Reflective Essay: Adora Svitak's Lesson

This is my own version of your third assignment, "writing a reflective essay". I hope you find it helpful. I wrote my essay on Adora Svitak's presentation. Here is the video:

The famous writer of children's books, Dr. Seuss, once said that "Adults are obsolete children." Adora Svitak would certainly agree. She says, "There is a problem with this rosy picture. Children grow up to be adults, just like you." During her presentation, she explains the power that the children have, as people who have the capacity to go beyond the norm. She argues that the learning process between children and adults should be reciprocal. When children are respected as they ought to be, she says, these children will become better adults than the existing older generation―and that is how change can take place.

I, too, am still a child. A grown-up friend of mine is a person who practices Adora Svitak’s beliefs. Even though she is over forty years old, she listens to kids from junior high when it comes to seeking advice. Reciprocally, she is an advisor to many teenagers. She tells me that she learns a lot from talking to me, as well as other teens. Whenever I ask her opinion for different issues I have difficulty dealing with, I find her words insightful and wise. She is the sort of person that understands what I am trying to say. And after listening to Adora Svitak, I am convinced that my friend’s wisdom stems from her willingness to listen to children, and from her deep-set acknowledgement that the children have the ability to see what adults cannot.

It is not easy for older people to listen to the young. I have a younger brother, who has the power to see from a different side. However, I find it very hard to pay attention to him when he gets didactic. The fact that he is trying to teach me how to behave irritates me, especially in the times when I am under duress. From experience, I could tell you that my brother’s intuitive sense that is unique to young children has always helped. Only a couple of years ago, I was in conflict with some of the members in the school council. I sought help from everywhere―parents, teachers, and peers. The one I heard last was my brother’s advice. He surprisingly told me that I should start listening more. This simple piece of logic helped me get through the difficult times and accomplish things I would never have thought possible.

Adora Stivak’s lesson is of the sort which almost everyone understands and can relate to. In that way, her delivery was effective. The sad part is that it is not easy to carry her lesson out into practice. How can children teach adults and teachers like they are being taught? The important point is to start listening to one another, children to adults and adults to children. When they begin to respect each other for the abilities the other has, they will be able to learn reciprocally. Let us not waste the capacity that children have. Rather, let us nurture it and encourage it so that it will become an asset, not only for the children, but for the adults as well.