Your privilege today could be the fact that you’ve gotten an opportunity to read this article (and your friends haven’t). Or the fact that you have gone to college or university yet nobody else in your family managed to. Or even it could be that you have a business idea that could change the world… and no one else seems to have grasped it.
Perhaps this lesson will help you reflect and understand the true value of your privileges.
*The story goes…*
One high school teacher decided to teach his class about privilege, so he made a simple but interesting exercise. He gave each one of his students a piece of paper and requested them to crumple it into a ball (paper roll)
Then the teacher placed a trash bin in front of the classroom and then looking at his students and said, “You represent the whole country, you come from different tribes, families and backgrounds. But you all have a chance to become wealthy and reach the upper class. All you have to do is throw your crumpled paper balls into the bin without leaving your seats.”
As you would expect, those students who sat behind the classroom were disadvantaged than those who sat at the front – and so they complained about this unfairness. But still the rules had to be followed and the game had to go on.
So everyone threw their ball of paper and as you would expect, most (but not all) of the students who sat at the front easily made it. Very few of the backbenchers got close enough to the bin.
So the teacher once again looked at the students and said “The closer you were to the dust bin, the better your chances of throwing your crumpled piece of paper inside – this is privilege. Did you notice that only those from the back of the class complained of unfairness?”
“But those who sat in front of the room were less likely to be aware of their privilege. All they saw was 10 feet distance between them and their goal (the dust bin).”
So what’s the lesson? The teacher concluded “You are students receiving education, and you need to be aware of this privilege. Make good use of this privilege called ‘education’ to try to achieve great things, but also use it to ADVOCATE FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT AS LUCKY AS YOU ARE.”
*End of story.*
What is your privilege today? You woke up and you’re healthy. You have an entrepreneurial spirit in you. You have some education. You have a supportive family. You are in a peaceful country. All those are privileges you might be taking for granted.
Use your privileges to climb to the top of the ladder but most importantly ADVOCATE for those who may not be as lucky as you are.
*Written By*: Justine Nyachieo
Business Man & Mentor
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