This post is part of a series by my students at Mississippi Governor’s School. As a final project, they were challenged with creating an idea that could be used on a massive scale to help others live the good life.
I’ve received some important knowledge from this philosophy class over the past few weeks. We began by learning about the individual and what actually defines a person. It took me a couple of days, but I soon realized there isn’t a lot separating individuals from each other unless you include their perspectives. Everyone in our class had a different perspective on what defines an object, what death will bring, and how to find true happiness. As we moved away from individual philosophy and into small group philosophy, the diversity of perspectives presented a problem. It became increasingly difficult to choose a “correct” ethical code for a small society because people had drastically different opinions about what was most important in their lives. Opinions differed on whether justice or relationships, compassion or logic, virtue or intentions should be more prominent in society. Then we moved to a global scale. There is no way to satisfy every individual in a global society, yet that is what humanity hopes to achieve. I believe the best way to attain the goal of global satisfaction derives through acceptance, so I devised a simple plan to begin global acceptance.
Rural Schools for Acceptance
Aim: 1.) give children and teens in rural locations an opportunity to experience the same type of acceptance as kids in more developed locations 2.) eliminate prejudices against minorities 3.) educate kids on the harmful effects of bullying, types of bullying, and prevention of bullying 4.) provide a safe and welcoming environment for ANYBODY
Plan: 1.) develop a club in the schools that will evolve into a community foundation 2.) establish a location in the rural community where ANYBODY is welcome 3.) rely on the talents of the students to develop videos, projects, and fundraisers to support the project
*My end goal will be to develop an organization that can provide money to rural schools so they can buy special anti-bullying computer software. Software such as Sprigeo allows kids to easily connect with school officials at anytime to report bullying. Most software of this type costs about $800 per year.
