Teaching

 I wanted to talk about what Lauren's father said about teaching - that "It's better to teach people than to scare them." I think that scaring is one of the most effective way of teaching, especially in this situation where we're talking about survival skills and even just talking about what could happen would be enough to scare people. However I also agree with Lauren's dad that if nothing happens after you scare people they'll pretty much stop listening / believing you. I think they need to strike some sort of balance. And I'm not sure whether just teaching people things without telling them why is the solution - less people will be engaged or retain any of the information if they think it's just for fun. Maybe they could bring up the possibility of something happening to neighborhood in the future without making it seem like a pressing issue, then emphasize the fact that they should learn how to survive outside of the neighborhood anyway. This could potentially strike a slightly better balance between making people pay attention and keeping their faith in you.

It's interesting how Lauren's dad has not really prepared the neighborhood yet. I assume they've lived there for a while, and he's had plenty of time to make emergency packs and set up classes that everyone has to go to. He really prioritized people's trust in him over preparing for the future, or maybe he was too preoccupied with keeping the neighborhood running to think about it. Except through his conversation with Lauren we get the idea that he has given thought into what methods he could take to protect the community and also why he shouldn't do them. So I'm not sure. What would you do if you were faced with this decision?

Comments

  1. L. MoffittMay 20, 2021 at 9:06 AM

    Well said. I think Lauren's father oversimplifies things, perhaps. You can't teach anyone anything if they don't care, and scaring people (to an extent) does make them pay attention and care. Of course you can go too far, but Lauren is smart and knows this.

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