Questionnaire

Questionnaire

1.      How much time do you spend texting; on social networking sites; watching TV; playing video games?

Approximately 5 hours, unevenly distributed.

2.      What would you like to change about the world?

I would like for everyone to have equal educational opportunities because it opens so many doors to a healthy life. With an unjust educational system, not everybody will be able to fulfil their potential in life. Children who live in other countries, other continents, have so much more enthusiasm for education and a far greater hunger for knowledge than many  in the UK – in other words, we take it for granted. A part of this is also about university fees. Wealth should not determine educational wellbeing because it is an irrelevant factor. Why should we pay so much more for knowledge than those before us?

Another thing that I would like to change about the world is the how many humans seem have an inability to accept individuality and distinctiveness. To be specific, homophobia is close to my heart. One of my best friends is gay and in previous years I have had to deal with discrimination from students at my old school and help him ignore these sly remarks and comments. Luckily they were few in number, but my old school was extremely good at dealing with these issues. At a less intolerant school, how would my friend have been affected? Would he still be the same person he is today? I don’t think so, and I believe this should be stopped.

3.      What power do you feel you have as an individual?

In my opinion, I have very little power. There are many things I can do to make small changes around me, but on a larger scale I feel it is extremely difficult for a girl of my age to make a real difference.

Voting with my feet is something I do have the power to do and I feel it is effective on a small level. However, just because I choose not to buy from PRIMARK, for example, will not, in my opinion, make any difference whatsoever on its own. Voting with my feet is almost entirely pointless – however, boycotting on a larger scale is not! Bigger things are needed for younger people to make a difference, in my opinion.

I don’t feel I have any say about government as I cannot yet vote. Voicing my opinions is pretty much irrelevant because it will not amount to anything.

In class, discussion about the Tibet immolations arose, and this is a clear demonstration of some of the extremes an individual has to go to in some countries to have their voices heard.

4.      What do you have plenty of?

-           Water and food – endless amounts

-          Opportunities – NHS, work, education etc.

-          Aspirations

-          Money – for necessities and enough spare for luxuries and pleasure

-          Love

-          Clothes

-          Shelter

-          Electricity

-          Time – life expectancy, I don’t have to work, as a child

-          Space

-          Privacy

When answering this question in class we needed to have a go at it twice because we mentioned topics like ‘aspirations’ and ‘love’ but often missed out the core things such as electricity, clothes and water. This proved to us how easy it is to take simple things for granted.

5.      What are you scarce of?

I am still looking for a weekend/evening job for money and therefore a greater range of leisure opportunities.

I often find I am scarce for time. Not on an average life expectancy scale, but in the present day. There is usually always some work to be done and, particularly at the start of the week, very little time to do it in.

6.      What are your ideals, what do you believe in?

My beliefs are in focus and enthusiasm for things; making an effort to create your own opportunities; everything happens for a reason; we are only humans: ANIMALS – we do not own the earth, we merely inhabit it.

7.      What could you do to make your ideals happen?

Campaign/create opportunities for others through collaborative creative projects. Promote enthusiasm in day-to-day life! Join marches to support environmental work, signing petitions. Protest – but there are many different types (further information can be found on my ‘Protest’ blog).

8.      What stops you from doing this?

Education commitments and work – time is important when you’re our age, and downtime is something I value and feel I use relatively constructively.

In my opinion, being young (and in my case, small) can hinder your potential to change things. I am often patronised in public places – which drives me up the wall - and I can imagine it would be the same, if not worse, in a place of government or high ethical value. Contacts and communication are difficult to attain when young and money is an issue as well, although admittedly none of these things are impossible.

Laziness and apathy does come in to it but I feel that we shouldn’t be blamed for this. At such a young age, we don’t always know nor do what’s best and so it can be difficult to fully know who you are, let alone what your views are. Access to the news is a part of it too and I feel that if current affairs and news information were a part of the national curriculum, students would understand far more about the world and find their voices more easily and confidently.

General knowledge news test

I managed to get 3/7 on the general news quiz, which I was rather proud of. I must admit there was only one answer that I felt relatively sure of, and had it not been multiple choices, I would not have got any answers at all. This inspired me to show a greater interest in the news, as I am only usually aware of the biggest headlines like the US election or the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Overall, this exercise, or test, helped me see the reality in how much time is available to me, and how I could use it more wisely and constructively.

When we went back to how many hours a day we spend texting and playing games etc, I felt it a little unfair that that time was regarded as wasted and apathetic. Watching TV, for example, does not mean you are wasting your time. In my opinion, television is an incredible source of learning and there are so many amazing things to be seen that can enlighten and enhance the human brain. Even watching a ‘Friends’ double bill would be educational for an aspiring comedian or TV comedy writer, as it broadens their horizons with regards to different types of writing and styles of comedy. I know that I myself am not a hopeful comedian, but I think that down-time is okay and necessary too!

On the other hand, I do agree that teenagers waste a lot of time online nowadays. A vast majority of the time I do spend on Facebook is not, I’ll admit, particularly constructive but it means I can socialise with people I wouldn’t otherwise see during the week. 12WRE has a Facebook group which I use daily to ask for and give others advice and help on college work. There are aspects of social networking that I think are truly amazing and, depending on who you follow on twitter and who your Facebook friends are, there can be some great literary aspects out there.

An interesting and inspiring task as well as a good ice breaker in a new class!