When someone asks, what is common sense, most would say it is knowing the difference between right and wrong, hot and cold. In a way they are right and yet they are wrong. Common sense is about knowing how to use problem solving and basic information. Should I take the hall packed with shuffling students or should I take the long and less congested way? Of course there are other factors to consider, but by using problem solving people can make it through most of the difficult decisions in life.

In a word common sense is understanding. The ability to gather information and judge what is happening or what might happen and then use the information in a decision making process. When a child touches something that is hot, like a stove, then they will receive information that tells them that it is hot. Most people will pull their hand away and will know that what they touched was hot, some people however might wonder if it is still hot even though they had already touched it.

With that said, there are situations where emotion and instinct take over. When someone loves something, they do whatever they can do for it. When people dislike something enough, they lose their temper and lash out. A helpless person being bullied, someone will run in and help without a second thought. All of this is not right or wrong, sometimes people just act, and that is perfectly fine. In some situations, it is right to react first and think later.

Learning from our mistakes, learning more from others, moving forward, thinking for ourselves. We need to learn more than what school is teaching us. Common Sense is worth more than what people believe it is, and if others can learn that then I believe that the world will become better.