I used to think…but now I think… OR I was expecting…but came to learn that…
Truth to be told, when Mr Watson had asked the three students from my class to step out of the class to talk, I already knew who was talking what based on certain information I had once been told of.
I was expecting the first speaker, Calum, to talk about how scared he had felt, only to learn that he was only one year old at the time of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami incident. The moment he had mentioned his age at that time, I suddenly wasn’t that excited anymore. What else could he talk about? And of course, there were lots. He talked about the locals, the unexisting guilt that makes sense as he has said ‘There’s not much we could have done’ and the fact that he was just one. Another thing that had surprised me was that Calum had voiced that if he was to experience the incident again at his current age, it would probably be much more chaotic. Normally people would think the opposite, but he had reasoned that when he was younger, there wouldn’t much complain nor add to the stress and tension the family was feeling at that time.
Headlines
Venture into the past when superstitions saved lives
Victoria’s great-grandmother, a Russian survivor of the horrific World War II manages to get her paralyzed husband back into shape when doctors claim there was no cure.
A natural disaster that did not have me, but my family scared
Calum was once involved in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Malaysia. Despite having only certain memories of the event, he tells us about how he felt looking back.
Inquiry Factory
Most of the questions I have is directed to our third speaker, Zoe, whose headline was that ‘As a baby, I was abandoned in a box wrapped in a red blanket, a sign of good luck’, which I don’t really dare to ask despite her lax attitude when being asked questions about her past.
- How did you feel when you found out you were adopted?
- How do you feel about the recent abolishment of the one-child policy in China? (Following up with) Do you feel that it was unfair to you?
- What do you think about the other children out there that haven’t been adopted yet?
- How do you feel when one of your superstitions failed or did not work?
- Do you think superstitions are just hopes?
This is a really thoughtful reflection on the sessions and I am glad that you seemed so engaged with their stories. I like the way that you have generated the headlines and included a little snapshot first few sentences. I wish you could have asked some of the questions you listed, but maybe you could consider them further as part of a bigger piece of writing in your next story.
Personally, having not been at your human library session myself I am not too sure about the depth of the thoughts represented in this piece, however, I like how you have covered your reactions to the stories of your peers. I agree with Mr. Watson in that asking the questions you had regarding Zoe’s story could have helped you gain a deeper understanding of her experience.