A superficial first read of Victor Hugo’s statement: “He who opens a school door, closes a prison,” might lead one to surmise that the sole reason law offenders get convicted of crimes is lack of affordable and accessible education. On a thoughtful second read one cannot but unveil its couched feeble premise. Long before organised
It’s more than what you think
‘lonely and alone’. Depending on the circumstances, these words are sometimes used as synonyms for each other and often we mix up their actual meanings because we view them from a shallow perspective but I guess Jean Paul Sartre, understood that,when he wrote,’if you are lonely when you are alone,you are in bad company.’ Sometimes
Learning: A key that opens the door of Information and shuts the prison of Ignorance
I and my colleague have been teachers for five years before we decided to leave the teaching profession for a higher calling.We promised ourselves that we must do something different to really impact children and young people. We decided to embark on a project to help children and young people discover themselves under our Innovative
Loneliness in the youth of today in relation to social networking
Over time, as I was growing up, I have heard the sentence, “Today’s generation are going down a very lonely path.” Or rather, different variations of the sentiment. But why so? Is it the steadily increasing time we spend looking at a lit up screen? That we are slowly withdrawing from the outside world, and
Putting your child in a boat
Discuss the following excerpt from Warsan Shire’s poem Home: “you have to understand, that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land” An obvious option is to discuss this within the context of the poem and its related economic, political, humanitarian and spiritual drivers. Or,
I listen, therefore I am
There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says Sānsī ér hòu xíng, which literally translates to “three thoughts and after act“. In modern-day English, this can be interpreted as “think thrice before you act”. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. Often, especially when we
To Set A Precedent
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” -Martin Luther King Jr. in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” It is the precedent set by one that justifies the actions of thousands. This rather imperfect manner of thought has existed throughout the course of human history as made evident by horrendous events of injustices—the Holocaust, to name
Justice For All
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be
The Key-Board to Freedom
Victor Hugo suggests that education is liberating. In fact, his famous literary character, ex-convict Jean Valjean, learned from something totally foreign — the morals of Bishop Myriel. The indelible act of mercy that Bishop Myriel showed Valjean changed the projection of Valjean’s life permanently. Perhaps Hugo was thinking of Valjean when he said, “He who
Justice in Modern Society
Injustices seem to permeate every aspect of our daily lives. Cable news and social media platforms boardcast the injustices around the world, bringing the worse of our society before our eyes. We consequently became cynical, even pessimistic, about the future of our world when nothing seems just and fair. Martin Luther King Jr. serves as
Understanding and Replying
It is amazing, isn’t it, how much we speak, yet how little we listen. We want to be heard, yet refuse to hear; we want to be understood, yet refuse to understand. We think we know what others are saying, but deep down we know we don’t. We live in a tone-deaf world, a world
Breakdown the wall, Build a bridge
A few years back, there was one picture that touched many hearts; a single shot which showed numerous sad truths of our current world. It was a picture of a 4 years old Syrian child raising her little hands for a photographer. “Actually, I was using a telephoto lens, and she thought it was a
Everyone deserves a shot at becoming a success
Using the United States as a case study, the number of uneducated individuals incarcerated is incomparable to those that have an average level of formal education. In this context, “uneducated” refers to an individual that cannot read and write. According to the article US Prison System Plagued by High Illiteracy Rates (Observer, Michael Sainato, 17
To Eternally Strive: The Search For Justice
The words that stay with us the most tend to be imprecise. In his ‘Letter from the Birmingham Jail’, Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. says that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This is, in itself, pithy and memorable; the stark contrast between the two presented poles stands out in the memory in
The art of understanding
“You have to understand, No one puts their children in a boat, Unless the water is safer than land” – Warsan Shire. The first thing that came to mind when I read this were immigrants. Lately there’s wars sparking up everywhere in the world, and the one who suffers the most is the civilian
Refugees and Us
The journey from Syria to Europe takes weeks. During this period, from trafficker to trafficker, from violence to violence, from fear to fear, it would be your life, as you struggle from one region to the other, always on the run. During this period, you would experience the best of humanity, the worse of humanity,
Will Imparting Education Reduce Crime?
All societies are going down in terms of moral values. This decline in morality has caused an increase in crime rate. Violence, stabbings, murders, robbery and child abuses are daily occurrences today. Violent crime is widespread and it is growing faster. The number of inmates in prisons and juvenile homes is increasing. When we go
The Change Begins With You
“Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply”- Stephen R Covey. Do I agree? Yes. It’s something most of us often do without even realizing and I am no exception or at least that’s how I used to be up till a couple of years ago. I
I’m Scared, Ma
The gunshot echoed through the forest as Savitri and her little son, Nanda, hurried across the thick brush bordering the outskirts of the jungle. The sun was just rising in the eastern sky, as the golden rays shone on their grey coats. It was nearly ten minutes before Savitri decided to slow down, so that
My Everyday Hero
She was a great person. A three-time hero: a teacher, a search & rescue volunteer and my mum. I always come here to think. I don’t know what it is, staring down at the misty water from the cliffs above. It soothes me. No one comes here anymore so it’s always peaceful. All I can