A.G.N.E.S at FGS

　Recently, I watched a video on Youtube about a suit that MIT has developed. The suit is called A.G.N.E.S and is an age simulation suit. It has been designed to give younger people the opportunity to experience, and therefore build empathy for, the physical challenges faced by older people. The suit is also being used by marketers and businesses in order to help them make their products more accessible to the elderly. It was interesting to me because by watching that video I learned that my mother isn’t bad at using her smartphone because she’s not cognitively capable of it, but it’s because as we age our skin dries out. And so when she seems unable to access her messages it’s, again, not because she lacks the skills to work a smartphone, it’s because the screen is less sensitive to the touch when our skin is less moist. I was glad to see that because it helped me have a little more patience when she’s having trouble with her phone or when she calls me instead of just texting me.

　A few weeks ago the 11th grade students completed their sensitivity training which focuses on aging and over the course of an afternoon took turns wearing weights to simulate joint issues, special glasses that obstruct their vision, ear plugs to make it more difficult to hear, and gloves to make it difficult to grip things. Basically, they get to experience firsthand how it might feel to be in a body that has aged like A.G.N.E.S does. Having seen the video on Youtube and then being able to join this school activity I was once again sure that we are taking great steps to help our students build tolerance, sympathy, and empathy for those around them. My hope is that by doing so we are sending a new generation out into the world who are less likely to judge others or turn a blind eye to those in need of help. Maybe there is hope for the future after all.