If We Don't Ban Coffee...

Welcome back!

Firstly, let's recap some International Studies 1 (IS1) antics. Last week, our class focused upon Donald Trump's first few months as President. We examined the various executive orders that he's signed as well as another big topic surrounding the Republican Party in particular: "alternative facts" (which are considered to be lies and/or alternative opinions).

In order to explore the idea of "alternative facts" we played a funny game. The students had to split into teams and select a card with a random word or phrase on it in order to create "alternative facts" to support the statements that I gave them. For example when I stated that Finland should ban coffee, one team claimed that it must happen otherwise Professor Snape would be very angry...

It was a silly little exercise but highlighted the ludicrous nature of some of the "alternative facts" and "fake news" items which have appeared in recent times.

Of course, the lesson was not all fun and games as we turned our attention toward other more pressing matters such as the recent events in Syria. We watched news clips on the Khan Sheikhoun attack from this month, the Trump administration's response, and the possible implications of these events.

Divided opinions, split nations and international friction have been common themes throughout many of our lessons. They were key themes this week too as we explored Theresa May's announcement of a British general election, further deteriorating relations between the US and North Korea, as well as the recent referendum in Turkey.

We noted that there are indeed a lot of drastic changes taking place in today's world.

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Beyond our classes, the students are set to do even more travelling. Some students from the IS1 class are preparing to go to Iceland at the end of the month. Of course, the IS2 class is getting ready to leave for Ireland tomorrow!

These projects are an incredible opportunity for the students to explore different countries firsthand and to hopefully create bonds that will last a lifetime. Such interactions between different nations is certainly important and I'm sure that the students are in for a treat.

- Chloe

The Big DNA Reveal!

A lot (and I mean a lot) has been happening since my last blog post. The International Studies 2 (IS2) class has been working hard to raise money for their Dublin (Ireland) trip. It takes place in less than two weeks and everyone is excited!

In a bid to raise more money, the class organised a children's event last Friday. What was in this children's event, I hear you ask? Well, we had a trampoline, a mini cafe, face painting, a floorball court, a book reading area, an arts and crafts section (where you could make cute bunny ears), an international quiz aaaaaand a ghost tour. 

Let me tell you, I think I was more scared than the children when I decided to venture down the dark ghost tour corridor... 

All of the children left the event with smiles (as well as various paintings) on their faces and the students raised a lot of well-earned money. It was a win-win. However, the IS2 class had plenty more other things to concentrate on. Yesterday, it was time to present their DNA results to the media!!!

This DNA project began last year when the students had their DNA tested in order to try to challenge beliefs about themselves and question what really makes a Finn. 

After spitting into a test tube, the wait for the results began. Once they were in, a date was set for the big reveal. Instead of reading the results off a piece of paper (booooring), the students made a performance piece. They each wore a white t-shirt and on the front was a statistic about their DNA. For example, one read "1% Native American." To the tune of John Lennon's "Imagine," when a different country was called out the students would step forward if some of their DNA came from it. 

The best bit was saved until last though. In unison, the students turned around and on the back of their t-shirts was the term: "100% human." We wanted a powerful message to be made that even though we may have different DNA, we are all ultimately human beings.

There's plenty more to talk about but we'll save that for another day! For now, goodbye and happy Easter!

- Chloe