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Why bother?


The title of my International assemblies this week is 'Why bother?' I have used some images from my recent trip to Goa and finished with a short movie created with Photostory. The simple programme creates an effective effect using Queen's Breakthru.


My main point to the pupils is that even if you can put a smile on someones face for 15 minutes then it is worth donating money, time and/or effort. It is said so often that UK pupils are not as engaged as those in developing nations it has almost become cliched, however, in my experience it is the truth!


Some of the stories are both funny and sad. There is a photo of the bathroom and toilet shared by three families. You can imagine the smell and I compare the area with our local tip.The lady standing proudly in her dwelling brings home how small the homes are. Our tutor groups sit in a square 5x5 chairs big so I have been using this to try to communicate the small nature of the abode.





The photograph of the little girl in front of all of her possessions is particularly powerful. I show my new DSLite, iPod and phone and say that I though I couldn't live without them! When we returned to the orphanage this girl, and her little sister, were not there. They had been snatched from the building during the night.


The photograph with the 25KG of rice is great too, especially when I bring in £3 worth of rice from Tesco to compare! I point out that the children of Shallom house and the villages are smiling at receiving some very very old textbooks and 2-3 Haribo sweets each.


One of the images sums up the time in India. With the children jumping for the sweets and to appear on camera, the adults are in the background keeping a wary eye. These gentlemen were often high on mile narcotics that grow naturally in the area.


So far Years 9-11 seem to have appreciated the message and there have been a number of tears from students and staff alike! I think that with geography being squeezed it is more important than ever to show where the subject can help make sense of the world.

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  1. Unknown5 December 2007 at 21:46

    That sounds really good, as it gives the pupils to see what life is really like over there, and how people can survive without mobiles and computers!

    ReplyDelete
  2. David Rogers6 December 2007 at 18:33

    The final assembly was given today - the message seems to have been communicated well!

    ReplyDelete

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