We organized this event called ‘Komorebi’ on the world culture day. The main idea behind this event was to spread knowledge and explore different cultures and traditions followed by people across the whole world. The task was to research about different cultures and beliefs of the given country. Their specialties and everything like that. The whole grade was divided into all the continents, I was in Asia in which my country was India.
- I learned these things about the Language used with reference to the culture of the country that I explored.
So my country was India and as India is known to be one of the most secular countries. There was a lot to explore in terms of culture in India. I learned that how language in different culture and regions play a role in persuading the people. So India has many religions, different languages, and traditions and despite this diversity, we as a country is known for its unity. People are dependent on different religions like Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Sikhs and etc, but as a community, they are united by these religions or cultural beliefs. So language is one of the things which plays a huge role in persuading someone.
- This is how I attempted to incorporate my ‘Language in Cultural Context’ learning into my project
As the whole project was called as Komorebi or the culture day, the main aim was to study the culture and tradition of your particular country. Language in cultural context refers to how meaning is determined by context and how people express their identities through language. So we researched on how people in different countries live with different cultures, religions and how important is language in persuading these people to be dependent on these beliefs.
- These are the things I did well in my Project
As I was good with creativity and arts-related work, I help my group come up with the best decoration we could and also helping them in coming up with new ideas. Then I also made sure that I complete my task on time and make sure that the project leaders don’t have to keep reminding me about my work. Then there were many last minute changes due to some members not turning up as they had their SAT exam, so managing that kind of situation was quite a challenge.
- These are areas on which I could have worked to improve my process or final product(s).
So maybe we were thinking about our own countries only, and sticking towards our work only. However, we could have helped each other in case there is some kind of delay. Then there is cooperation which needs to be taken care of, as many people were not ready to work as per our plans and work on their own. So making sure that everyone is doing something in which they are good at. We also had to make last minute changes in the main plan, as we didn’t have any backup plans, so to make sure that everything is well organized and submitted on time. Other then that, we gave our best to come up with a presentation which the audience enjoys.
- The CAS learning outcome that I met through the project is/are:
L1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
So as I was good with creativity and arts-related work, I helped my group members in fulfilling their requirements and tried my best to apply the best decoration we can. So as we had some last minute work, we came up with some ideas on the day of the presentation itself, and we managed to cover up or fix our mistakes. We incorporated the feedback of the visitors before the next round starts. So if there were some mistakes or suggestions given to us in a certain round, we used to make sure that we work on those feedbacks and make the changes before the next round.
L2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken developing new skills, commitment to and perseverance,
We came across many challenges from which we mostly managed to overcome them. We didn’t have an organized entry, as people were just coming in whenever they want, so we had to repeat our content more often. We developed our management skills by fixing those last minute work and managed to adapt to those changes. We used to go to other workstations so that if the other group members need help, we can. Then we also developed our research skills because we came up with content which people might not even know. As my country was India, most of the information is known to everyone, but we came up with things which they never knew existed. Overall we learned many things and we overcame many challenges which guided us for the next presentations.
L3 – Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
Brainstorming is the key to initiate such a huge process. We took hours just sitting and brainstorming for ideas. We even came early to school, for planning and executing everything on deadline. So the second most important point for executing a CAS experience is keeping time in mind. We made sure that we reach all the deadline and manage our school work accordingly. As it was a group activity, collaboration is also an important factor. We make sure that everyone gets equal opportunity to share their ideas and we individually make sure that we do the work assigned on time. There are many other factors which help you plan and initiate a CAS experience.
L7 – Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.
We decided to bring some dishes and drinks from different countries, however as we couldn’t make some of the drinks due to it complex recipes, we decided to eliminate them on the day of the presentation. So we kept the ethics in mind and informed our audience that there are some dishes or drinks which aren’t here because we couldn’t make that at home and we didn’t want to portray a wrong image of the food item to the audience. We also made sure that there are no shortcuts used while doing this activity, either we do it the right way or drop the idea.
Overall it was a great CAS experience, as we got to know many facts and information related to the world culture. The main reason which made this CAS experience great was spreading knowledge and presenting it in an entertaining manner.
