As part of our
CAS program, we conducted an anti-bullying session for the fifth graders in our
school. Each of us made a presentation about one of the following topics of
bullying, bad language, and stealing. For eighty minutes, our class presented
the topics to the junior class in an engaging manner. Going into the
presentation, I did not expect it to turn out so well. Having stage fright, I
was very nervous about talking in front of a crowd and it took me a good deal of preparation to be a little
sure of myself. The other problem which we faced before presenting these issues
was how to connect with the audience.
As senior
students, there is a certain distance which most students of the junior school
maintain in our school. Our first task was to break this unseen barrier and the
approach we took to deal this problem was to include child-friendly cartoons
and animations in the slides. We also used a bright color pattern of blue and
yellow, to help catch their attention. Although we were well prepared for the
presentation, the nervousness when they came into the room was a different
experience. While we were presenting out topics, the juniors asked a lot of
questions about various situations and what to do if they happened. While most
of the situations seemed possible and we tried to answer as best as we could,
after a while it got a bit out of hand and we had to quiet them down.
After
the presentation, we sat down and talked about what had just happened and we
all agreed that it was a refreshing experience because we had, for most of our
student lives, been spectators who were content to simply sit back and absorb
everything that was being thrown at us. For the first time, we were actually
participating in creating and teaching children. Given a chance I would like to
repeat such an experience, and I definitely think that these types of
opportunities are a learning activity that will enrich us far more than a
simple session of a much more mundane session. A learning opportunity is
unmatched in terms of enlightenment, and now I understand why teachers are so
happy with their jobs.
