Look Up. I have 422 friends, yet I am lonely. I speak to all of them everyday, yet none of them really know me. The problem I have sits in the spaces between, looking into their eyes, or at a name on a screen. I took a step back, and opened my eyes, I looked around, and then realised that this media we call social, is anything but when we open our computers, and it’s our doors we shut. All this technology we have, it’s just an illusion, of community, companionship, a sense of inclusion yet when you step away from this device of delusion, you awaken to see, a world of confusion. A world where we’re slaves to the technology we mastered, where our information gets sold by some rich greedy bastard. A world of self-interest, self-image, self-promotion, where we share all our best bits, but leave out the emotion. We are at our most happy with an experience we share, but is it the same if no one is there. Be there for you friends, and they’ll be there too, but no one will be, if a group message will do. We edit and exaggerate, we crave adulation, we pretend we don’t notice the social isolation. We put our words into order, until our lives are glistening, we don’t even know if anyone is listening. Being alone isn’t the problem, let me just emphasize, that if you read a book, paint a picture, or do some exercise, you are being productive, and present, not reserved or recluse, you’re being awake and attentive, and putting your time to good use. So when you’re in public, and you start to feel alone, put your hands behind your head, and step away from the phone. You don’t need to stare at your menu, or at your contact list, just talk to one another, and learn to co-exist. I can’t stand to hear the silence, of a busy commuter train, when no one wants to talk through the fear of looking insane. We’re becoming unsocial, it no longer satisfies to engage with one another, and look into someone’s eyes. We’re surrounded by children, who since they were born, watch us living like robots, and think it’s the norm. It’s not very likely you will make world’s greatest dad, if you cant entertain a child without a using an iPad. When I was a child, I would never be home, I’d be out with my friends, on our bikes we would roam. We’d ware holes in our trainers, and graze up our knees; we’d build our own clubhouse, high up in the trees. Now the parks are so quiet, it gives me a chill to see no children outside and the swings hanging still. There’s no skipping or hopscotch, no church and no steeple, we’re a generation of idiots, smart phones and dumb people. So look up from your phone, shut down that display, take in your surroundings, and make the most of today. Just one real connection is all it can take, to show you the difference that being there can make. Be there in the moment, when she gives you the look, that you remember forever, as when love overtook. The time you first hold her hand, or first kiss her lips, the time you first disagree, but still love her to bits. The time you don’t need to tell hundreds, about what you’ve just done, because you want to share the moment, with just this one. The time you sell your computer, so you can buy a ring, for the girl of your dreams, who is now the real thing. The time you want to start a family, and the moment when, you first hold your baby girl, and get to fall in love again. The time she keeps you up at night, and all you want is rest, and the time you wipe away the tears, as your baby flees the nest. The time your little girl returns, with a boy for you to hold, and the day he calls you granddad, and makes you feel real old The time you take in all you’ve made, just by giving life attention, and how your glad you didn’t waste it, by looking down at some invention. The time you hold your wife’s hand, and sit down beside her bed you tell her that you love her, and lay a kiss upon her head. She then whispers to you quietly, as her heart gives a final beat, that she’s lucky she got stopped, by that lost boy in the street. But none of these times ever happened, you never had any of this, When you’re too busy looking down, you don’t see the chances you miss. So look up from your phone, shut down those displays, we have a finite existence, a set number of days. Why waste all our time getting caught in the net, as when the end comes, nothing’s worse than regret. I am guilty too, of being part of this machine, this digital world, where we are heard but not seen. Where we type and don’t talk, where we read as we chat, where we spend hours together, without making eye contact. Don’t give in to a life where you follow the hype, give people your love, don’t give them your like. Disconnect from the need to be heard and defined Go out into the world, leave distractions behind. Look up from your phone, shut down that display, stop watching this video, live life the real way.
Look Up is a spoken word for the “online” generation. Written, performed and directed by Gary Turk, it is an extremely important life lesson for our youth. Children are growing up in a world where they don’t play outside or communicate with their friends. It seems today everything is done via text message or over the internet. It’s heartbreaking… I feel guilty myself. We need to spread this message before it’s too late. Please do your part and SHARE it with everyone you know. Many of you have been asking me for the words to 'Look Up', so here they are! Feel free to share. Gary.
Look Up. I have 422 friends, yet I am lonely. I speak to all of them everyday, yet none of them really know me. The problem I have sits in the spaces between, looking into their eyes, or at a name on a screen. I took a step back, and opened my eyes, I looked around, and then realised that this media we call social, is anything but when we open our computers, and it’s our doors we shut. All this technology we have, it’s just an illusion, of community, companionship, a sense of inclusion yet when you step away from this device of delusion, you awaken to see, a world of confusion. A world where we’re slaves to the technology we mastered, where our information gets sold by some rich greedy bastard. A world of self-interest, self-image, self-promotion, where we share all our best bits, but leave out the emotion. We are at our most happy with an experience we share, but is it the same if no one is there. Be there for you friends, and they’ll be there too, but no one will be, if a group message will do. We edit and exaggerate, we crave adulation, we pretend we don’t notice the social isolation. We put our words into order, until our lives are glistening, we don’t even know if anyone is listening. Being alone isn’t the problem, let me just emphasize, that if you read a book, paint a picture, or do some exercise, you are being productive, and present, not reserved or recluse, you’re being awake and attentive, and putting your time to good use. So when you’re in public, and you start to feel alone, put your hands behind your head, and step away from the phone. You don’t need to stare at your menu, or at your contact list, just talk to one another, and learn to co-exist. I can’t stand to hear the silence, of a busy commuter train, when no one wants to talk through the fear of looking insane. We’re becoming unsocial, it no longer satisfies to engage with one another, and look into someone’s eyes. We’re surrounded by children, who since they were born, watch us living like robots, and think it’s the norm. It’s not very likely you will make world’s greatest dad, if you cant entertain a child without a using an iPad. When I was a child, I would never be home, I’d be out with my friends, on our bikes we would roam. We’d ware holes in our trainers, and graze up our knees; we’d build our own clubhouse, high up in the trees. Now the parks are so quiet, it gives me a chill to see no children outside and the swings hanging still. There’s no skipping or hopscotch, no church and no steeple, we’re a generation of idiots, smart phones and dumb people. So look up from your phone, shut down that display, take in your surroundings, and make the most of today. Just one real connection is all it can take, to show you the difference that being there can make. Be there in the moment, when she gives you the look, that you remember forever, as when love overtook. The time you first hold her hand, or first kiss her lips, the time you first disagree, but still love her to bits. The time you don’t need to tell hundreds, about what you’ve just done, because you want to share the moment, with just this one. The time you sell your computer, so you can buy a ring, for the girl of your dreams, who is now the real thing. The time you want to start a family, and the moment when, you first hold your baby girl, and get to fall in love again. The time she keeps you up at night, and all you want is rest, and the time you wipe away the tears, as your baby flees the nest. The time your little girl returns, with a boy for you to hold, and the day he calls you granddad, and makes you feel real old The time you take in all you’ve made, just by giving life attention, and how your glad you didn’t waste it, by looking down at some invention. The time you hold your wife’s hand, and sit down beside her bed you tell her that you love her, and lay a kiss upon her head. She then whispers to you quietly, as her heart gives a final beat, that she’s lucky she got stopped, by that lost boy in the street. But none of these times ever happened, you never had any of this, When you’re too busy looking down, you don’t see the chances you miss. So look up from your phone, shut down those displays, we have a finite existence, a set number of days. Why waste all our time getting caught in the net, as when the end comes, nothing’s worse than regret. I am guilty too, of being part of this machine, this digital world, where we are heard but not seen. Where we type and don’t talk, where we read as we chat, where we spend hours together, without making eye contact. Don’t give in to a life where you follow the hype, give people your love, don’t give them your like. Disconnect from the need to be heard and defined Go out into the world, leave distractions behind. Look up from your phone, shut down that display, stop watching this video, live life the real way.
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Children force us to acknowledge realities that many of us can and would chose to ignore. How is it that I regularly hurry past the homeless, hoping to avoid interacting, while my son intentionally slows down and registers that there is a human being in need right there in front of him? After I give my son change to put in the donation cup, we walk away and he asks me, "Why can’t we do more to help her?"
Young people are uniquely positioned to recognize injustice and question dominant paradigms. When she was younger, my daughter described the skin of the people that she knew as part of a spectrum of light brown, medium brown, or dark brown. My partner and I hesitated to provide her with our society's accepted terminology to describe race. Why teach her to replicate a system of racial separation that oppresses millions? Fortunately, the place where she did learn the terms "black" and "white" was a progressive school committed to empowering children to combat and undo racism. Such education aims to hold onto the child's innate ability to see the world differently, while arming her with the historical and cultural knowledge to name injustice and fight it. In our society, it is widely believed that because young people lack experience, they aren't smart, capable, or insightful. (These beliefs are often referred to as young people's oppression or adultism.) In reality, young people share the fresh perspective of children and are able to develop deep understandings, make intellectual connections, and take action in ways that adults often can't or won't. For school to matter, students must be given opportunities to engage with the world around them and ask questions about issues that are often ignored or overlooked. The most important and meaningful way for students to engage is by reflecting on their experiences, learning about our society, and envisioning and working for social change. A Classroom Example Recently, I was inspired by the work of a group of students in one of my 12th grade classes. The four students were planning a lesson to teach to a sixth grade class at a nearby middle school. Over several days, I had conversations with them as their ideas slowly evolved. Their initial idea of a lesson about LGBT rights was a good one that they seemed excited to pursue. "How can you design the lesson in a way that will challenge the sixth graders to think in new ways?" I asked them. "How will you frame the discussion?" Several consultations later, they had designed a powerful lesson. They planned to begin by showing some images from the civil rights movement and then asking the younger students to share their knowledge and insights about this period of history. Then they would share information about the Stonewall riots in 1969 and present the movement for LGBT rights as an example of a current, continuing human rights struggle. Finally they would ask the sixth grade students to use their knowledge of social movements to identify strategies that could be used effectively by the LGBT community and allies. My 12th grade students were excited about and empowered by the lesson they had designed -- it was an opportunity for them to focus on the world they want. I was worried when, on the day of the scheduled lesson, I had to miss school because my son was home sick. It turned out that my students were so committed to what they had designed and so empowered by the idea of stepping into the role of teachers that they took care of the final details themselves, taught the lesson, and then entertained me at home with emails about their success and exclamations about how much they had enjoyed teaching. I share this story as an example of students excited about, inspired by, and dedicated to their work. The assignment allowed for student choice and encouraged groups to choose topics they felt passionate about. The structure integrated an authentic audience. Providing students with an opportunity to pursue justice by doing work that had meaning in the world led to deep engagement and ownership of the process. Focus on Justice Thoughtfully and Passionately There is a danger that a focus on injustice can leave students feeling overwhelmed without feeling empowered to act. For this reason, curriculum should be designed around ideas of creation, change, agency, and empowerment. My colleagues at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia have inspired me with examples of science classes studying the politics of food and working in a local community garden, math classes investigating the different costs of groceries in different neighborhoods, history classes creating walking tours of people's history, Spanish classes studying art and social change, and English classes creating publications for and by teens. Powerful learning experiences examine the flawed world we know while moving toward creating the world of our dreams. Giving students permission and encouragement to do this work leads to engagement and empowerment of young people while giving them opportunities to do real, necessary work. The most important work teachers can do is to create experiences that help students understand themselves, their potential as intellectuals, and their power as agents in the world. Looking for ways to help students appreciate cultural diversity, build awareness about global issues, and develop global competence? Explore these resources for ideas on bringing global dimensions into the classroom. Resources by Topic:
Fostering Global Competence
Global Classroom Strategies
Global Student Leadership and Service
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