A WORLD WE DARE TO IMAGINE - PART 1

I’m very glad to come across this assignment, because I really want to seek answers to these problems in a more active way.  In some social events, people just chat about these types of topics and as the conversation closes, everyone somehow magically feel a sense of mission but do nothing to improve the situation at the end.

I know simply answering this question in the form of a post does not make me any way better than the people I mentioned, but this is a new approach that I want to take and see if I will make some minor difference –even just raising more awareness in my mentality - by responding to the question in a more serious manner.

I had coffee with my mentor this Saturday and told him the recent conundrums I encounter - in my senior year, I felt my resistance to embrace new subjects in my life. And as an individual who constantly seeks growth and self-improvement, I become discontent of my recent laid-back attitude and actions. And during our conversation, my mentor told me it is probably time for me to branch out and think about bigger questions – things that matter for the sustainability of human beings, no longer just about my personal well-being.

These questions will matter. They are no longer things such as  “oh my, what am I getting for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner”, and then so on so forth, which drive me panic every day. Rather, these questions are going to be the key challenges/insights that will direct focus and effort. His words also remind me of the “fundamental truth” that Elon Musk mentioned in a Ted talk – seeking answers by avoiding relying on analogies or so-called “benchmarks”, but by digging the questions deep and fathoming to find the roots that cause certain phenomena and then devising solutions accordingly. This sounds easy, but most of the time, people just use other people’s solutions/ideas to save time/brainwork, ignorant of the nuanced situations they are faced with.

This conversation encourages me to think about something that matter, something that will make the world a better place, which coincidently matches with the attempt of the prompt. I did some research and brainstormed about the problems that human beings need to resolve:

·      Inequality

o   Gender

o   Wealth

§  Whether this is a problem per se is pending discussion

·      Health concerns

o   Obesity

o   Caused by pollution

§  Water

§  Air

o   HIV prevention

o   Cancer treatment

·      Transportation

o   Alternative energy

o   Alternative means of transportation

o   Connection

§  Intercontinental

§  Space

·      Education

o   Access

o   Quality

Every issue listed here, as I see it, is vital to be resolved if human beings were to realize sustainable development many centuries to come.

Education is my most interested topic, so I did more research in this field, finding that it has the biggest correlation with income inequality and the biggest contributing factor to income inequality. I had a sociology class in my freshman year, and after studying the topic to some depth, I realize every issue is intertwined. For instance, education inequality could result from the wealth inequality; inequality in wealth contributes to structural disadvantages that are imposed onto the underprivileged families, especially education, lending itself to complete a vicious cycle.

After deciding to focus on education, my next question is “what the major problems/obstacles are for underprivileged children to have a proper education”, and some bullets are listed below:

1. Access to knowledgeable teachers
2. Access to the Internet
3. Ambition/ motivation
4. Family environment

Across all the solutions proposed, I think MOOC is a viable and tangible way to implement towards mitigating the gap. It allows kids in the rural area, if we are looking at China particularly given its large size of uneducated population, to get exposure to world-class quality content and absorb knowledge that they choose. However, there are certain issues pertained with this solution. For instance, how to ensure children’s’ access to the Internet? How to ensure the infrastructure is set in place when starting to implement the plan? How to seek the government’s support? How to ensure the content is well digested by the kids? How to keep track of the progress?

These are just a few questions that could easily throw the solution off guard but they also mean that these social issues require more attention and consideration with practical  understanding of local environment.