'That's
what I want to tell you, now do what you want.'
From that statement, it’s obvious why she’s a candidate
for the Nobel Peace Prize. While unfortunately, she didn’t win this year, on
Friday she was still the face of the UN’s International Day of the Girl. This
year, fitting with Malala, the theme of the day was girls and education. I’ve
heard statistics like how 20% of school-age girls aren’t attending school, and
heard the stories of girls who travel miles upon miles to get to school every
day, but they’re unimaginable where I live. But after seeing Malala and putting a face to
a problem, I’m beginning to realize the real importance of education and I’m
beginning to see my own childhood in a new light.
I’ll admit, I’m a complainer when it comes to school. I
get stressed out when tests and projects pile up, and I wish sometimes I didn’t
have to deal with it at all. But now I think to myself – what about those
millions of girls worldwide without this chance? How would they feel when I, a
girl almost done with my secondary education and with collegiate studies at my
fingertips, take my opportunity for granted? I’m sure many girls who have had
to drop out of school after only completing eighth grade to work on farms or in
factories would line up to write my papers.
So
what can I do? For one, I plan to finish senior year and maximize my education
here. I’ll do what I can to whine less about homework, I’ll gently remind my
peers of what life could be like, I will continue fundraising to keep kids
in school, and I'll think of Malala.
Cia♀,
Charlie
Cia♀,
Charlie
photo courtesy of http://tschitchat.blogspot.com
"I’m sure many girls who have had to drop out of school after only completing eighth grade to work on farms or in factories would line up to write my papers." My absolute favorite line. Puts all of our petty complaints into perspective.
ReplyDeleteRosie, I agree with many of your sentiments about education and how we should have a deeper appreciation for what we have. But, I think that we castigate students in our system too easily. Horus Mann once said, "a teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron." Knowing this I think we should understand that as students we may very well be limited by those who teach us. After all, we can't all be Malala.
ReplyDeleteTo a degree, I understand your perspective, but especially today, I think that we are much less limited by those who teach us. Especially given that we have the internet and all its information at our disposal, learning is becoming far easier, even if the person who teaches us isn't the best teacher possible. Really, it all comes down to how much you want to learn. If you do want to learn the material, and if you do appreciate how lucky you are to have those opportunities, then learning should be possible. And I think that's the point of this post -- not to chastise people for not learning, but to remember how lucky we are to have all those resources.
DeleteThanks for sharing, Charlie! I can relate to you when it comes to frequently stressing over school work, especially in terms of projects and tests. What I like about this post, however, is that you recognize your flaws and plan to take action. Malala is an inspiration to us all, and we should keep her in mind when we take our education for granted. I think it would be interesting if you did a follow up to this post in a few months and see where you're at in terms of maximizing your education and keeping perspective in mind in terms of how fortunate we are to have such wonderful education at our fingertips.
ReplyDelete