Make a Change
Have you ever seen one of those flash mobs on Youtube? I like the idea that you can make people aware and think about something with such a small act. The one below is to bring awareness to bullying but there are so many things in the world that you can help change for the better. These lessons will look at what you can do to make a real change in your world.
Flash mobs are one way but you have more likely heard of protests. Some can get violent like in Hong Kong but you can also have peaceful ones like this one here. The mum said her kid was scared and asked the protestors to keep it down. Their answer was to sing Baby Shark.
I want you to first think about your local area. What are some of the issues people face in your area?
Here are some ideas.
Health care - recently there has been in the news that some areas get better health than others. Or you can look into how race or socioeconomic status has any bearing on the kind of health care someone receives.
Technology - The Human Rights commissions say everyone should have access to the internet but what happens when you live in an area without broadband or you come from a low socioeconomic background. This disparity can have a significant outcome for some people. There are also issues around technology making jobs redundant and the rising unemployment rate.
Demographics - I've already mentioned how socioeconomics can cause issues but there is also gender and race that often have a significant impact on what conditions people live in.
Inclusivity - This is particularly prevalent in schools as there are often people who feel on the outside. What impact does this have and are there ways to fix this?
Sustainability - Global warming is a fact of life but there are many compounding factors to it and sustainability and the environment are some of them. What are we doing to our world and what impact does it have on the people and the environment?
Housing - Not only are there not enough houses for the growing population but the existing houses are often unliveable. Housing Crisis is a word often heard in politics. How are we being affected?
Education - Of course in a school this is important but there are many factors. Is everyone getting the same quality of education? Is anyone being left behind? Why are Maori Boys so disadvantaged in our current schooling system and what be done to change that?
Infrastructure - With aging infrastructure this will soon become a serious issue in all places. What are councils doing to fix this? Even at a school-level look at the infrastructure and see if there is enough funding to adequately deliver the curriculum with our current infrastructure.
Social Media - What impact is this having on people? Should we be letting influencers decide for us what things we use and accept? Social media has a serious negative effect and yet it is the core of many people's lives.
Once you have decided on an issue you would like to study and eventually help improve you can start your social inquiry.
If you want to look into the origins of social inquiry you can check it out here.
What questions can you ask to get to the core of this issue? Try coming up with a few and checking with your teacher to see if they will lead you where you want to go. Also check out here how to ask open-ended questions.
Now you need data. Look for statistics and primary sources. If there aren't any then you need to create a survey and collect the data yourself. See what the experts say on this and what they believe are the causes and the solutions to these issues.
Write up your findings and present it.
Now you can plan a social action.