Eco Club - One last Time
I was nostalgic and tired of coming to school only for exams so I came up with this project. Diwali was round the corner and pollution levels had hit alarming heights. With a ban on selling crackers in Mumbai and Delhi, I felt that as a citizen, we had the responsibility to stop it too instead of waiting for the government to stop it. So with the help of juniors we went around to every class in PYP and MYP and explained the need to stop bursting crackers.
In 2nd grade, when I was giving my speech, a small kid got up and started jumping. We were confused and he was stammering "We should tell everyone to stop bursting cracker, call the newspaper, tell them". He burst into tears right there. I stood there, startled at how messaged has reached him. The urgency of the issue has reached him but his reaction was not as expected. I went to him, consoled him and told him that we could stop this together, we could fight this together and he could help us stop this by having a green Diwali this year.
Our speech for PYP was very emotional and focused on showing them the dangers of pollution which would incite some fear and make them realize how dangerous this is but this wouldn't work with MYP. They know what are the consequences and there we used social media and explained how they are global citizens, how they are old and mature now and how other kids look up to them. I knew this worked well when the high school coordinator asked me to give a speech in front of the 6th, 7th and 8th graders. I was freaking out, it was a huge audience and they were small kids. I wasn't sure if I had the right words or if I was ready. I didn't have a script prepared but my juniors were encouraging and pushed me towards it. In minutes I found myself weaving sentences one after the other while my eyes watched the kids agree and understand the urgency of the issue.
A part of my speech in MYP was like this:
"You all probably know the consequences of pollution better than I do. You know it all and you know it better yet you choose to not follow it. How many of you have been IB students? Have you heard of the IB attribute called reflective? Where are you applying it? Reflective means to apply what you learn in real life, to ponder about it and use it for good not just leaving it in these four walls. You are a global citizen, you are the next generation, you are the era of technology, Use it wisely. All of love being trend setters, why can't you set the trend of green Diwali? We dress up and take selfies during Diwali, do that and go green this Diwali.
It's not something I can do. The minute I leave the class, you are going to go back to your normal life but that's not the point. It's a feeling from within, it's the desire from within. It's the love for the nature and respect for humanity that will help you become good human beings and you can take baby steps and make your way to being trend setters."
Following this, while walking back to the buses, I noticed children around me discussing about pollution and crackers and convincing each other. I noticed them give me those looks like "I know her" and randomly wave at me. Green Diwali was the talk of the school and surprisingly, according to the news, Coimbatore had very less crackers this year and silently I thanked myself because at least 10 kids would have gone green this Diwali and that is a big number in itself.
In 2nd grade, when I was giving my speech, a small kid got up and started jumping. We were confused and he was stammering "We should tell everyone to stop bursting cracker, call the newspaper, tell them". He burst into tears right there. I stood there, startled at how messaged has reached him. The urgency of the issue has reached him but his reaction was not as expected. I went to him, consoled him and told him that we could stop this together, we could fight this together and he could help us stop this by having a green Diwali this year.
Our speech for PYP was very emotional and focused on showing them the dangers of pollution which would incite some fear and make them realize how dangerous this is but this wouldn't work with MYP. They know what are the consequences and there we used social media and explained how they are global citizens, how they are old and mature now and how other kids look up to them. I knew this worked well when the high school coordinator asked me to give a speech in front of the 6th, 7th and 8th graders. I was freaking out, it was a huge audience and they were small kids. I wasn't sure if I had the right words or if I was ready. I didn't have a script prepared but my juniors were encouraging and pushed me towards it. In minutes I found myself weaving sentences one after the other while my eyes watched the kids agree and understand the urgency of the issue.
A part of my speech in MYP was like this:
"You all probably know the consequences of pollution better than I do. You know it all and you know it better yet you choose to not follow it. How many of you have been IB students? Have you heard of the IB attribute called reflective? Where are you applying it? Reflective means to apply what you learn in real life, to ponder about it and use it for good not just leaving it in these four walls. You are a global citizen, you are the next generation, you are the era of technology, Use it wisely. All of love being trend setters, why can't you set the trend of green Diwali? We dress up and take selfies during Diwali, do that and go green this Diwali.
It's not something I can do. The minute I leave the class, you are going to go back to your normal life but that's not the point. It's a feeling from within, it's the desire from within. It's the love for the nature and respect for humanity that will help you become good human beings and you can take baby steps and make your way to being trend setters."
Following this, while walking back to the buses, I noticed children around me discussing about pollution and crackers and convincing each other. I noticed them give me those looks like "I know her" and randomly wave at me. Green Diwali was the talk of the school and surprisingly, according to the news, Coimbatore had very less crackers this year and silently I thanked myself because at least 10 kids would have gone green this Diwali and that is a big number in itself.
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