CAS: Music Therapy with Down Syndrome Association (Day 1)

Today was the first session for my service to finally initiate our class sessions with the people at the DSA (Down Syndrome Association). After many in-class sessions of planning, we had a plan to introduce and acquaintance ourselves to the people and to get to know them as well! After that, we’d start the fun bit: singing.

Deciding what song they’d like, mostly Disney songs.

 

Now, I’m not a singer. Nor have I ever dealt with people of special needs, as ignorant as it may seem, I was never given the opportunity to. So of course I was excited! But also nervous, one of my biggest fears was that I wouldn’t know how to deal with them or that I’d come off as rude. I decided to put that all aside and focus on my main goal: to befriend one person and come out having a better understanding of people with down syndrome. 

As we entered the centre, we were warmly greeted by one of the students of the association! His name was Allen. He was a student at the DSA since he was “very little” and seemed to know everyone around. Despite some misunderstandings, I felt like Allen was genuinely happy to see us, which is really nice! Before getting into a circle, I managed to catch some small talk with some of the other students. I noticed some of them were much more talkative than others which actually surprised me in a good way. If anything, they talked more than me!

Another interaction that made me think was when I saw two students doing a type of handshake, y’know, the kind of handshake that are special only to specific friends. Kinda like a secret handshake.Seeing them have such an interaction made me think that just because they have a disability, that doesn’t stop them from being just like us. I feel like people stereotype other people with a mental disability as someone who doesn’t ‘understand’ the norm. Only to a certain extent is that true, but it’s important to remember they are just as capable as us in doing anything.

I’d be lying if I said I instantly thought this way. As a result, I feel as though I achieved LO7: Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions. Being a part of this centre gave me an insight of what people with down syndrome are REALLY like.

My partner that day was Micheal. Even though I managed to fulfil my goal of being able to come out with an insight of people with down syndrome, I didn’t interact with Micheal as much as I wanted to. I felt as if I was too quiet and didn’t quite initiate enough, and that left me fairly disappointed

I got out of the centre feeling somewhat surprised, pleased, but also let down. I was pleasantly surprised that the people at the DSA were very accommodating towards us and really treated us as friends! I also managed to get an experience of working with people with down syndrome (I’ve always wanted to work with people with special needs!) But I was also let down because I did not manage to really get to know any of the students. I told myself the next time I come back, I would get to know Micheal –or any of the students- more. Talk to them, ask them about their day, or anything really. But I was definitely happy with our first visit to the DSA.

 

CAS: My initial thoughts.

CAS stands for creativity, action and service. In the IB, it incorporates your creative side while allowing you to go out and do some sports and give back to the community as well. Honestly to me, that sounds extremely tiring but also very worthwhile. I’m very excited to finally start my CAS journey and feel accomplished about it.

For my creativity I’ll be joining the film club and trying out for the school’s production. As for my activity I’ll be doing netball, basketball and touch rugby and lastly, for my service I’m helping out my local community in baking with elderly and an equality focus group which I’m looking forward to very much.

Though I can foresee the CAS being very stressful and time consuming, I’m looking forward to see what I can do and the experiences and memories I’ll make!

Maths and Me

Hi! I’m Jasmine from Malaysia! I did my IGCSE’s and I did both E-Math and A-Math for it.

I generally have a very pessimistic view towards mathematics. I won’t lie. I always told myself I was an artsy student and disliked math but I did it for the sake of it anyway. However, I don’t feel too nervous about starting this course. Since I did additional mathematics, I feel like I have a base foundation for Maths SL in IB, maybe not the best, but if it weren’t for my subject choice of A-Math in the IGCSE’s, I’ll probably find myself struggling much more.

I like to stay between doing things myself and having someone explaining it to me. I can’t study maths by myself since I get stuck easily, but I also like to do my work by myself (since I concentrate best in a calm and quiet environment) with nobody bothering me.

When I’m stuck in mathematics I always rely on my peers of teachers. For me, I can’t learn math through something like Khan Academy or online videos. I must have someone be there and teach me! I like to ask questions on the spot anyway.

My biggest skill is once I understand a concept, all that’s left is just to practice and practice. I’ll be able to finish the job easy. However, it takes me a while to actually understand the concept before I get to that level.

I want my math teacher to know he’s cool and I hope his leg gets better.