Access to Equal Opportunities

“Equal access to opportunity is not a privilege — it’s a right.” — Kofi Annan

This week, we launched our new unit under the theme Sharing the Planet with a gentle but powerful question to tune us in: If the Earth belonged to everyone, what would that look like? I invited students to share their first thoughts, which set the tone for the unit, one that is curious, honest, and ready to notice differences.

Unpacking the theme continued with a concept‑mapping task that had pairs exploring words central to access and opportunity: Access, Opportunity, Equity, Equality, Rights, Responsibility, and Sustainability. Each pair treated their word like a living question: What does this concept look like in real life? Who has it — who doesn’t? What happens when it’s missing? Students looked closely at everyday examples that they connect with, and conversations moved quickly from definitions to consequences: when access is missing, learning stalls; when responsibility is ignored, systems fail the most vulnerable. 

To deepen thinking and surface assumptions, we played a reflective “This or That?” game. Students listened to a series of statements and physically chose whether they agreed or disagreed, then explained their choices. The statements were grouped in five sets and touched on fairness, support, systems, power, and personal responsibility. Some examples:

Everyone should have the same opportunities.

Fair means everyone gets the same thing.

If you work hard enough, you will succeed.

Children have the same opportunities as adults.

Rules are made to be fair.

After each prompt, students explained the experiences that informed their stance and what would need to change for them to move across the room. These short, structured debates revealed nuance: many students agreed that fairness looks different from sameness; some questioned who decides what fairness means; others reflected on the experiences that shaped their views. Linking back to our concept words helped them tie personal beliefs to broader ideas like equity and responsibility.

We then tried an activity called “Same Game, Same Chances?” Students played the freeze tag but received different starting conditions: some could use only one foot, some could not be frozen, some had to walk in slow motion. After the game, we reflected: Is this fair? Is it equal? Is it working? The classroom quickly filled with observations. The reflections were rich and used language from our concept maps: equal does not always mean fair; access changes outcomes; systems (the rules we set) influence results as much as individual effort.

Next we looked outward with “The World With 100 People,” a 10x10 grid representing global distribution. Using drawings, students visualized basic needs and services: safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, literacy, internet access, safety, and healthcare. The drawings made statistics tangible:

Safe drinking water: 74 have it, 26 do not

Sanitation: 58 / 42

Hygiene: 80 / 20

Literacy: 87 / 13

Internet access: 68 / 32

Safety (not in conflict): 85 / 15

Healthcare access: 60 / 40

Placing the drawings sparked immediate questions: who ends up left behind, and why? The visual grid made it clear that inequity is not just an abstract idea; it stacks up in real, measurable ways.

It was just the beginning of the unit but patterns emerged. Students moved from personal hunches to evidence‑based thinking. They began to distinguish equality (sameness) from equity (fairness through difference), and they noticed how responsibility can be individual, shared, or institutional. Most importantly, they connected abstract concepts to real lives — their classmates’, their families’, and children around the world.

Looking ahead, we’ll use these provocations to guide research and action: investigating local systems, hearing stories, and imagining practical ways our classroom can promote fairer access to opportunities. For now, the reflection notes, concept maps, and drawings remind us that asking better questions is the first step toward meaningful change.

Good Governance

"We cannot be mere consumers of good governance, we must be participants; 

we must be co-creators."

Rohini Nilekani

The past two weeks, we continued our unit on governance, focusing on how different types of organisations — public and private — work together to support the needs of citizens. After revisiting the roles of government services, private businesses, and community organisations, students reflected on what people need to live safe, comfortable, and happy lives. From those conversations they generated long lists of essentials: health care and emergency services, schools and libraries, reliable transport, places to buy food, safe streets and affordable housing, parks and community spaces for social life, and supports for both children and the elderly. 

With those needs in mind the class became urban planners. Working in groups, students designed a town for 5,000 residents that balanced public and private establishments to meet diverse needs. Each team sketched a city map, carefully labeling schools, clinics, police and fire stations, markets, housing, parks, and transport links. Some towns emphasized walkable neighbourhoods and local markets clustered around community hubs; others placed health and social services near high-density housing and transit so vulnerable residents could access them easily. 

We then moved into a role-play called The Last Community Standing. Every group appointed a mayor and an auditor. Mayors stayed in their towns to welcome visiting auditors and tell the story of how their town served its citizens. Auditors rotated through towns in a series of story-based rounds, each round presenting scenarios that tested whether the town’s services met citizens’ safety, comfort, happiness, and budgetary constraints. Auditors used a checklist and a point system that began with ten points in each category; they adjusted scores and explained their reasoning, grounding judgments in the facilities and governance choices they observed on each map. The round-robin format encouraged students to think like both service providers and civic evaluators: they learned to weigh trade-offs, defend planning decisions, and consider how governance structures distribute resources and responsibilities.

The final phase built directly on governance in action. Winners from The Last Community Standing became town leaders and convened a Town Council. They listened to citizen concerns gathered from classmates and formed committees to address key issues: safety, economic growth, food and water, cleanliness and ensuring emergency readiness. Committees drafted proposals that named objectives and proposed actions. Presenting to the whole town, committee members received questions and feedback. Through this process students experienced how local governance operates: identifying community needs, forming policy responses, negotiating priorities, and seeking public approval.

The students deepened their understanding of governance beyond definitions. They saw how public institutions can guarantee essential services, how private enterprises can complement those services, and how community decision-making shapes outcomes for different groups. 

Watching students move from listing needs, to mapping services, to debating policy, and finally to creating proposals, was powerful. They didn’t just learn about governance in the abstract — they practiced it, tested it against real-life scenarios, and saw how thoughtful planning and democratic processes can shape the well-being of a community.

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On another note, the children have already begun inquiring on their Exhibition unit and have chosen the passion that they would like to explore in the next two months. 

Have a wonderful weekend ahead.

Your homeroom teacher, 

Ms. Pam

Community Builders

"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured 
by the compassionate actions of its members." -Coretta Scott King

After a cozy winter break, the Grade 5/6 classroom was abuzz last Wednesday as students returned with stories and the kind of energy that made it easy to dive straight back into learning.

Our inquiry into governance picked up where we left off. To bring the idea of public services to life, we headed out for a walk around Rokko Island. The air was cold and the students were keen observers -- spotting playgrounds, bus stops, apartment complexes, small shops, and quiet private driveways. 

Back in pairs, they compared notes and carefully listed what they’d seen, sorting each item as public or private. The next step was insightful: each pair became urban planners and community leaders. They stepped into the role of decision-makers, thinking about citizens’ needs and sketching layouts for a community where people could live safe, healthy, and comfortable lives. Maps filled with parks near schools, well-placed clinics, and clear routes for buses and bikes showed thoughtful conversations and lots of empathy.

Math time was lively and full of laughter. To explore probability, the class played Twister — predicting the chance of landing on a particular color, then testing those predictions through play. Recording actual results after each round turned the game into real data, and the children loved seeing how predictions matched (or surprised) reality. It was joyful learning that made abstract ideas feel tangible.

We also returned to headline-writing. Students crafted short, catchy headlines about their winter breaks and then played a guessing game where classmates matched headlines to the right storyteller. The activity sparked curiosity and sharpened concise writing skills — and it was a wonderful way to hear about everyone’s holiday adventures.

As the week unfolds (and into next), we’re in assessment season. Amid the projects and games, students are showing what they’ve learned and reflecting on their growth. The classroom is once again filled with collaboration, thoughtful planning, and curiosity.

Welcome back to school. I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead.

Your homeroom teacher, 

Ms. Pam