Unit 2: Take the gap! Turning challenges into opportunities

an election year, similar to a lot of the rhetoric that is going on right now. The idea came. Why can’t we listen to these kids? Why aren’t they being amplified? Why are we listening to all these negative things? So we thought, “What if a kid were president and that kid was Robby?” It became a good recipe for fun and making a difference.

Did you have any idea it would ever get this big? Robby: No. We had no idea. Brad: Zero. We’re still scratching our heads.

Have you had a moment when it hit you just how huge it is? Brad: Every day. Robby: Meeting the President! It was the Oval Office! Brad: Not only had the President seen something we made – he laughed and invited us in. One of my favorite moments though, we were on an airplane and some kids recognized us and were taking pictures and this older man was beside us. He said, “I noticed some people were really excited to talk to you. What do you do?” I told him we make videos on the internet about kids and grown ups working together to make the world better. He told me he had something I should check out and showed me pictures of his granddaughters taking things to the homeless shelter and talking about how they came up with doing “Socktober.” I was like, “That was us! That’s our thing! They’re doing this because of us!” I just wanted to explain to him but I just sat there with a big grin saying it was a great idea. It was a huge gift to see that sometimes people don’t know where the idea is coming from and it doesn’t matter. As long as people are doing good.

Have you had any other starstruck encounters? Robby: I’d say Beyonce. I was like nine when that happened. Brad: He can’t say her name now without going off into a daze. It will say there was more security to meet her than the president. What was a great moment with her was after we’d finish and I’d say it was great, she looked over at me and said, “Was that okay?” I couldn’t believe it. You’re Beyonce! You tell me! Every person does that. It’s a great thing; we see celebrities but they’re still people who need to know they’re okay.

Have people been that way with you? Robby: Someone asked me, “Do you have a name?” Brad: He was asked who the most famous person he met was in another interview and his answer was great. Robby: Everybody’s famous to somebody.

How did you start including activism in the Kid President videos? Brad: We hear a statistic that one in five children don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and that’s in the United States. A grown up may just hear the numbers and think how sad it is. A kid hears it and they may feel sad but –Robby: But they want to fix it. Let’s put a stop to that. Brad: We happen to make videos so that’s been our gift that we’ve been able to use to be a part of this – to tell the story that one in five children go hungry. We’ve worked with partners who provide food. That’s activism.

Can you talk about this current project? Brad: It’s the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. Before this, we had been doing a lot of meal packings that addressed hunger on a global scale. We’d pack more than 100,000 meals and send them for over five years. More than half a million meals. Robby: At school, you have to pay for lunch, and I noticed one person would get theirs for free and they wouldn’t be able to get it on

their own. In other schools they’d get stuff on weekends too. It was second through fourth grade. Brad: We live in a small town and we want to take care of each other. There are families that are food insecure and we’re doing alright. This shouldn’t be happening. It’s everywhere. It’s heartbreaking. But you also see there are so many people addressing that. We’re hoping by sharing the story, people can see the problem and see the people and be inspired to pitch in and just use what you have to make a difference. We make silly videos.

What characteristics would you think would make a good president? Robby: [laughing] Kanye! John Cena! But really nice. Awesome. They have to be a person who knows what it’s like to go through hard stuff. They wear golf shorts and shirt. You’d be like, “Okay this guy’s cool.” Brad: They have a high degree of empathy, compassion, creativity. Robby: And they like sports. Brad: There are people that make growing up look depressing, but there are some that make it look amazing. And they have a lot of wisdom, eyes full of wonder and they live with whimsy. That’s what I’m on a quest for.

Source: https://parade.com/477500/ hthompson/kid-president-is-trying-tomake-the-world-a-better-place/

More videos about Kid President:

How To Change The World (a work in progress) − https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=4z7gDsSKUmU

I think we all need a pep talk, https:// www.ted.com/talks/kid_president_i_ think_we_all_need_a_pep_talk

Read the article about Kid President, and/or watch the videos.

What are the problems in the world that YOU want to fix if you were the next Kid President? Write as many as you can, then note the top 5 and 10 issues. Use your widest, fullest imagination.

2 Solving the world’s problems

Sustainable Development Goals How can we make the world a better place? The United Nations has also been thinking about the problems in the world, and has come up with a list of goals for the world to ensure a better, sustainable future for everyone by 2030. If something is “sustainable”, it can carry on for a long time.

The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world: GOAL 1: No Poverty GOAL 2: Zero Hunger GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being GOAL 4: Quality Education GOAL 5: Gender Equality GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production GOAL 13: Climate Action GOAL 14: Life Below Water GOAL 15: Life on Land GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

Source: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

Click on the hyperlinks to find out more about what each goal hopes to fix.

Whose job is it to make the world a better place?

Which 5 goals do you think are most important? Why?

Would you like to add any, or remove any? Why?

Are your top 5 goals the same as those of your local environment and community?

People’s lives are changed by the people and the environment around them. Let’s think which specific issues have changed our lives recently:

ACTIVITY 2.3

Lets talk: In a small group, list your common problems and challenges.

Talk about the challenges that affect the world (i.e. global or international challenges); also South African challenges; also challenges in your town or municipality; and challenges in your own, immediate community or family. Think about health issues, environmental issues and social issues (relating to people and society).

Global South African Town Own Community

TEACHING TIPS | Changes in the World

Making opportunities from new problems: in 2020, COVID-19 and other diseases added to the problems in the world. Are there also some opportunities that come from this tragic pandemic?

Do not think only of money, but also how to make a positive change: for example masks, food delivery, shopping service; taking for vaccinations; mobile medical tests.

Our Environment – natural disasters, manmade problems, manmade solutions

Social issues: How we relate to other people. Work, Food, learning, children, refugees; unemployment; exploitation of resources (link to environment)

Think about it!

What if you looked deeper? The issue that you see may not be the real problem. It may be a symptom (sign) of a bigger problem. Can you think of some examples? (For example, people without safe houses or the homeless are symptoms of people being poor (poverty); poverty is something that happens because people have no work (unemployment); unemployment is a symptom of poor education, and so on …).

How do you think your ideas can help to solve the deepest problems? Think deep, think deeper.

Case studies Have a look at the pages and choose some that you want to investigate. SDG Discussion Qs on page.

You can also ask an adult or older person to share an example of someone who decided to do something to solve a specific problem that really bothered them.

What problems do you want to work on?

How can you improve the lives of people and animals in your community?

Your Global Solution: Planning to win

ACTIVITY 2.5

Look again at the challenges you listed in Activity/worksheet 2.3. Now add another column with the heading ‘Possible solution’. Write down some ideas about what you can do as an individual to solve these challenges.

As you will see in Unit 5, these challenges may just present ideal opportunities for your own business!

International South Africa Local Possible solution

Think about it!

You know your own problems and issues well. Work in pairs to think about solutions for these problems.