Hello everyone. Today was my turn to do the morning bible reading. This was my message today:

Good morning. Today’s bible reading is Isaiah 5:20

 

²⁰ Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

 

In today’s society, with today’s technology, every person has a chance to spread his or her message around the world. This has never happened before in human history. The technology of the internet has given great opportunities for people like Malala Yousafzai or Bana Alabed to share their stories and spread their message. Using these media platforms can truly help make a better world.

 

However, this amazing power can also be used by people who want to spread false information, or information written to change our perception of people, issues, or events. Nowadays it is more difficult than ever to know if what we see on our screens is true or not.

 

How can we know the difference? The ability to think about the information we receive from different sources is called “media literacy” in both English and Japanese. When you read someone’s opinion in the newspaper, hear someone talk on television, or read someone’s message on social media, you need to ask yourself if there are any other motivations behind the message itself.

 

This year our school goal is “kashikoi”. Last month Itani-sensei told us the different ways to be “kashikoi”: smart, clever, wise, intelligent, bright, and sensible. I want to add one more word to that list: “perceptive”. Be perceptive to the messages you receive, and decide for yourself if something is really good, or evil; light or dark; sweet, or bitter.