In the first term we had focused on biological sciences and dealt with questions such as “how do we change our attitudes towards food resources so that we restore balance to the planet?” This is a BIG question that many governments and the UN are grappling with.
Grade 7s dealt with cells and the requirements for the to live. This idea extended into what foods human beings NEED to live as opposed to “wants and tastes”. And how we should start eating healthy foods that provide proper nutrition to the body.
Grade 8s dealt with communities and ecosystem and the balance that is maintained by organisms taking just what they need. As human beings, we have tended to plunder resources way beyond NEEDS and have impacted the planet negatively. How do we restore balance, while trying to provide a decent quality of life to all people?
Our focus has been to deal with these issues realistically and not idealistically. It is hoped that this approach will stimulate the much needed thinking an reflection that will pant seeds for future generations to address these problems.
This term we change our focus to the physical world, dealing with aspects in geography, chemistry and physics. The emphasis as always is to understand and extend that to reflection on our impact in the use of natural resources on the planet.
I hope that the sense of adventure and curiosity is extending into your conversations with your children. Ask the about their thoughts on these issues and engage in the debate with them. Allow them the space to confidently develop their own thinking.
Let is develop these attitudes to make a change in the world