How do we talk about issues that matter?

In order to talk about issues that matter, you must first acknowledge what matters to you. I think that before we can decide the things we believe matter, we must first educate ourselves as much as we can so we can have a reasoned opinion. I personally don’t like to speak on things I don’t know about, but I feel like that is often how most information gets passed around, whether true or false. Everyone should be a learner at all times, but our progress moves backwards when we choose to share false information. When we understand what’s going on around us, we can then educate others around us. I feel like the best learning appears in everyday situations when we can learn from anyone, maybe a stranger you’ll only see once or maybe from a good friend. This kind of knowledge you acquire is learned in a respectful exchange, with the learner holding respect for the teacher and listening to them thoughtfully, and the person teaching sharing something they see as important. This is how we begin to talk about things that matter, by listening to each other and being passionate about the things we’ve learned and see to be important. When we can have conversations about real life things that real people experience, we are opening our ears and minds to an honest and needed discussion. When we choose to ignore something when it doesn’t affect us, we are limiting our knowledge and potential to bring changes to these issues, as well as losing compassion for our communities, which, in my opinion, is one of the most important virtues to maintain when attempting to educate our students.