Humanities explores the key knowledge and skills of the Social Sciences - subjects of history, social studies, psychology, geography, legal studies and classical studies. Perfect for the budding lawyer, psychologist, social activist, civil servant or politician.
We wanted to share a thought-provoking essay hand-written by Blair Wang in Year 11 who is taking this course with no Google or AI in sight! Thank you for sharing this with us Blair.
Enjoy!
Humanities
Respond to a Quote on Education
“A person who won’t read has no advantage over a person who can’t read.” -Mark Twain
My response:
“A person who won’t read has no advantage over a person who can’t read.” I completely agree with this quote by Mark Twain. This quote means having the ability to read doesn’t mean much if you don’t use it. Those who possess the ability but let it go to waste are in the same position as those who can’t read. They both miss out so much on the knowledge and stories within each one of the books.
I find this idea to be showing a voluntary vs involuntary relationship. The people who purposely chose not to read were voluntary since it was a decision. While people who aren’t able to read are involuntary, because there must have been consequences or obstacles ( that didn’t allow them to have the ability) beyond their control. I think it’s so unfair that countless people in the world would give so much to be able to read, while some purposely ignore this gift. We humans often take things for granted, until we lose them all or witness others living without them, and just how difficult their lives are. Charles Dickens once said in A Christmas Carol, “No space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused.”
To be able to read is such a privilege. Books aren’t only a way to find yourself as a whole within this modern bustling world or significantly enhance your creativity/imagination. Books widen the depth of our knowledge, as well as our perspectives of the world, whether it is the past, present, or future. “Without books, what have we? We have no past and no future,” said Ray Bradbury, who is the author of Fahrenheit 451.
To me, books are windows that guide us into the lives of different characters - fiction or real- and through their stories, they also teach us valuable lessons. Every story is a life lived.
I absolutely love books. I cannot understand why you would choose to let go of this gift of being able to read. What I find even more upsetting is when someone says to me, “Why do you read so much?”, “Oh my, so many words”, “I hate books, they’re so boring”. Especially when they have never touched a book before. The words beautifully printed on the pages build a world that drags me within it. Those who read, we lived a thousand lives, we loved a thousand loves, and we learned a thousand lessons. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t even have gotten this far, with my opinions and quotes if I didn’t read. Jim Rohn, a successful entrepreneur once said, “ Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” Never give up on reading.
