This year, I have learned a lot about diversity and inclusion, as well as some of the inherent biases we may have. In particular, the bomb shelter activity was really eye-opening because it exemplified my biases and the people that I would choose to be the most valuable in such a situation. By exploring this, I was also able to discuss with my peers about how the people we chose may change depending on the situation or criteria that we were considering. For example, if we were choosing who would be best to survive in a COVID-19 situation like the present day, we would consider aspects like health, however, if we were to choose from educational background, we may disregard healthcare issues to prioritise this. It is important to consider our own biases when trying to create more diverse and inclusive communities. Looking at the padlet, I can see how this applies to our school community. We are taught the importance of inclusion and are even able to see how this exists by having people from all across the world with diverse backgrounds integrated into one school community. This is also why I love our UWC community.
I think the biggest area of growth for me this year was understanding more perspectives on issues and discussing why these perspectives and viewpoints may exist (and why it is valuable to hear more than one side of the argument.) Previously, I had been quite one-sided with my views, but through the PSE program, I have been able to become more open-minded to hearing other people’s thoughts. I was also able to refine my critical thinking skills, taking any knowledge that I had to the next level through our deep conversations about some more difficult and controversial topics.