Arriving to a different country, learning in a different language and starting college are all new experiences in which I didn't know what to expect. So far the experiences have been satisfying. First week of college and I feel it has been more productive than a whole month in High School. I have obtained new knowledge from different sources; from books and articles to professors and blog discussions. Yet, my favorite method of learning so far has been the class discussions (which are a big part of my World Politics class).
Class discussions are more than just a way for everyone to express what they think and feel about a certain subject. They provide an opportunity to listen to other opinions and agree with them, question them, or challenge them with your own facts. For example, when discussing the book "The Truth About Awiti", while many people considered the immortality issue somewhat unnecessary for the story, others defended it. The important part was that everyone provided their own facts and logic to the subject, therefore widening everyone else's point of view. While the discussions are not about proving who is right or wrong, they are a great way of expressing the ideas and positions from each of the classmates and providing facts and logical reasoning. I look forward to many more class discussions, and hope to prepare myself accordingly. As I mentioned before, so far college has been a satisfying experience, and an opportunity to grow in knowledge and to question my personal convictions, which is the best way to strengthen them.
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There is a popular phrase that says "money is the root of all evil", but Plato said it was ignorance. What if he was right?
The most pressing global challenge at the moment is the lack of a education around the world. According to UNESCO, the global adult literacy rate was at 86% in 2016, meaning that only 14% of the adults in the world were illiterate. Yet this 14%, which represents 750 million adults, is concentrated in specific areas such as Southern Asia (49%) and sub-Saharan Africa (27%), while less than 2% of the global illiterate population represents regions such as Central Asia, Europe, Northern America, and Oceania. Coincidentally, the specific areas with less literacy have higher concentrations of the world's most pressing challenges. Some of these pressing challenges include, racism and discrimination, machismo, unnatural environmental change, wars and post war problems, terrorism and religious extremism, drugs, poverty, world hunger. Just by reading over them, these problems might seem a little more pressing than ignorance because their impacts on the global community are as visible as the branches on a tree. On the other hand, lack of education is not as visible because its impact can go unnoticed for years, just as the roots of a tree. This problems lies underneath all of the others because it grows slowly over time, and most of the other global issues develop from it. For example, with a proper and impartial education, it is possible to understand that we are all equal human beings who deserve respect, therefore racism and other forms of discrimination could be put aside. Education could pave the way for better behaviors towards the environment, and it has been used before (locally) as a mean of reducing extremist ideals, poverty due to lack of opportunities and the use of illicit drugs. While the answer might not be as simple as it sounds, taking into consideration that the ideal of offering a better education involves way more than a few fundraiser to build a school or two, it is an interesting option to be considered. More questions than answers might arise from this proposal, but finding solutions to the lack of education can become a powerful tool towards solving some of the world's most pressing global challenges. Source: unesco.org/Sep.2017/Literacy Rates. |
AlonsoI'm from Mexico City. I love cooking and eating Mexican food. Archives
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