How connected are you to somewhere else?
Having created the opportunity for pupils to explore their own perceptions and the origins of these, we can now look to deepen their understanding. This we can do by asking pupils to consider their views and values by reacting to someone else somewhere else. It is important that this is done meaningfully. To challenge pupils to imagine what it may be like to be someone else, somewhere else is a hugely demanding, if not unachievable, task.
We cannot be somebody else so, rather than ask our pupils for the impossible, perhaps we should support them in the achievable. What is meaningful for learners is to understand the reality of others, the complex set of experiences and environments that have led people in different places to lead different lives. There are global systems that connect and influence us all and these need to be made transparent.
Look now at the activity on the right, which gives an example of how connections can be made.
Activity Resources:
- Images
- Interactive
- Sound
- Text
- Video
Activity
- Click on the Text icon and consider the article about Mah-Bibi in Afghanistan from The Times Magazine (12 October, 2002) and think for a moment about her reality.
- Click on the Text icon and print out the 'What's this got to do with me?' framework. Complete this, thinking about your views and connections with Mah-Bibi.
- Try this activity with your pupils, encouraging them to use the framework and write a short piece explaining why thinking geographically helps them to make connections with Mah-Bibi in Afghanistan.
