JOHN EGGERS COLUMN: Let’s embrace a collective consciousness for our youth – Bemidji Pioneer

When people travel to this part of the state, they come to see Paul and Babe. They come to fish walleye. They come to see the headwaters of the Mississippi. They come to attend a powwow. They come to canoe and kayak on our lakes and rivers.

This is all part of our culture. They make up who we are. They are essential to our existence.

What if high school graduation became part of our culture? I wish I could say it was. If it were, we would have a 100% graduation rate.

Unfortunately for thousands upon thousands of students over the last few decades who did not receive their diplomas, we have not made high school graduation a part of their culture and that is a shame because it just might be possible.

One of the most interesting stories I have ever been told was that of the monkeys. Yes, monkeys. I heard it at a World Future Society conference in Washington, DC about 30 years ago. Briefly, the story went something like this.

In the 1950s, scientists investigated a group of macaque monkeys on the Japanese island of Koshima. These scientists would throw sweet potatoes on the ground for the monkeys to eat. However, one day, a young monkey took the sand-covered sweet potato and rinsed it in a nearby lake, discovering that he tasted better washed.

Not long after, more monkeys on this island took up this ritual, which eventually (and inexplicably) made its way across the water to monkeys being studied on nearby islands. And although these monkeys never entered…