Today’s post is about a project we just completed in Humanities about cults. This was an inquiry project, meaning we, the students, had free will to choose what to study. My partner, Sean, and I chose to learn about the “Heaven’s Gate Cult.” We made a podcast to share our learning in this project, where we discuss the history of the cult, its beliefs, and the psychological and social factors that led to the tragic event in 1997.
The driving question in this project was:
“What psychological, social, and cultural factors drive individuals to seek belonging in groups with extreme or radical beliefs, and how do these groups fulfill needs that mainstream communities may not?”
Cults provide members a sense of belonging in their cults, often providing individuals services and opportunities that society can’t. They also offer a clear worldview and opinions on specific issues. Furthermore, they reinforce an “Us vs. Them” attitude, which can brainwash members into thinking the cult’s ideals are the only right thing. Through the lens of Heaven’s Gate, they combined UFO and religious beliefs to attract members.
We began conducting research to develop an understanding of our cult. Sean and I explored video and article sources to build our understanding. Along with our research, we did an annotated bibliography. (Here’s a link to our research.)
I enjoyed that we had free reign over our learning in this project. At times, it was hard to stay on a concise work schedule, but I did enjoy the freedom and not being held to one learning path. I chose to do a podcast because I’ve had experience making one in the past. In Grade 10, I made a podcast called “Vinyl To The Max.” (You can check out that podcast here:)
To summarize, this project was very interesting, and made me realize that cults aren’t a thing of the past, they are still very prevalent in today’s society. I had fun making a podcast and sharing my understanding through that medium. Also, I enjoyed having control over my own project and workflow. Reflecting on humanities as a whole this year, it’s been a fun and worthwhile experience. From making horror movies, to going on a field study, to building projects for the exhibition, and in the process grew closer with the PLP class.
Hello readers, and welcome back to the blog! Today’s post is about a short project we did on terrorism and the different forms of it. While this project was brief, we understood topics deeply and developed strong connections in our learning. The driving question for this project was:
Terrorism occurs when radical groups feel oppressed by a system or group of people. This was seen in 9/11 with Al-Queda and with constant attacks in Israel. Terrorism causes death and fear and can reduce cities to rubble. As a long-term consequence, it can scar generations of people and change our perspectives on groups, ideals, and structures in societies worldwide.
As I mentioned, this project was brief; we only spent a few weeks working on it. To guide our learning, we actively watched “Age of Terror” documentaries, which focused on the various aspects of terrorism. These aspects include liberation, revolution, religion, and state. The videos were very informative and used real-world events to help us guide our understanding of these topics. Overall, immersing in these videos widened my perspective on terrorism and made me realize that it can have many definitions.
After building our knowledge, we participated in a final Socratic seminar. Ms. Willemse put us to the test by building upon the two we did in our “Past Forward” project. Looking back, I think we performed well in this specific seminar. We were able to deepen our understanding without going on long tangents.
To summarize, though this project was short, I feel like I learned a lot of new things about terrorism and its various forms. This project also allowed me to hone in on my Note-Making abilities and make connections on the fly. Furthermore, I was tested yet again with a Socratic Seminar, and I think I did well. See you all next time!
Today’s post concerns our most recent project, which included a field study in Mississippi and Tennessee. This project was called “Past Forward,” its primary focus was the civil rights movement. Mississippi and Tennessee were the main battlefields of this movement, so it was only fitting that we explored those states as part of our trip. At first, when I heard about this trip, I wasn’t super pumped. But looking back, it was an amazing trip that truly left a mark on me as a learner and a member of society.
The main driving question behind this project was, “How can stories of social activism and change from the past inspire us to create a positive impact in our communities today?”
“These stories can inspire change by inspiring people today to make changes with the resources we have readily available. If activists in the past made change with nowhere near the resources we have today, then we can make change with the tools we have. These stories demonstrate that even the little steps to change can make a big difference.”
For our final product, a short explainer video, we were tasked with highlighting a person who created change during the civil rights movement. I chose to make a video about the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin. I knew a little bit about her, and I liked her music, so I decided to shed light on her story and influence.
Before this trip, we had to build a basic understanding of the civil rights movement. Mr. Hughes serenaded us with his lectures, and Ms. Willemse kept us busy with activities that made us think. We did a Socratic seminar to test our knowledge as a class, and it didn’t go all too well. We went on too many tangents, and the discussion lacked structure or flow. But we can write it off as an F.A.I.L.
Now, it was time to embark on our field study!
Above is a photo of our PLP 12 class at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson. This museum was informative and included almost 100% factual information about the civil rights movement. While we were there, we even heard from civil rights activists who lived through Jim Crow segregation in the South and chose to do something about it.
After visiting Mississippi, we visited Memphis and through Nashville, exploring many museums. These included the National Museum of African American Music and the Country Music Hall of Fame. My topic was Aretha Franklin, so learning about the influence of music in the fight for civil rights was irreplaceable. The purpose of field studies in PLP is to make connections and change perspectives, which is hard to do from home. I did both of those things on this trip. Besides being a school project, it was also a fun trip with many attractions. Some notable locations we visited were Graceland, the Grand Ole Opry, Dollywood, the Smoky Mountains, and many more.
The process of making my video was tedious. It took lots of revisions, effort, and time to make this video. Before we explored locations on site, we created storyboards that included a shotlist. Here’s my storyboard: Past Forward Storyboard Template 2.key
This storyboard helped me in making the final video.
We also made a challenge chart:
This chart helped us guide our thinking and organize our ideas effectively. It also gave our teachers a clear idea of where we were in building our product, and how we could revise and improve things.
The final component of our project was a roundtable discussion held in small groups, with our parents invited as the audience. Each group tackled a unique essential question, developing claims, offering supporting evidence, and posing thoughtful follow-up questions. Our group explored the question: What can we learn to increase personal awareness and perspective? — a topic that really resonated with me, especially given my interest in the power of self-education.
On the night of the roundtable, the parents were more like silent observers than a traditional audience. It didn’t feel like a presentation at all. It was more like they were watching from behind a one-way mirror as we engaged in honest, unscripted dialogue. I actually really liked that format.
Looking back, it went really well. Every group brought something meaningful to the table. There wasn’t much need for heavy preparation; we had already absorbed the material. It was just about finding the words to express it.
To wrap up, the answer to the driving question: How can stories of social activism and change from the past inspire us to create a positive impact in our communities today?
Social activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Hezekiah Watkins, and Aretha Franklin used their platforms to inspire change. So what can we do? You don’t have to go to the degree of the activists I mentioned above, but you can educate yourself and others in your community. The smallest things can have the biggest impact. Thanks for reading!
Hello teachers and parents, and welcome to my last ever MPOL! It’s been a long journey for me in PLP, and it’s crazy that this is my last time doing this!
This year has come with some fun projects, a trip to loon lake, yes another one, and new challenges.
“Thank you for coming to my presentation of learning. I am the expert on my own learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my own learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner.”
The driving question for this Mpol is “How have I demonstrated growth as a learner so far this year?” In this presentation, I’ll have this question at the forefront and at the end, I’ll circle back to it.
Now to talk about my Vision, Mission, Values. Or VMV for short. This is a new addition to the PLP cycle, which focuses on specific goals that are realistic and can be achieved by the end of the year. R.I.P Learning Plan, you won’t be missed. I prefer the VMV as it focuses on just three main goals whereas the learning plan was more general.
My three main areas of focus at the start of the year were Self Regualtion, Engagement, and Agency. These are skills that have been a bit spotty for me throughout my time in PLP and at high school. I always find myself focusing on a million things at a time, so sometimes I find it hard to meet deadlines or comeplete an assignment for a project.
One concept I want to continue to build on this year is my ability to make notes. I find that when I dedicate time to this process, it makes my life a whole lot easier when it comes to formulating my final product for any given project. This skill will especially be import for our upcoming field school to the Mississippi delta and Tennessee. If you know anything about PLP field schools, they are fast paced and you never stop. I experienced this first hand at Disney when I was “starving,” I had to complain about my insane hunger until the teachers finally let me grab some ravioli. Sorry about that by the way. On a more serious note, this trip will be fast pace and we’ll come by a million different places and people. I’m super pumped for this trip, especially the ribs that Mr. Hughes has been raving about. Also the 20 pound apple pie!
Here’s an example of a good start for my bank of notes for our upcoming project, “Past Forward.” This project is centred around the civil rights movement, and the effects it made. For this project, we are creating a short video about an individual who made a difference in this movement.
Now let’s talk about what I can do better moving forward this year.
Focusing on my agency, I have to be more open to experiences and expand my interests. Often times in school I prioritize things based on what I enjoy most, but in the real world you need to prioritize whichever task is the most pressing at the moment. A prime example of this was in the project; “Oh the horrors.” I found it hard to work with my group members in a way that was effective and beneficial for the completion of the project. Originally my role was scriptwriter which I did. But once the script was done and we were on site shooting, I felt left out and helpless in the effort. Next time I encounter I situation like this I need to be more flexible and try new things, even if I’m not as comfortable. These are the type of situations are learning curves which will prepare me for bigger things in my life and career.
To summarize, this year has been one of growth, challenges, and new experiences. From refining my self-regulation and engagement skills to recognizing the importance of agency, I’ve gained valuable insights into my learning habits and areas for improvement. While I’ve made progress in focusing on my tasks and taking better notes, I know there’s still room to grow, especially in being more adaptable and open to new roles and experiences.
As I move forward, I’ll continue working on these skills, keeping my VMV in mind, and making the most of opportunities like our upcoming field school. This MPOL has allowed me to reflect on how I’ve demonstrated growth as a learner so far this year, and I look forward to applying these lessons in the months ahead.
Hey guys, welcome back to my blog. Today’s post is about a project in Humanities class called “Who runs the world? Girls!” I’m not talking about the song by Beyoncé; this is about our project, in which we learned about feminism. In this project, we learned about the history of feminism, how it has progressed over time, and the barriers women face in our society. Feminism is a social, political, and cultural movement aimed at achieving gender equality and advocating for women’s rights. The end goal of this project was to create a meaningful essay that shed light on a particular issue or story. For my essay, I spotlighted my mother’s story and how she overcame barriers.
The driving question in this project was:
How Has the Feminist Movement Impacted Members of Our Society?
The feminist movement has impacted our society in various ways. First, it has brought changes in legal, political, and economic status. Second, it has led to more education and awareness of discrimination against women. Today, groups are able to get their message out more effectively with tools such as social media and online chat groups.
To grasp what the feminist movement meant and looked like, we did several class activities and assignments. We also read Michelle Obama’s “Becoming.”
This book served as our guideline for the project. As we read the book, we attended several class seminars that improved our understanding of the book and how it connected to themes of feminism. These discussions allowed us to explore the book’s themes in detail and consider its connections to current events and previous projects we’ve done. Overall, our book was a reference point and a vital learning piece for growth throughout the project.
The final product we created for this project was an essay exploring the feminist movement. This composition was supported by evidence from our seminars and an interview we conducted with a person of our choice. I decided to focus on women’s career barriers due to gender. I interviewed my mother, Chera Rasmussen, and we had a meaningful conversation about her experiences in both sports and her professional life and the obstacles she encountered.
At first, I was stuck and found it hard to write a first draft. I did some outlining and referenced notes I made earlier in the project. Having a strong bank of notes for the project is something that I prioritize, and it is a trait that will help me in the future.
If you want to give my essay a read here’s a link: Essay
As I look back on this project, I realize that I’ve learned a lot about feminism, what it isn’t, and how we didn’t become more aware of issues that women face and work together to rid them. Through discussions with my mom, reading, and researching, I’ve realized I’ve played an uneven game. Feminism has impacted the world we live in today and should be something everyone cares about.
Hey guys, welcome back to my blog. It’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog on this site but today I’m coming back with a boom. Today’s post is about a project in Humanities class that we just completed called “Dystopia.” In this project we learned about themes of dystopia, dystopian art, and how concepts of dystopia are seen in our society today. If you don’t know what dystopia means I’ll give you all a quick definition: “Dystopia is a society characterized by oppressive control, widespread suffering, and the illusion of perfection, often serving as a cautionary reflection of real-world issues.”
The main goal of this project was to create conceptual art that effectively sheds a light on a topic of dystopia of our choice.
“How Can Art Shine a Spotlight on the Dark Sections of our Society?”
“Art shines a light on the dark sections of our society by describing uncomfortable truths, and fostering connections that inspire real action. In our project, we were tasked with creating an art piece that highlighted a topic or issue that currently faces our society today. In order to build an effective piece, we read dystopic literature, and had discussions in order to learn what dystopia really meant. “
The Book:
I chose to read “Brave New World,” by Aldous Huxley. This book is centred around the idea of totalitarianism and is set in a futuristic world. The citizens of the “World State” are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarchy. This book carries many themes and topics that resonate with our society, which is why I found this book pretty interesting.
The Art:
Photo of me presenting my piece at the yearly PLP Exhibition:
This art piece visualizes a constant trend in our society: “Censorship.” The media, governments, and other organizations try to twist and turn the outcomes of events. This piece shows how this idea of censorship is controlling the way we view the world. In articles, news and social media feeds we are force fed these agendas of “what we want to hear.” In this day and age the amount of information that isn’t disclosed to the public is astonishing. In my piece, I have a collage of images and pieces of media that show this concept or “censorship.” As well as these pieces, I have integrated several forms of artwork to support my ideas. I also use supporting quotes from literature, and significant figures which confront censorship.
The Process:
In order to build this piece, we had to ideate first. I created a blueprint of my art, which included a sketch, and a brief explanation with brainstorming. I originally wanted to talk about current issues in our society such as conspiracies, but I changed my idea in the end.
We also crafted an Annotated Bibliography in order to learn more about our chosen topic. I explored some articles, and I also pulled from some books I’ve read in the past that relate to my topic, including Brave New World.
Using conceptual art as a medium to communicate ideas to an audience was a really interesting way to spark discussion about censorship and teach citizens to learn more about what they see in their every day lives. I learned a lot from reading Brave New World as well as other texts in this project. Reading dystopic literature was a very interesting way to explore the dystopian controls in today’s society. I hope you enjoyed my concept art, learned something about the dystopia present in our world, and were inspired by my art.
Hello readers, and welcome back to the blog. Today’s post is about our most recent project in humanities, “Cat and Maus.” In this project, we dived into the topic of the holocaust. This is a complicated event to understand that has many layers to it. In order to develop and understanding of the event, we read the book “Maus,” by Art Spiegelman. This is a comic style book which details the harsh realities of the holocaust in Eastern Europe.
Driving Question:
How can multi-modal communication enhance our ability to humanize and understand complex issues?
In this project, we heard from multiple speakers and used various resources to understand the big ideas of the holocaust. As I mentioned, the book was helpful, and we also heard from a speaker who’s family was directly affected. Most of these resources were shocking, and brought out the true brutality of this event. As one of our first activities, we wrote a reflection on the holocaust, based on the resources we discovered in class. In this I wrote about my thoughts and connected the resources to one another. I also explained how each told it’s own important story.
We did a field trip as part of this project to the Holocaust Symposium at UBC. This was a day trip where we listened to multiple speakers, one of which a holocaust survivor who lived through the terrible event.Here’s some photos of the symposium:
I thought the presentation would be more hands on, but I still learned lots and had a good time at the UBC campus.
Near the end of the project, we watched “Schindlers list.”
This movie was great, and it documented the events of the holocaust very well. In an event full of negative figures, Oskar Schindler was one of the few good ones.
Final product:
For this project our final product was initially supposed to be about an upstander in history and how they contributed their efforts to philanthropy. But, the teachers pivoted and made it a combined product with our BCFP exhibition. In my BCFP post, I go into more detail about the exhibition. Go give it a read!
For the exhibiton, I chose to talk about the importance of indigenous lands, and focused on Indian arm. I pivoted from talking about the humanities material, and solely talked about BCFP.
Here’s a photo of my final product:
In summary, this project was interesting and presenting lots of shocking details about human history. There has been many holocausts such as this in our history, but none this brutal or done with modern technology such as this. This was one of my first times learning about the holocaust in school. Thanks for reading my post!
Hello teachers, parents, and siblings and welcome to my TPOL. This year has been full of twists and turns, but I’m finally at the finish line of grade 11. It’s felt long and short at the same time, it’s been a year full of new challenges. A new grading system, new teachers, and challenging learning goals were reached. This year I was accountable for my learning, if I was struggling I was self-aware and my teachers let me know.
“Thank you for coming to my presentation on learning. I am the expert on my learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner.”
“How can you showcase evidence to demonstrate that PLP Success Behaviours have prepared you to advance to the next grade?”
I have demonstrated this evidence throughout the year, whether it be in class or field studies. This year, I’ve pushed beyond my comfort zone and have started to reach my potential as a PLP learner. I’ve started to contribute more to class activities and ask more questions which benefit my learning. I’ve also been able to provide connections and see the bigger picture of things. Something that held me back in previous years was my interest and passion to learn more about certaintopics. This year, I’ve started to be more open-minded and see the end goals in the projects that we complete. These examples, as well as many more that I’ll mention in my presentation, are all pieces of evidence that support this….
Success Behaviours:
Goals and self-assessing:
A big part of my grade 11 year has been goal setting and planning where I strive to be by the end of the year. This is an important trait to have for any course in high school, especially in PLP. At the start of the year, I aimed to be more flexible and open to trying new things. I think I achieved these goals this year, I worked more with the people that I didn’t necessarily know as well as my good buddies. An example of this was in the Great Debaters project when Dana and I battled it out in a debate over social media. She won, but this was a good opportunity to learn and expand my horizons a little. Another goal that I scratched off was my ability to self-regulate and manage my time. I’m a pretty busy guy outside of school, so it’s always pretty stressful meeting deadlines and getting projects done. However, this year I was able to plan things out well and work around my mammoth schedule. Right now I am writing this after a weekend-long soccer tournament. ! I always try to get my tasks done and do my best in that regard.
Enthusiasm:
As I mentioned in my answer to the driving question, I was more engaged this year in our material and the PLP community as a whole. I found the fun things in our projects, and I did some volunteering at the Destination Imagination tournament. This year I tried new things, and as a result, my learning got better and more in-depth. One example of thiswas when we were tasked with making some fleeting notes during our Arizona-Nevada field study. I always talked about them in the car and stuff. (Sorry Mr. Hughes for annoying you…)
I’ve put more time and effort into reflection this year, and have started to prioritize it. This is shown in my blog, and also in the Bank of Zettlekasten, and in notes that I’ve made throughout the year. Reflecting during projects has helped me to find the deeper meaning behind topics and events. An example of this was in our Fear Factor project about the Cold War. During our field study, I would reflect daily and this helped me, especially to make a good final product. I’ve realized that reflection isn’t a sugarcoating of fancy words, but it’s an opportunity to bring in other aspects of your life and find the links to it.
Learning Evidence:
Now I’m going to talk about the successes and failures I’ve experienced in projects this year. I could come up here and talk about only good parts of my learning, but I’m not going to do that.mklk
The field study was a blast, and in the process, we learned a lot about world history and the effects that fear can have on people’s decisions. I tried really hard in this project and as a result, got the most out of it. I had a great time driving around in the tik TikTok Rizz bus throughout our adventures in Arizona and Vegas.
The project that was the most challenging had to be “The Great Debaters.” This required the most focus and self-determination. In order to prepare for our final product, the debate, we had to do hours of research and practice. The hardest part was crafting an effective rebuttal, which we mostly had to make up on the spot. This showed my ability to improvise and make things up on the spot
Conclusion:
In summary, this year was full of bumps in the road, but as a result I learned many valuable lessons. An unfamiliar grading system, limited teachers, and harder projects, all brought out the resilience and work ethic in myself. I reached my full potential this year as a PLP learner. I tried new things, widened my surroundings, and opened myself to new learning opportunities. I had a fun experience on our field study and got to know the PLP 11 class quite well. This is my last ever TPOL, as next year I’ll be onto my FPOL, (final presentation of learning). High School really has gone by in a flash. I hope you all enjoyed my TPOL, bring on grade 12!
Hello readers, and welcome back to my blog! It’s been a bit since I’ve posted but I’m sure you’ll enjoy today’s read.
Today’s post is about a project we did as part of our humanities class. This project was called “Fear Factor” and was centred around the Cold War.
In order to further learn our topic and develop an in-depth answer to the driving question, we travelled to Arizona and Nevada in late April. During this field study, we got first hand accounts about the story of the Cold War, and how it affected the world as a whole. Our whole class didn’t take part in this trip, as half of them went to New Mexico earlier in the year. I went with… (link to peers who went on trip). The PLP teachers who joined us on the trip were Mr. Hughes, and Ms. McWilliam. The driving question in this project was: “How has fear been used as a political, defensive, and cultural tool to shape our society?” I offered my answer to the driving question in my final product, which is linked at the bottom. But, I’ll reitarate it for you all here on the blog. During the Cold War, fear was used as a motive for both sides to expand their rule and ideals around the world. They were both scared of the other taking control, as a result they both built up their nuclear arsenal and fought over territory in different parts of the world. This apsect of fear led to these weapons being used for deterrence, as well as alliances being made, NATO and the Warsaw Pact.
Hello readers, and welcome back to my blog! It’s been a bit since I’ve posted but I’m sure you’ll enjoy today’s read.
The start:
The excitement was real for us going on the trip. Going away on trips is always something I look forwards to, (especially when you get to skip school at the same time.)
View of the sunset on our way down south to Arizona!
On our first day, we headed to the Titan Missile Silo in Tucson, AZ. This museum held lots of important info for our project, and was just an all around cool place. We got a full tour of the silo, we learned how the missies could be launched, and how quickly they could hit the enemy in a nuclear war scenario. They told us it would only take 30 minutes for a missile to reach the targets. While at the silo, I had a chance to talk to the tour guide, which would be very helpful for my eventual final product! (I won’t spoil it yet)
Along our adventures through the deserts of Arizona, we did lots of fun activities. We did lots of hiking, which at first we all dreaded but I found a liking to it near the end of the trip. Here’s some photos of our hiking adventures:
We also checked out the Grand Canyon!
Arizona was a great experience, and that was my first time ever being there.
Resources for our learning:
To help build an understanding of the Cold War as a whole, we were tasked with two books to read during this project: “Hiroshima by John Hersey, and “Fallout by Todd Strasser. These books helped me learn more about the Cold War, and make my answer to the driving question more in-depth. These were assigned at different times during the project, and we were tasked with making notes based on our readings. This helped me develop this “zettlekasten”, and made organizing my ideas much easier.
Near the end:
Once we left Arizona and arrived in Las Vegas, the excitement was at an all time high. But, it was time to dial in on the project. There had been some long days so far throughout the trip so we had limited time to do project work. At our hotel, we had some time to wrap our thoughts together and craft a master plan. This wasn’t a very hard thing to accomplish, as I had my “zettlekasten tool” where I had noted down my learnings during the trip so far. A zettlekasten is a bank of notes that are either from a source or are your own ideas. They’re organized by Fleeting notes, Litertaure notes, and Permanent notes. Think of it as your own personal filing cabinet of knowledge. (Sorry Mr. Hughes for talking about my permanent notes so much.) I took these learnings and started this final plan for my eventual final product.
While we were in Vegas we got up to lots of fun stuff, and we checked out some cool places along the way.
It was a good learning experience as well, something you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a Vegas vacation… We went to the “underground mansion”, which was a 14,000 square foot house that was a full blown fallout shelter.
This shelter was a symbol of how people were scared of a possible nuclear war between the US and Russia. Many wealthy people invested in these type of shelters from the 1960’s to 1990’s. Shelters such as this one still exist, as the lingering threat of an attack is still there.
Later while we were in Vegas, we also checked out the national nuclear testing museum.
This museum was one of the most valuable resources we had for our project. The museum had lots of important artifacts and carefully explained the timeline of the Cold War, which I found helpful. It showed how the cold war affected contemporary lifestyle and the average American. My friends and I wanted to grab an interview here but unfortunately no staff was available for an interview.
The final product:
Now for the grand reveal to you guys, my final product was a documentary. For this final product we were tasked with creating an inquiry question, then creating a product which supported it. My inquiry question was: “How did the development of the nuclear arsenal lead to proxy wars around the world?” I chose to make my video about proxy wars and how they were a direct consequence of Cold War tensions. I could explain more in this post, but if you want to dive into the full story, watch the documentary I made:
The process wasn’t easy, but I eventually completed the video. And it felt really good, cause I put a lot of hours into this!
In summary, this project was very interesting and held ties to past projects that we have done. (Link to manhattan project post). The trip was a blast, and it felt like it went by in a flash, (that’s when you know you had a good time). I liked how we had free choices in picking our final product, and how we could pick which topic to focus on. I’m proud of how I did in this project, and I think I put my best work in!
Today’s post is about our most recent Humanities project, “Who cares and why bother?” This project was all about the Canadian government system and why young people need to vote and let their voices be heard. In this post, I’ll discuss what I learned and the growth I experienced throughout this project. The driving question was (the same as the project’s name, lol): “Who cares, and why bother?” There are many reasons why people and young people, in particular, should care about the government system. Firstly, voting outcomes over the next few elections could dictate how we as a country tackle precedent issues such as the climate crisis, cost of living, and rights. This is why young people must vote so that real action can be taken. Things will stay the same if this demographic isn’t demonstrated in the polls, and no changes will be made. The first thing we did as a class was an activity where you would go to either side of the room depending on whether you knew much or didn’t know much about politics. Around 90% of the kids in my class said they knew almost nothing, myself included. This activity showed how little we knew about politics collectively as a class. But that would soon change…. We then began social seminars about the Canadian government system and the different levels of government. During these seminars, we listened to Ms. Madsen’s info and made notes in the process. This helped me better understand how our government is run and who is in charge of different things.
After gathering this newfound knowledge of government structure, we were tasked with reading “The Lord of the Flies.” This book encompasses the government structure through the story of a tribe of boys stranded on a deserted island. As we read, we kept a recollection of notes that we made throughout reading the book.
After finishing the reading, we had the opportunity to share our learnings and connections in a student-led Socratic discussion. This allowed us to share our thoughts and see what opinions we had on the book. I was able to make connections during the debate and express my own beliefs. I thought this was a great learning opportunity.
Once we had gathered background knowledge from our seminars and the book, it was time to build our final product. This product was based on our fundamental question: “Who cares, and why bother?” Our main task was to create a presentation, supported by a video that convinced young people to vote, which we would present to a panel of grade 10 and 12 learners. This was a group-style assignment; my partners were Nolan and Sepaus. Cale was also a part of our group, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, he didn’t come to school or did any work whatsoever.
Our theme was comedy-based, and we tried to use a hint of sarcasm to get our ideas across. I found this to be a new and creative way of showing our ideas, and it was something other groups wouldn’t necessarily do. This was a way for our group to extend in this regard. After creating the first draft of our video, it was time to make our final presentation. The purpose of this presentation was to show why it’s important to vote. In our case, with the sarcastic approach, we wanted to show how ridiculous it would be not to vote. Also included in the presentation were three precedent issues that voters could directly influence. Our chosen issues were the Cost of Living, the Environment, and Healthcare. Once we had completed our presentation and gathered our ideas, we did a practice run for some of our fellow grade 11 peers. This allowed us to practice and get good feedback so that we could revise and make it better. When it came to the presentation day, we were prepared and ready to go. Other than that Nolan was sick, we got our boy Declan to sub in and do his lines. I think the presentation went pretty well, without too many slip-ups.
In summary, I learned many valuable things from this project, such as the structure of our government and how government can come in all shapes and sizes. In the Lord of the Flies, we learned how adversity and challenges can affect the structure of a government. Moreover, I gained more experience working with a group with its ups and downs. My favorite part of this process was making our video; it was quite the fan-favorite among the PLP 11 class.
