About this Project

I would make peace to the world. I would first travel across the world, showing how the world could be if we stopped hurting each other and started caring for each other. Meryl Rosenberg, age 9 Chappaqua, New York

Why "Change the World?"

A Message from the Founder of IfICouldChangetheWorld.net

My purpose in posing the question, If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be—and how would you begin?, was to encourage kids to think about their lives, their communities, and their places in the world. I wanted them to share ideas and stimulate thoughtful discussion.

I wanted to give kids the opportunity to reflect on their lives and the state of the world and devise a solution to one problem that they wanted to fix or one situation that they thought they could improve upon. My hope was that I could not only get them to consider how they could make a positive contribution to the world, but that in doing so I would encourage them to believe that they really could change the world.

I suspected that kids are rarely, if ever, asked for their ideas about big issues, so I was hoping that being asked the “If you could change the world” question would be an empowering experience. I also hoped that the children’s responses would give adults a new perspective and inspire us all to make changes—both small and large—that can make our world a better place.

As you can see from the wonderful ideas posted on this website, kids have been up to the challenge.

Unlike most assignments (for kids as well as adults), this one had no limitations, no ground rules. The children could write about anything. And they have. They’ve written about poverty, the environment, rainforests, animal cruelty, war, disease, automobiles, dogs and cats, littering, love, human rights, homelessness, health care, and government. They have even written about flag football, school rules, and mosquitoes.

But regardless of the topic, kids write about what’s on their minds—and they write from the heart. What I love about these essays is that they are “thought snapshots” of our children, glimpses into their minds that enable us to find out what they’re thinking about and what’s important to them.

In the course of reading hundreds and hundreds of essays by kids, I have learned that kids are a whole lot smarter and more aware than I ever gave them credit for. Kids today are exposed to the world in ways that my generation (the Baby Boom generation) never was. They are tuned into television and they are hooked up to the internet at home and at school. They’re constantly bombarded with news, advertising messages and assorted propaganda spin, so they know far more about world politics, religious differences, popular culture, and environmental issues than any previous generation. They are keen observers of the world around them, and even at a young age they are forming possible solutions to the problems they see in their lives and in the larger world.

Today’s kids know that the world isn’t perfect, but most of them think that they can make a difference. In the words of a wise 11-year-old named Patrick Baker, “The world has a lot of problems in it, but if people started fixing them, then the world would be a superb place to live.”

Even at a young age, children realize (perhaps in ways that grownups can’t) that we’re all in this world together. Making life better for one of us makes life better for ALL of us. All we have to do is decide to change, and the change has already begun.

If children are indeed the future, then our future is in trustworthy and capable hands.

Randall D. Schultz

Albuquerque, New Mexico

USA