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Last year, I remember a conversation that I had with my Grade 10 students in Civics class. I had not truly intended for the conversation to occur, but once it began, it was simply too beneficial of a discussion to cut short. It was one of those times where every student was very engaged in the topic, and we kept uncovering layer upon layer of truth together as a class.

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The topic was how youth today is controlled and influenced by advertisements and other forms of propaganda. When I began discussing how every last thing they see and do on their phones is littered with advertisements, opinions and bias attempting to make them think a certain way, they immediately began coming up with examples of this and furthering the conversation of the role that such advertisement plays in our daily lives. We came to the conclusion together that by constantly influencing the way people think, advertisements convince people that they need things that they do not, and that we as individuals become irresponsible consumers that tend to consume products that we do not need. We also explored the possibility of our preferences and private information being sold to advertisers so that they may more accurately feed us advertisements and information.

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The conversation was turned into an unexpected yet productive lesson on what we can do to become more independent thinkers and more responsible consumers and members of society. Part of Intellectual Conversion is the need to recognize and identify bias and mistruths so that we are not led astray by false information. Our conversation led to the recognition that much of what we see online is superficial, and that truth lies in things that have actual value. We came to the conclusion that we are told by advertisements that we need things of material nature such as new clothes, new technology, new makeup, etc., when in reality, our focus should be on building relationships, on showing acts of kindness for one another and on achieving our personal goals. Intellectual Conversion took place during this conversation due to my students realizing the importance of identifying sources of information that would lead them astray and influence them to make questionable decisions while at the same time identifying the things which are more deserving of their attention and effort.

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The class discussion ended with Moral Conversion as I began asking why it is important to focus on some things rather than others. I also asked my students what things they could do better in their everyday lives so that they remain focused on what is truly important to them. The students provided some excellent answers, and the general consensus among them was that we must focus on what has real value rather than material value, and that making a difference in someone else’s life provides a great reward than any phone, outfit or piece of jewelry ever could.

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I truly believe that my students left that conversation with a better appreciation for what has real value in life, and for a greater wariness of those who would try to convince them otherwise. They must stay vigilant in their quest for truth, and must be able to analyze information critically and keep reminding themselves of their moral values.