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We shouldn't be afraid to face
our fears to change the world
o
n Thursday nights I teach
computers to adults at
Thurston High School in
Springfield. On a quiet
Thursday night, I looked at my
classroom from behind a fence,
sealed with police tape.
By now, everyone has heard of
the terrible things that happened at
Thurston High — and Columbine
High, Santana High and New Bed
ford High — and with each new in
cident, everyone is gripped by fear.
It is the fear that troubled teens
might erupt at any time and in any
place — the fear that senseless acts
of violence might strike close to
our loved ones and ourselves.
I felt those fears as I looked at my
classroom, suddenly transformed
from a place of learning into a place
* of terrible silence — and it is fear it
self that we need to address.
As a public citizen, I know that
many people fear teenagers, mark
ing each one as a potential threat.
As a computer teacher, I know that
people fear the intrusive machines
that affect our daily lives.
Both fears are important, be
cause fear itself is important: Each
of us has things that make us
afraid — things that seem trivial -
to those unafraid of the things we
Guest Commentary
Jeff
Osanka
fear. And this fact does not make
us any less fearful.
One response is to give in to
those fears and call for more and
more government regulation, “for
our own protection.” While under
standable, such a response only
breeds more fear.
The other response is quite dif
ferent and more difficult. People
can acknowledge their fears and
take appropriate personal action to
reduce fear.
For instance, the adults in my
computer class acknowledged
their fear, and took action by sign
ing up for a class. Together they
improve their skills by reducing
their fear. Similarly, each of us
must take ownership of our fear
and take steps to overcome it. Let
me give you a concrete example of
what you can do.
Do you fear that teens are out of
control? Then take action. Pick any
one of the teens you know, and an
swer this question: “What one
thing can I do to improve the life of
this teen?” Then do that thing.
Maybe it is tutoring them one
night a week in algebra. Maybe it is
taking them on a drift boat to fish
the McKenzie River. Maybe it is
simply listening to them gripe
about their parents. The specifics
do not matter. The fact that you
have taken action does matter.
You benefit because you have
faced your fear and taken action.
The teens benefit because some
one has taken a true interest in
their well-being, and that makes
the world, for them, a far less
fearful place.
We can continue to let horrible
incidents like those in Springfield
and New Bedford push us farther
away from each other, as we sink
ever deeper into our fear. Or we
can take personal action, and ad
dress our fear by improving a little
comer of our world.
I challenge you to join me in tak
ing personal action.'lndividually
we can make a difference in reduc
ing fear in our world and the world
of our teens.
Jeff Osanka, Ph.D, is a Lane Community
College teacher who runs Osanka
Communications. A University alumnus,
Osanka retired in 1999 as an elected EWEB
Commissioner. Editor’s note: This guest
commentary first appeared in The Oregonian.
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