Broadening our global perspective

What makes a problem important? Is it who’s involved or how much attention it gets? How do we find solutions when there is no one to listen or care?

Sometimes in high school, it’s hard to remember that a world lies beyond our four walls: A world where Instagram and Facebook updates are meaningless, gossip and drama are insignificant, and we are just one out of billions of people. Contrary to the common teenage belief, the world does not revolve around us.

Lawrence Woodmere Academy was fortunate enough to be visited last week by Boston University professor and LWA Global Education Adviser Carl Hobert, who taught students the importance of a global perspective.
Sophomores and juniors gathered in the school mezzanine, where they were divided into groups representing different people from developing nations. Their objective was to address or resolve issues facing those living in these developing nations.

Each group was given a hypothetical situation of dividing land among small groups of people, each of which had different motives. One scenario was post-genocide Rwanda, with student groups representing the different factions and tribes. Solutions were not as easy to come by. Deciding on a true solution took debate and compromise, and students soon discovered there was more than one perspective to an issue.

What satisfied the needs of one person did not always satisfy the needs of another. Students not only discussed their issues, but brought their solutions to life using Lego blocks to build cities and show how they would divide the land. Suddenly their negotiations were tangible, providing participants with the satisfaction of accomplishment.

Although the workshops ended by 3 p.m., and students resumed their lives of tweeting, texting and updating, the issues discussed could not be ignored. These issues are real, and what is perhaps even more real is our power to change them. Students walked away from the experience feeling a little more empowered than the day before.

At a time when it is way too easy for us to become absorbed in our own lives, we have to remember that there is life beyond our little bubble. Somewhere in another town or on another continent, people are facing problems that sometimes we cannot fathom or even relate to.

What we can relate to is the call for help and the ability we possess to give that help. In order to do so, we must pop our little bubbles, step out of our comfort zones, and gain exposure to the entire world, then hope that it is just a little better and a little brighter because we were in it.