Global Connections: The Water Project and Cape Town

Young Children as Advocates

Dana Bentley, Beginner North Teacher

Betty Chan, Beginner North Teacher

 

Over the past weeks we have continued to pursue our work on water, considering both the scientific process of cleaning water as well as the issue of water accessibility.  On Friday we will have the opportunity to Skype with Russell Stevens, the Director of Education at the Cape Town Aquarium. 
We are using these connections to develop our understandings about water in the world.  

  

In preparation for our Skype, we prepared some questions so that Russell will know what we are wondering about.  As we were talking, we looked at a big map of the world, noticing our location and the location of Cape Town.  We began by asking:

What do we know about Cape Town?

Jace: They don’t have enough water to survive.

Eleanor: Somebody said that they needed to have a little of water every day so they don’t run out of water this year

Christopher: They get a little water and we get a lot

Thomas: I’m going to draw a picture of how much water I drank and how much water they drank.

Who knows alot about Cape Town?

Christopher: The fifth grade!  They know a lot about Cape Town!

Nyla: And you guys.  Cause you told us about it and we wouldn’t have known.

Sydney: We can FaceTime him [Russell] in Cape Town and then we can talk about water and ask him about water.

Interview Questions

We began by posing the question: 

What do you want to know about water in Cape Town?  What are you wondering?

Nyla: What do they have so little water?

Sydney: How can you clean water?

Christopher: Do you boil the water?

Sydney: How can we clean the water?

Rosemary: Can we clean water with soap?

Dana: Can you take a bath in Cape Town?  Or is that too much water?

Eleanor: Do they have pools there?  If you have pools there, could you just get some water from there?

Thomas: Can you boil pool water to kill the chemicals?

Rosemary: Did you have a lot of water a long time ago?  What happened?

Audrey: How do you get to water to get it to your home?

Eleanor:  Why doesn’t it rain there?

Christopher: Do you have cars?

Joe: Do you have trucks?

Dana: Can you water your flowers?

Audrey: Do you have a washing machine? Can you use it?

Rosemary: Can you wash your clothes in a lake?

Joe: Can you use water balloons?

Christopher: Do you have water bottles at stores?

Rosemary:  What about your toilets?  When you flush it, is there water?

Tom: Can you use sprinklers?

We then  learned that Russell had a job at the Cape Town Aquarium and we wondered:

What about working at the aquarium?  What are you wondering about water at the aquarium?

Eleanor: How is there animals there that need water if there’s not a lot of water for them?

Nyla:  Why do you have aquariums if there’s not enough water?

Rosemary: How much water can a fish use?  And also, how long do the fish live?

Jace: Do you use all the water for the fish?  Is that why there’s not enough water?

Thomas: If you release the animals, will they have any water to swim?

  

We will be Skyping with Russell on Friday morning.  We look forward to the ways this connection will ignite new questions and understandings.

Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center

Religious Diversity in Greater Boston

Gustavo Carrera, US History & Social Sciences Department Head and Teacher

As part of the class’ work on exploring modern society and the tensions between modernity and tradition, the class is visiting religious institutions in the greater Boston area. In the winter we visited the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC) in Roxbury. 

In their reflections the students remarked:

I enjoyed hearing Barbara’s perspective on the subject of religion and modernity….People assume that religion is stuck in the past, but she repeatedly emphasized that the conflict between religion and modernity is in reality non-existent.

I thought the visit to the mosque was a really interesting …The architecture there was very complex, but also simple at the same time, and I like how they used features from both the Islamic world and Boston within the mosque. Going to the mosque provided a small glimpse of the Islamic world …

I thought it was interesting how we talked about the degrees to which one could practice a certain religion. You could be a devout Muslim and pray five times daily, you could be Muslim "in name only", or you could fall somewhere in between. I would guess that the "degrees" of religiousness would start to become more apparent as modernization occurs and people adopt new ideas. I enjoyed watching the prayer and learning about the Quran.

Overall, I thought the field trip was very interesting. I always thought that Christianity and Islam were completely different, but they are actually quite similar in some aspects…It was nice to see something that opened my mind to other religions and different cultures.

I thought that our trip to the mosque was very interesting … I wasn’t expecting to be able to watch the prayer so I was excited to see that. I am glad that our class when to this mosque because I would have never gone on my own, and I am always looking to try and learn new things. I learned a lot on this trip and I can’t wait to go to the other synagogue and church.

BB&N Article - Middle School Launches Interfaith Pilot Initiative

Faith Traditions in our Community

Stefanie Haug, MS Counselor
Sasha Bergmann, MS Ceramics Teacher
Beth Brooks, MS Librarian
Youssef Talha, MS French Teacher

Middle School Launches Interfaith Pilot Initiative
https://www.bbns.org/news-events/news-details/~post/middle-school-launches-interfaith-pilot-initiative-20180406

A rabbi, a reverend, and an Islamic educator walk into room…it may sound like a bad joke, but when those exact circumstance came to pass in the Middle School Big Room this February, the punchline was an enlightening exploration of faith.

Middle School Students examine a Torah during a synagogue visit.

As part of a pilot program undertaken by the Middle School, eighth grade students enjoyed the opportunity to engage in an eye-opening interfaith study and immersion initiative this winter. Over a series of four weeks, students learned about the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) participated in field trips to a synagogue, a church, and a mosque, and attended a panel discussion at BB&N with a rabbi, a reverend, and an Islamic educator.

Organized by Middle School faculty Stefanie Haug, Sasha Bergman, Youseff Talha, and Beth Brooks, the pilot program sought to demystify misperceptions about the different faiths, and perhaps more importantly, to underscore how much the three faiths have in common.

Based off of feedback from a two-year, School-initiated reflection and query into BB&N’s cultural competency, the pilot was a groundbreaking attempt to address issues raised by the students as sources of curiosity.

“When we looked at some of the survey results from our cultural competency work, we discovered that Middle School students had many questions about religion that were not being specifically targeted in our curriculum,” says Middle School counselor Stefanie Haug. “We value holistic learning at BB&N…learning about yourself and your relationships to other people is a huge part of teaching. We wanted to find a way to explore the diversity that makes us who we are…and faith is a big part of that.”

After much discussion and planning, it was decided that the pilot would focus on the three Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) due to their similar ancestry and the fact they comprise the three largest religious groups in the U.S. The initiative manifested as a series of discussions with Reverend Matt Carriker, Rabbi Natan Margalit, Ph.D., and Islam educator Barbara Sahli, along with visits to each religious leader’s respective church, synagogue, and mosque.

In their panel discussion in the Middle School Big Room, the guests spoke about their faith and answered questions from students. All three landed on the same point when asked what they love most about being Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, speaking about the importance of being part of a community that guides people to do good, and live up to ideals highlighted by each faith. As students discovered, all three of the religions share very similar ideals.

Particularly poignant was Sahli’s insight into being a Muslim following the 2001 bombings of the World Trade Center. She noted that the first instinct was “put your head down, and hide for fear of anger,” but she quickly realized that outreach, education, and dialogue were more essential than ever to allow people to understand that the attacks did not reflect true Islam.

Middle School director Mary Dolbear considers the pilot and ensuing discussions to be some of the most important learning undertaken at the Middle School in her time at BB&N.

“I am deeply proud of our MS Faith Project pilot,” Dolbear says. “The guest panel was powerful. The focus on people’s stories are always impactful, but for this age group, it was an even more effective format to invite kids into the conversation. A huge takeaway was something we don’t get to hear much about: the similarities between the three faiths.”

Following the fields trips and panel discussions, students met again to study poetry from each faith, and reflect on what they had learned, including a general discussion about the importance of finding common ground in a community comprised of varying beliefs.

The interfaith pilot was made possible through an Urban Connections Grant, a School-funded resource allowing faculty to implement creative programs that connect curriculum with the verdant urban resources surrounding BB&N.