What impacts who we are
As you may know, our 6th graders have just completed the first unit in this year's Program of Inquiry. The title of this unit was "Who we are". We wanted to look at the many influences that have combined to make us the unique individuals that we are (family, traditions, beliefs, movies, friends etc.) and also to understand the cultural and environmental influences that have shaped the lifestyles of people in other parts of the world.
Their summative task has been to work collectively in groups of three or four to create a PowerPoint slide show and a poster to illustrate the facets of this unit that interested them the most.
But here, we'd like to give you a little sample of the written work that has been done on a daily basis as we discussed and debated the many aspects of the central idea. As you can see, questions such as "Is it easier to be a boy or a girl in 21st century Taiwan?"; "What's the perfect age to be?"; "What would happen if candy were free?" inspired some very creative, reflective and analytical responses.
---------------
Is it easier to be a boy or a girl?
“I believe in Taiwan, it is a bit bias about boys being better, but I would prefer being a girl. Our fashion assortments are wider, we can wear dresses and similar things. And I feel that girls aren’t as naughty or extreme or violent as boys. But I have issues with the rules that ladies can’t do things the men can, like sports, and that we can’t go to school in certain areas, and that we must present ourselves elegantly and stuff. It’ll be easier to be a boy, but still prefer being a girl.”
- Jasmine Tao 陶庭佳, 6th grade
---------------
What do you think has changed about yourself?
“I used to be narrow-minded, but now I learned to be open-minded, to be caring to others, to tolerate other’s ideas. I didn’t use to like volleyball, but my dad helped me to learn volleyball, then I found out volleyball is an interesting sport, now I like volleyball. I didn’t use to believe in God, but now, I believe that God is great, Kuei Shan School tells me that God will care for every human.
- Anny Chen 陳恩菱, 6th grade
---------------
What do you think would happen if candy were free?
If candy were free, about 99.99％of little kids would become so fat, they couldn’t walk, and the population for obese people would become more than half of the population for the country, and the dentists’ office would be full of people and people will have diabetes. I wouldn’t take too much candy because:
1. I’m not too big of a candy fan;
2. I know it’s bad for myself;
3. I don’t want to become obese;
But it is impossible to keep candy free for too long, and soon the price of sugar, candy, licorice, chocolate, and all sweets will just become so high you could literally buy 10 Ferraris with the cash used to buy a simple gram of sugar because the supply would just run out. And eventually people would either be sick from dozens of diseases, die, or on the rare occasion go back to their old ways of living before candy were free.
– Aaron Chen 陳元楷, 6th grade
---------------
Do you think people should adopt children from other countries?
I think it’s okay to adopt children from other countries, because not matter which country you are from, you are a person who needs a family.
– Vivian Tuan 段怡薇, 6th grade
---------------
What are your thoughts about being a volunteer?
Volunteers are people who do something but they don’t expect money. There are many benefits of being a volunteer. First, you can give back to the community that other people give you. You can’t always get things and don’t help others. So, being a volunteer is a chance that you can give back. Second, you can use your talent to be a volunteer. If you help others in the way you like, you will be very happy, too. Third, it’s good for your mind and your heart. If you would be a volunteer, your heart will be more clean and you won’t do something that is bad.
– Libran Hsieh 謝昕叡, 6th grade
