Last Friday I had the opportunity to speak to a Year 8 English class about current affairs. I asked them to tell me what was happening in the world at present. They thought for a moment and then one student said, ‘Latrell Mitchell had a fight with Jack Wighton". Now, I had heard of Latrell Mitchell but not of the other person mentioned. I assumed he was also a rugby league player of note. Others in the class then nodded and said they had seen some footage of the pair on social media being escorted away by the police. I then asked the class had they heard about the earthquake which had hit Turkey and Syria causing incredible loss of life and destruction. Only two raised their hands. I asked them if they could locate Turkey or Syria on a map of the world and again there was silence.

On the same day I showed my Year 12 English class a poignant photograph taken days before of a man sitting alone on a pile of rubble that was once his home and holding the hand of his dead 15 year-old daughter. The man’s name was Mesut Hancer and his daughter, Irmak. We discussed the notion of perspective and commented on our own worlds where issues such as ‘COVID fatigue’ and disconnection as well as upcoming assessment tasks and study seemed somewhat ‘small’ in the scheme of things.

While we live in a context saturated with information, noise, and constant stimuli, our knowledge of the world is dramatically shrinking. Another critical dimension which is disappearing is our language. We are losing the ability to use words confidently and competently to communicate, to question, to create, to speculate and to think. Knowledge of the world and a rich vocabulary are essential for learning and for life. They allow us to look beyond self and to imagine what life may be like for others in different circumstances. Our current situation calls for radical acts such as reading books, writing stories, watching the news and turning off devices. Our young people particularly need to broaden their horizons and learn about themselves and the world around them beyond Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

Clare Murphy

English Coordination and Literacy Instructional Coach