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What does taking action really mean?

As we all know taking action is a huge part of the IB PYP curriculum. So what does action really look and feel like. This was a spontaneous conversation we had with the learners when a child brought in a piece of paper with the idea of having a bake sale to raise money for people that don't have any food.

Another child said "But we are not having bake sales anymore so you cannot do that". The child presenting said "But why not?".

The children then realised that although they knew they could not have bake sales anymore they did not understand the reasons why. So the next discussion was wondering "what could they do about this?" The children asked if they could find out by meeting with the Director. So off they walked to make an appointment and find out if this was possible.

An appointment was booked which showed the children how we organise ourselves through the use of google calendars.

Two days later they meet with him and discussed their ideas and asked their questions. These were the main points from the discussion;

*bake sales are not a healthy thing for us to be having and promoting

*through doing a bake sale are we really taking action or are our parents taking action because can we really bake that many cakes?

*does action need to involve money could it not be based around the concept of trade

As we completed the meeting the children still had many wonderings, questions and things they wanted to think about. They wanted to take action but what they realised was they need to figure out what action actually means. When walking back to the learning environment the children chatted about their meeting. They talked about the value of asking "so what?" of some of the things we do. They also saw themselves in a different role as they began to understand that it is ok to ask questions.

Maybe school for them is more than just turning up and doing what they are asked, maybe school can be a place that they can have more involvement in, ask the big questions and share their reflections. It seems so simple but the reality for so many learners is that school is not like this. This does not mean that teachers don't want to hear or listen, it can often be that teachers don't have the time. How many times do we run through in our head "If I stop and discuss this question that is not related to what we are meant to be learning about. How will I fit the rest of the content in?" This is something we all feel and it is a reflection of many countries around the world. For me I am starting to push against these expectations and slow down the content in order for this conversations to be able to happen!

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