Category: Education

Reality TV is not all evil. But it certainly has warped our sense of what reality is. Consider Dragon’s Den. We see a 30 second pitch followed by a decision made in a minute or two. Someone watching the show religiously might be tempted to think that a judgment about a business idea can be as quick. It’s easy to ignore and forget the hours spent interviewing the entrepreneur prior to the show and the hours, possibly days or weeks of due diligence after a deal is struck.

There is very little of reality in reality TV. The edited dialogue, the dramatic turns, the quick images only give us the perception of experiencing reality. We feel that we are experiencing the real thing when in fact we are being fed digestible biscuits. There may be nothing wrong with getting the highlights, but seriously, let’s not mistake the news for the whole story or the appetizers for the whole meal.

Then there is the other kind of “reality” TV where every inane pointless detail about people’s lives are documented for the public to see. It’s like Robert McKee says in his book Story,

The weakest possible excuse to include anything in a story is: “But it actually happened.” Everything happens; everything imaginable happens. Indeed, the unimaginable happens. But story is not life in actuality. Mere occurrence brings us nowhere near the truth. What happens is fact, not truth. Truth is what we think about what happens.”

Extending that thought, the quality of the thinking will determine the quality of the truth. Not all truths are equal just as some stories are mediocre and other stories are masterpieces that transcend time and culture.

The illusion of reality TV – reality as highlights or reality in its minutia – arise from the same fundamental challenge: mortals are not omniscient. Consequently we have to choose what is significant to pay attention to. If we don’t choose, we have it chosen for us… by our family, our friends, our society.

Reality TV shows are produced to entertain us. We can gossip about who so and so did or laugh at the dalliances of the rich and famous or go on adventures of ordinary people. Entertainment is fine, but what if it is at the expense of other more significant aspects of reality? What if there are global economic forces at work or growing water shortages or wars resulting indirectly from our lifestyle? These realities have more impact on us than who was kicked out in last night’s show, yet we avoid it and deny it. We barely register its knocking at the door while the TV is on.

We have other things to be worried about of course. We have groceries to buy, dinner to cook, work to be done, friends to socialize with, and fun to be had. Unfortunately not being interesting or not caring doesn’t eliminate our ignorance.

So what to do?

Part of the answer lies in creating our own “Significant Reality TV Show”. Our time is limited. We can’t learn everything. We can, however, tap into our deep caring and curiosity of the world and find more meaningful channels to take in. What if we created our own comprehensive basic cable channel that brought into our lives thoughtful, caring, wise authors, journalists, artists, scientists, politicians? It’d be like TED.com on steroids. Imagine how connected we all would be to reality.

Unfortunately, my brain is not yet trained to feed on healthy stories all the time. I like my action movies and occasional CSI episode. I am comfortable in my denial of reality, and society conspires to help me in my denial. Nevertheless, I know it’s possible to develop a taste for the significant and the meaningful. Bruce Lee once said,

It’s like drinking fine wine, one acquires a taste for it. One does not acquire a taste for watered down wine.

Chris Hsiung
U Venture
Better Life… Better Business
uventure.net

Growing up in an Asian immigrant family, I learned to value education, which meant that doing well in school was a minimum requirement of being a good son. In other words while other kids got cash rewards for getting over 70% on their report card, my reward was that I was not punished if I got over 80%. Consequently, I learned, even if originally out of fear, to be disciplined in my studies. I learned that if I studied hard, thought hard, worked hard, I could achieve excellence. And this attitude has served me well.

Schooling, however, is not the same as education. Years later, most adults will admit that school was not all that useful in helping us deal with the ever-changing challenges of life. We may rationalize what we learn. Didn’t we learn basic language and arithmetic skills? Didn’t we learn to “stick” with it?

There is no doubt that learning basic skills and knowledge is necessary, but let’s pause for a moment and ask, what are we educating kids for?

If we are training people to be good, obedient employees to work in corporations to improve the economy, then the conformity demanded by large classrooms and standardized tests certainly meet the task. Often the goal of education is to cram as much information as possible into the students’ head and thereby keep them from exercising their own judgment muscle. As Ken Low would say, “Schools teach kids the need to be taught.” (This quote originally came from Ivan Illich, an educational critic).

On the flip side, focusing on the kids’ desires and wishes and letting them do whatever they want without guidance is irresponsible. These kids, distracted and undisciplined in their thinking, are unable to exercise their powers. Worse, if they’ve been cocooned in a bubble-wrapped playroom to keep them “happy”, then they learn that everything comes easily and everything bows to their whims, when life rarely does either.

If the goal of education is to develop ethical thinkers who take on the responsibility of creating a better future for humanity in an uncertain and dangerous world, schools have to equip kids the time, space, and guidance to learn how to learn. Certainly, they can’t be expected to do it all. Nevertheless, they are an important part of a person’s education. John W. Gardner, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Lyndon, puts it succinctly:

“The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursuing his own education. This will not be a widely shared pursuit until we get over our odd conviction that education is what goes on in school buildings and nowhere else. Not only does education continue when schooling ends, but it is not confined to what may be studied in adult education courses. The world is an incomparable classroom, and life is a memorable teacher for those who aren’t afraid of her.”

Self-Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society

Don’t misunderstand me. I have had some amazing teachers who opened my thinking and sense of wonder. There are many who strive to do what they can within a system. However, the rapid and accelerating changes taking place around the world demands a higher level of education that develops the character and capacities of the individual such that they will be able to figure out what needs to be done.

Is this even possible? Start with these books by – Erin Gruwell and Deborah Meier – and you’ll believe it is possible.

by
Chris Hsiung BSc. CPCC
U Venture
uventure.net

Chris Hsiung is the president of U Venture, a consulting practice that helps entrepreneurs and professionals develop their adaptive learning capacities to navigate uncertain times and build meaningful life ventures. He graduated with distinction from the University of Calgary in Electrical Engineering and is an internationally certified coach through the Coaches Training Institute (CTI). He is also a student and teacher of curriculum at Leadership Calgary and at Momentum.