Putting values at the heart of learning

Valuing self, others and the environment through the consideration of an ethical values is at the heart of learning in our classroom. Students are encouraged to model values and to engage in reflective practices so that they are empowered to become effective learners and good individuals. These practices help our learners to develop holistically, nurturing a secure sense of self, respect for self and others.

We read "Diogenes and the Wise Man", a story which shows that "all that glitters is not gold" and that, sometimes, even a great king like Alexander  might like to be a beggar. We paid special attention to  the last line of the short story, where Alexander says:" If I weren´t Alexander, I´d like to be Diogenes".

The aim was to think about why a king would like to be a down-and-out and  who or what the students in First Certificate 'M' would like to be if they weren´t themselves. We got very interesting ideas which were later symbolized in a collage.

We have also read 'Dazzler' by Suniti Namjoshi, a fable whose central characters are a sunbird and a duck- each of them with distinct sets of values. Here the questions were: Are you more of a sunbird or a duck? Why? What qualities do you have? Answers were then represented in an artistic drawing.

As a corollary of both short stories, the group chose to leave an imprint of the the values that are at the heart of their learning through ART. 

Put value to reading! Together we can make the difference!

Teacher: Patricia Zorio

Class: FCE 'M'