An Unlikely Classroom Environment

by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Jan 25, 2019 | Grade 9, IGCSE Archive

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An Unlikely Classroom Environment
22nd January 2019

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In this emotional rollercoaster of a talk, Martin Suarez retells the heart-wrenching stories of two of his students, who he met when he was doing volunteer work as a teacher in a maximum security prison in Argentina.

Gaby and German had come from entirely different backgrounds. Gaby had grown up with an abusive father, and at the age of 13, fatally struck his father and ran into the streets with his mother. It was inevitable for him to enter a life of crime, he had no choice in the matter. German, however, was an educated and artistic man, whose family supported him when he made an awful mistake and went to prison. Both men attended Suarez’s lessons, and were ‘strong leaders’, as Suarez puts it. They had not only physical strength, but mental strength as well. Suarez talks of how Gaby would teach others to read and write, and how German would carry people to classes so that they could learn, and would paint pictures for the orphans. Gaby even studied law while in prison, and had completed 90% of the work to obtain a degree. However, both men had reached different endings. Suarez suspects that Gaby has gone back into crime, while German got a job due to a feat of kindness and his skilled hands, and tends to an old man’s machinery.

Suarez was first motivated to volunteer when he witnessed a prison maths class. He “saw human beings just like [him]”, loving and respecting a teacher in the name of education. Suarez realised that these juvenile-yet-not-juvenile people had just been the victim of ignorance, whether that be from stupidly making a mistake that landed them in prison, or growing up like Gaby, without the education or the means to bring themselves out of the never-ending cycle of pain they were born into.

But Suarez also realised, that “education is so powerful”, and is an door that leads to a whole new hallway, with even more doors, for you to explore and learn, and this is how we stop ignorance. This is how we stop the problems that we have in this world, by educating ourselves to rid our prejudices, and realise that everyone deserves a second chance, or a third, or a fourth. We are all made up of the same things, after all. So we must ask ourselves, “What can I do for others from here?” (German), and realise that, “The past was destined, the present is inevitable, but the future is up to me.” (Gaby).

Writer’s Fortnight: Al Hornsby – A Writer-Photographer of Nature

by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Jan 25, 2019 | Grade 9, IGCSE Archive

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AL HORNSBY – A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
AND WRITER
ABOUT THE WONDERS OF NATURE
22nd January 2019

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Al Hornsby is one of the lucky people in this world who is doing something he genuinely enjoys, and is doing good by it. His job is no easy task, but Hornsby has been diving in the deep sea since he was 12, and since then, has seen many of the wonders of the underwater world, photographing them and publishing ‘encounter stories’ in various magazines. He’s photographed animals ranging from the biggest whale fights, down to the tiniest pregnant pygmy seahorse, from the deadly sharks, to the slow-moving turtles. But he doesn’t just work in the sea. He’s taken photos of wild mountain goats grazing on mountainside grass, and grizzly bears with deep, dark eyes, plodding through the long grass, and many, many other beautiful creatures.

But Hornsby tells us of how fragile the earth is, how ecosystems hang precariously in balance, and how important it is to realise our impact on that balance and watch how we’re affecting the earth. Hornsby gives many examples of how nature could fall out of balance, one of which being lions not weeding out the weaker, sicker antelopes, so all the grass gets eaten and in the end, everything dies. He speaks of defending that precious stability, because it’s what gives so much beauty to the earth.

So, he photographs and writes enchanting stories about the animals he’s met, and the places he’s been. “There’s a power in writing,” Hornsby says. It gives you the power the shape someone’s feelings and opinions, so to write, you must always take into account your audience. In fact, as Hornsby encounters an animal, he is already forming a story in his head, and when he begins to type, the world flow out of his fingertips faster than he can read them.

Surprisingly, Hornsby has never really felt endangered from being near an animal. “They’re curious but accepting,” Hornsby says. If you respect your surroundings and the organisms within, then they will accept you, no questions asked. Hornsby tries to convey this in his writing, to explain the natural beauty of nature and how important it is.

This realisation of the beauty that nature holds was one of the many takeaways for me in this talk. I’ve realised how unlikely it is for our planet to have such systems of life, and how amazing it is that evolution can create something as complex and interesting as an ecosystem. Our planet is remarkably intricate, every last animal fitting into its place on the food chain. This is why it’s so important to protect our environment and respect the earth, because not only is it our home, it’s also a source of beauty and happiness, and can teach us more than we could ever imagine.

Writer’s Fortnight: A Boxer’s Response to Racism

by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Jan 25, 2019 | Grade 9, IGCSE Archive

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A Boxer’s Response to Racism
17th January 2019
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Sanjay Perera’s talk on the ‘best fight [he] never had’ was full of witty comments, hilarious one-liners and detailed descriptions, and was funny, insightful, but most of all, very surprising.

Perera tells the story of how he, as a scraggly university student on the school boxing team, was at a bar one night and was the victim of racism, from a hulking, bigoted man who Perera could tell, completely hated him, and clearly displayed his aggression. He said, it was a ‘quite scary moment’, as it should be, but he realised that his friends, the university boxing team that had won many competitions, were sitting right behind him. As his aggressor made another comment on how blacks shouldn’t be in the country, Perera cheekily said, “I’m black? Does Dad know?”

And to his and my surprise, this great, beast of a man’s friends began to laugh. “They saw me as a human being for a second,” Perera said, as the tension suddenly evaporated. It was completely bizarre.

Within this experience, Perera sensed a deep injustice, and realised that this was one of the rare moments illustrating perfectly the idea of ‘some people will hate you for things you can’t control’, which Perera himself expressed. However, the really surprising thing for me about this story was how quickly people could overcome their prejudices, even for a second, to share a moment of laughter with another person. Even if the connection lasted only a second, it was there, and this gives me faith that anyone can change how they think about someone else. Perhaps on the first impression, people will dislike you for something you have no control over, but as time passes, maybe their opinion of you could change.

This story taught me the importance of seeing others as human beings, not as white, or black, or brown. To see without colour is something all children are born with, and lose as they grow up, but perhaps it is important to preserve that innocence and willingness to accept people in any shape or form, so that in the future, all of us will have a safe world to live in and express ourselves in.

Writers Fortnight: Growing up in Apartheid South Africa

by curri58987@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg | Jan 25, 2019 | Grade 9, IGCSE Archive

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Growing up in Apartheid South Africa
17th January 2019

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On Thursday 17th January, I listened to an eye-opening talk given by a woman who grew up in apartheid South Africa, on the privileged and pale side of the spectrum. However, despite going to a white private girls school, the government still banned a lot of pop culture, music and books, and she remembers sneaking banned books to read in secret.

She and her family had disagreed on many aspects of apartheid, and she said herself that her family was quite ‘apathetic’ and were Christian. Growing up in a country full of brutality, censorship and a lot of underground activism gave her a ‘real sense’ of justice, and a deep, instinctive radar for injustice. As a child, she didn’t find many people who agreed with her besides her history teacher, a real role model for her, who openly spoke out against the South African government despite the laws restricting her freedom of speech. She had also reached a deep awakening when she compared her own school to a black school, and seeing how differently people were treated just for their skin colour. Being Christian and being taught that God loved all, how did this make sense?

However, when she reached university, she found a lot of people who sympathised with her beliefs and ideologies. But, they had to be careful. The government had secret agents and sources within the campus, and our host told a story of how someone once befriended her and asked all sorts of strange questions about the people that she knew, and when she saw him at a protest rally taking pictures, she realised that he was a spy for the government.

This talk made my mind buzz with all sorts of hopeful thoughts, that despite whatever hardships face it’s way, human spirit, freedom and hope will always find a way to bring happiness and liberty into the world. This thought greatly comforts me, whether or not it is true. That is always debatable.

This talk has also made me think about how people’s opinions change over time. This woman’s father, a man who believed in the old colonialism of the British Empire, and was initially against Nelson Mandela and his ideology, but when Mandela was released from prison peacefully, his view was changed. This makes me wonder, how deep rooted are our assumptions of hate? Why is it so hard to change them?

On the other hand, this talk has also made me realise how prejudices grow, that as children, we don’t see colour, but as we grow up, everything becomes so much more prominent. Why must we say, ‘The waiter that just serves us was Chinese,’ or, ‘I went to the Indian banker today’ (something that our speaker’s mother actually said). The question of why we see race can only be answered in a full length essay, or perhaps even a book. But as technology progresses and the world grows smaller, I hope we cease to see these differences on the outside, and look within to find souls that we truly connect with, to spread compassion and happiness and safety all around the world.