Guest Blog Morten Damgaard - Educating social imperatives
A few weeks ago my wife and I received an email from the Middle School Principal of United World College of South East Asia – East Campus in Singapore where our two boys attend grade 6 and grade 1 respectively. The email explained that as an introduction to the Humanities program, where the students participate in a number of challenging simulations that explore the issues of Poverty and Development, all the 6th grade students would attend a picnic the following week. It would be no ordinary picnic as they would be dividing the kids up in 3 groups reflecting reality of the world we live in. A very small percentage of the kids would be sitting at the table with all the food. A small percentage would be getting some food but majority (90%) would not be getting anything and would be at the mercy of the two small groups. We were advised that this could be a traumatic experience for the children. The email asked us to be aware of this, not to disclose anything to the kids and to discuss the experience with them when they returned from school that day. The school was right to warn us..
When my oldest returned home from school that day, we asked him how the picnic went. His reaction was extremely emotional. He was upset at first. Couldn't understand why he was treated that way. It was unfair, the teachers were stupid, the kids with the food were stupid, he was hungry, etc etc. The tears started flowing as a result and it took quite some time to calm him down. Once we managed to do that, we started talking about what was actually going on. How this was a mirror and an example of how things are in the world and how fortunate we are as a family. We talked about the Global Concerns programs that they do at the school. How what he experienced was reality for the people and communities that the Global Concerns program support. We talked about Social Entrepreneurs and how their business endeavors engages and supports the local communities A very somber discussion with some big a-ha moments.
The above is just one example of how the school engages the kids. From a parent perspective the interesting part is how the school is educating the children when it comes to the social imperatives in the world. Not just to learn about what goes on but to act on it. How business and social conscience can go hand in hand. How it is possible to make a difference and helping them develop the skills to do so.
-Morten Damgaard is CEO of Southeast Asia for Agility Logistics, based in Singapore-
When my oldest returned home from school that day, we asked him how the picnic went. His reaction was extremely emotional. He was upset at first. Couldn't understand why he was treated that way. It was unfair, the teachers were stupid, the kids with the food were stupid, he was hungry, etc etc. The tears started flowing as a result and it took quite some time to calm him down. Once we managed to do that, we started talking about what was actually going on. How this was a mirror and an example of how things are in the world and how fortunate we are as a family. We talked about the Global Concerns programs that they do at the school. How what he experienced was reality for the people and communities that the Global Concerns program support. We talked about Social Entrepreneurs and how their business endeavors engages and supports the local communities A very somber discussion with some big a-ha moments.
The above is just one example of how the school engages the kids. From a parent perspective the interesting part is how the school is educating the children when it comes to the social imperatives in the world. Not just to learn about what goes on but to act on it. How business and social conscience can go hand in hand. How it is possible to make a difference and helping them develop the skills to do so.
-Morten Damgaard is CEO of Southeast Asia for Agility Logistics, based in Singapore-
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