Education is at the heart of all of the issues facing us. One of the most important skills that one should acquire through education is critical thinking. Without a doubt, if everyone were to look at what is thrown at us every day with a critical outlook (notably pop culture, advertising and junk thought), we might witness a considerable drop in our level of distraction and apathy, and a rise in our awareness of the world. As Neil Postman warned in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death in 1985, it’s not the Orwellian future we should fear as depicted in the book 1984, but rather the one described in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, where, for one thing, it’s not access to information that’s a problem in society, but the fact that we “drown in a sea of irrelevance.”

I had an outstanding education. Critical thinking was fundamental in classroom discussions, projects and papers, and an integral part of getting a good grade and proving our understanding of a topic. Nowadays, I don’t know how much of that goes on in a classroom. You hear about high schools installing wireless networks, allowing mobile phone access, internet and computer access, all throughout school hours. We tailor education to fit the model of our technological consumption. Computer games or online courses are constructed to provide lessons in the place of real-live teachers. Traditional lessons are shortened to mimic our kids’ shortening attention spans. Texting breaks are implemented to facilitate our addiction to our cell phones.

At a time when our education is undergoing alarming changes as it stands, it’s even more disheartening to see just how little respect and reverence it receives from politicians and administrators.

Take the recent reforms to public schools proposed by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna in Idaho (one of three actually, and two of which just passed in Senate). An incredible witty, talented and (clearly) well-educated high school student, Jonny Saunders, takes on this bill with a vengeance in front of his classmates and teachers. In the video below, he brings to light one of the programs within the education overhaul plan, where all ninth graders will be given a laptop and required to take four online classes during their high school education. And in true political fashion, the most nefarious part of it all is the firing of 770 teachers in order to serve a corporate agenda so that Tom Luna can thank his corporate campaign donors.

Jonny Saunders shows us how powerful civic action can be, and how crucial it is to maintain and constantly improve our education system, not tear it apart to serve the needs of our society’s ailments and politicians’ needs. There’s a lot of work to do in the field of education, and it doesn’t start with the firing of teachers and favouring corporate interest. Enjoy the video below, where the superintendent in question gets schooled by a seventeen year old.

And as a side note, yes, she can sing (you know who I’m talking about, and if you don’t, good). Sure, she’s cute. But why isn’t Jonny Saunders receiving a staggering 14 million views of his video and appearances on daytime talk shows?

Three years ago when graduating from university, I wrote a personal plea to designers and communicators around the world. Although that plea was kept private, its convictions have stayed in my mind throughout every venture and decision, acting as my moral code.

I’ve decided to share this plea for all communicators around the world to hear, and hope that it guides them as it did me.

Visual Communicators: Innately Responsible?

What is your role as visual communicator in this world? Have you ever stopped to examine what our abilities entitle us to do, the significant influence it gives us over our viewer? Should we be responsible for how these abilities are used, and for the ideas they purport?

These key questions are far too often overlooked in our profession, and the moment you take a look at them, it is hard to turn away.

Living in a world where the complexity of information is growing exponentially, there are divisions being formed between those who are aware and those who are not. Critical awareness is the result of a shift in perspective that allows you to see the way a given issue operates. It provides the ability to participate in rational debate and empowers its host to stand up for what they actually comprehend, not just what they believe in. (Smart Bubble Society aims to raise this critical awareness in our audience).

Above almost all other areas of study – scientific, social and political issues are becoming some of the most misunderstood arenas of debate. As visual communicators, it is our tools that can help bridge this gap of awareness. We must recognize our innate responsibility to teach, simplify, and demystify these issues. The moment you commit to this understanding is the moment you admit that you are tasked with an extremely important role in this world.

But how do we shift our priorities? Currently, most of us lend our skills to convince our audience to buy things they do not need, or to educate them with information that has no true relevance to our global society. How have we come to this place of ethical ignorance? When tasked with design problems we must ask ourselves, is the message I am communicating morally acceptable? Is it truly relevant to society? Unfortunately it is all too often that these questions are not asked and our values are brushed aside in the name of furthering our careers.

Has this skill we posses, this tool to educate and inform become a communicative force, out of our control? Let’s be honest with ourselves. Our profession serves a ruling class. Just like ancient scribes in early human civilizations, we are used to facilitate an agenda that more often than not strays far from socially positive or progressive ideals.

Many years ago at York University, David Suzuki said, “Scientists have failed to demystify the climate crisis.” Well I wish to say to Dr. Suzuki: It is not the scientists who have failed, it is the communicators, the ones who wield the mediums that carry these messages.

Why is it that for so many years the scientific proof of human-induced climate change was so hard to find? Why was it stuck in textbooks and massive reports, far removed from the well-publicized and prevalent mediums of our times? The science behind our current understanding of the climate crisis has been around for thirty years, yet we as communicators have only recently begun to champion its cause. Where were our simplified charts, our information graphics and our visual metaphors?

We should be facilitating the understanding of these complex issues, and it should be morally mandated. Had we communicated better, would we now have a cleaner environment? Would fossil fuels still be our number one energy source? Could we have solved world hunger and created a planet that works together as a community, as it should?

What’s clear is that our skills allow us to deconstruct problems and find solutions. DECONSTRUCT problems in our world, in our society, and in our communities. Let us focus on our moral and ethical responsibilities to society, and help create a new era of critical awareness and understanding. Our services can no longer be the puppet of commercialization. We must rally under one absolute guideline: that what we communicate must offer something positive to society, and to the world.