SHAPING THE NEXT GENERATION

SHAPING THE NEXT GENERATION
Why the Future Depends on What We Change Now
Feature Story by Dr. Todd Brown

​For those who are reading this and unfamiliar with my work, I co-founded Operation Outbreak, an organization dedicated to infectious disease education before COVID-19. Operation Outbreak works in close partnership with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, leveraging their expertise to spread our initiatives (no pun intended. Well, maybe a little). Together, we engage with educational institutions ranging from high schools to universities nationwide, deploying highly immersive simulations that authentically replicate infectious disease outbreaks. These simulations are not just about us, but about all of us, as students are tasked with collaboratively mitigating the spread of a fictitious yet realistic pathogen transmitted via Bluetooth using cell phones.
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Our work is not just about education, it's about preparing for the future. We aim to cultivate the next generation of epidemiologists, policymakers, healthcare practitioners, and others. Simultaneously, we strive to foster broader scientific and math literacy within the general population. As Dr. Rick Bright once said, "outbreaks are inevitable, but pandemics are optional.” This underscores the importance of our mission to arm society with more awareness and better response at all levels.

In these immersive simulations, the stakes are extreme. Students are not engaging in just a game. They participate in an event that can help shape the future. Notably, our simulations have revealed disturbing behavioral patterns reminiscent of the social condition. We've observed an alarming reflection of societal challenges by constructing a simulated city complete with diverse occupational roles, such as healthcare workers, policymakers, and public health officials, as well as familial dynamics and economic framework. While our primary aim is to teach concepts surrounding infectious diseases, the behavioral insights gleaned from participants potentially shed light on the underlying causes of prevalent mental health issues among students and underscore the imperative for societal change.

At its surface, the simulation's objective appears straightforward: collaborate to contain the spread of the unknown pathogen. Families are tasked with answering questions and exchanging correct responses for tokens, which are then used for essential purchases at a store, including food, masks, medication, vaccines, and diagnostic tests. Simultaneously, various work units (healthcare, public health, biomedical research, etc.) gather real-time data to identify the pathogen, implement quarantine measures, conduct contact tracing, and make pivotal decisions to safeguard the populace, all within the confines of government-mandated budgetary constraints. Additionally, a media team is tasked with disseminating periodic updates to enhance public understanding of unfolding events.

What we have observed is that irrespective of school type (private or public), socioeconomic background, or demographic composition (race, gender, etc.), members of both the work units and families consistently exhibit destructive behaviors. Instances of breakdowns in societal structure, pervasive distrust, fraudulent activities, hoarding tendencies, and even instances of theft of the bank and store. So, with this, the question is raised: why do participants, united by a common cause, persist in working against one another?

Before hastily attributing such behaviors to the naiveté of youth, it is essential for us to recognize parallels in historical outbreaks and pandemics, such as HIV/AIDS, Swine Flu, and COVID, where similar patterns of behavior manifested among adults. The recurrence of such behaviors, underscored by societal values, exposes a concerning correlation with the escalating mental health challenges among students. We must critically assess the inundation of extrinsic values—such as materialism, competition for more, and the pursuit of wealth—permeating contemporary culture, shaping individuals' ethical frameworks, and creating a climate of moral compromise.

​For meaningful change, we must embrace teaching strategies, both formal and informal, that resonate with students' lived experiences, prioritizing intrinsic values such as authenticity, competence, and connection to others. Our simulations clearly underscore the peril of fostering a generation fixated on competition and material gain, which virtually always results in a fractured society that fails to work together, allowing the pathogen to spread. By fostering collaborative efforts and accentuating the significance of collective action, we instill in students a sense of agency and communal responsibility, essential for addressing existential challenges like pandemics, climate change, and more.

As adults, rather than disparaging today's youth or vilifying teachers and schools, we must adopt a proactive stance, offering constructive solutions rooted in empathy and understanding. By immersing ourselves in the student cultural climate, we can help shape students' perceptions, and by nurturing a culture of cooperation, we can promote a generation of change agents. Failure to do so not only perpetuates existing issues but implicates us as complicit in perpetuating social dysfunction.

We must act now. Only through personal reflection and proactive engagement can we help elicit the much-needed shift. By bridging the divide between contemporary society and intrinsic human values, we can help activate meaningful societal change. We must move beyond the role of passive observers and instead embrace our capacity for change, shaping a more equitable and empathetic future. If not, we will only have ourselves to blame. ∎