Please Don’t Change the World.

Summary

A mother discusses her son's aversion to school and learning, his aspirations to become a scientist and change the world, and her own reservations about radical change, ultimately realizing that her son's innovative ideas may contribute positively to the world's gradual improvement.

Abstract

The article narrates a conversation between a mother and her eight-year-old son who dislikes school and claims to hate learning, yet dreams of becoming a scientist to change the world. The mother, initially concerned about her son's grand ambitions, prefers the world's natural, collective evolution over drastic changes imposed by individuals or groups. She worries about the implications of her son's desire to alter the world, especially given his young age and struggles with basic tasks. However, when her son expresses a thoughtful understanding that changing the world to suit his preferences might not be fair to others, she is pleasantly surprised. He reveals his vision of inventing floating cars and futuristic furniture while ensuring that people can still choose traditional items. The mother, impressed by her son's consideration and creativity, shifts her focus from persuading him to value education for its own sake to encouraging him to pursue his passions and innovative ideas.

Opinions

The mother is apprehensive about the idea of changing the world, preferring organic, collective improvements over radical transformations by individuals or groups.
She believes the world is gradually getting better on its own and is skeptical of anyone claiming to want to change it, especially if they lack basic knowledge or life skills.
The mother uses the example of the abolition of the death penalty in Turkey as an instance of positive change that occurred without the need for someone to actively "change the world."
She is initially worried about her son's desire to change the world, fearing it might lead to unfair or undesirable outcomes for others.
The son's perspective shifts the mother's view; she is impressed by his understanding that personal visions of change should not impose on others' preferences.
The mother concludes that encouraging her son's passion and creativity is more important than pressuring him to conform to traditional educational paths.

We kind of like it as it is.

My eight-year-old son hates school. Please don’t suggest homeschooling since we did a bit of that during the Covid lockdown. He hated it even more. When I asked him if he preferred school school or home school, he gladly picked school school.

But we still struggle walking out of the door in the morning. He says he hates learning in general.

Today we had a serious talk. I asked him what he wants to do when he grows up.

I know very well that he wants to be a scientist. He loves Spider-man, and he is fascinated with the idea of mixing human DNA with spider DNA and even lizard DNA. I planned to persuade him to take schooling seriously by making him understand that being a scientist means going to school forever.

But he said, “I’m going to change the world!”

Well, that was a shock. I’m not too fond of the idea of changing the world in general. When someone talks about changing the world, it worries me. Especially if they can’t spell their street name and they don’t know what to wear in the morning.

I am not saying the world is perfect. But it gets better every day by itself- I mean by the collective changes done by all of us. I don’t want any particular person or group to decide and implement all the changes.

For instance, we don’t have the death penalty in Turkey since 2004 (and no one was executed since 1984). To me, this makes Turkey better than before. But some people think the death penalty should be back. I don’t want those people to touch anything.

But of course they do. They change a few things the way I don’t like. But then other people change many other things. It slowly gets much better than before. I am comfortable to say that the overall direction will be upwards.

But as a mother, obviously, I wasn’t going to discourage my son. I didn’t say anything. Yet I was curious.

“What do you not like about the world?” I asked. “What exactly would you change so that you could enjoy the world?”

He thought for a second. Then he said “You know what, if I change the world the way I like it, it wouldn’t be fair to others. Maybe they like it as it is.”

My jaw dropped. Did he read my mind? Or do they teach these things at school here?

He explained to me that he planned to invent floating cars, futuristic couches and high tech rooms. Nothing in our rooms will look the same after he makes his changes.

“But you will still be able to buy old stuff if you want to!” he added.

So we talked about new ideas, doing what excites you, creating as much as what you love, rather than “changing the world” on your own.

I ended up forgetting to manipulate him for school. I think he will be fine.