It is often said that children are the future, but have we ever thought about the power they truly hold in this present moment? Grade five students at Prairie Waters Elementary school had the chance to showcase just how much they know about the world they live in, and how people all over can make a difference by educating people on a range of topics.
The inaugural PYP Exhibition was held on May 21st, and ran for an hour and a half. The exhibition, which was the result of an independent inquiry unit called, “Passions and beliefs inspire people to action”, has been in the works for the last month and a half. People could walk in to the school and visit 58 stations, all which dealt with different world issues or personal passions.
From ocean pollution to animal abuse, the importance of honeybees to education on shark finning, and the issue of bullying to alcoholism, students covered a wide range of topics that currently affect the world we live in.
“The whole point when kids learn something is to be able to take away the ‘so what’,” says the school’s principal Ryan Siemens, “and this unit did exactly that. It wasn’t about taking the time to learn something, writing the test, and then emptying your brain of that knowledge. The kids chose something they were passionate about or wanted to learn more about, and these issues require the level of passion they have in order to educate people how they can help.”
At one table, two girls were educating others about ocean pollution. People had the opportunity to take part in a pledge in where you promised to cut back on your effect on the environment through littering and pollution. They also provided an extremely information pamphlet explaining how marine life is affected by pollution. A ‘decomposing timeline’ showed the rate at which litter items decomposed naturally, showing that a paper towel takes two to four weeks, whereas a plastic bag can take from 200-1000 years. The girls also showed how to properly cut the plastic packaging ring for pop cans, so that it can be thrown out as one piece without any holes that could get stuck on an animal’s neck or limbs.
One exhibit was entitled ‘Free the Children and The Media’, which expressed the importance of unbiased media and educated listeners about the NGO Free the Children and was run by students Leksy Tod and Grace Barns. Some people may be familiar with the organization through the kid-powered, motivational and inspiring event called WeDay, which has come to Calgary the last two years.
The organization works to empower youth to become active citizens in not only their own community, but the world as well, and teaches people how to allow impoverished communities overcome obstacles to have the same opportunities. Their blog that they showed to guests was both in French and English, showcasing the French immersion part of the school.
“It’s important for people to know about free media as well as Free the Children so that they can learn, understand, and help too, if they wanted,” both Grace and Leksy agreed.
Each student showed his or her ability to understand the complexity of world issues with written work, tri-folds, interactive demonstrations, as well as videos that included relevant pictures and musical accompaniment to further enhance the education process. Listeners were encouraged to leave comments directly on the group’s supplied iPad mini, or on one of the laptops that were set up at the front for a live comment feed. The student’s will then use this feedback to strengthen their presentation skills for future projects.
In saying this, it appears that not only are these kids our future, but very much our spark to change issues that are happening currently. The passionate and driven students at Prairie Waters Elementary School were a shining example of the importance of educated and empowered youth. If you take the time to listen, you might find there is many more waiting to educate you about what they’re passionate about, or would like to see change for the better.
