WALLS

An interesting topic for discussion this afternoon. We discussed the theme of WALLS - what they are for, why they are built, where they are built, and any famous walls we can think of. We watched a short video about Hadrian's Wall in the north of Great Britain, and discussed some other walls which we know of, such as the Berlin Wall and the Great Wall of China.

In the course of our discussion, we became quite bogged down. I think it was mainly disbelief that brought us to a rather frustrating halt. Having lived all their lives in a very peaceful country, many of the students struggled to understand how and why the Berlin Wall was so effective for so long, and the dreadful stories of cruelty, suffering and death that came from that time.

It caused me to wonder to myself about peace. Peace is a marvellous thing, but does it mean that our children will always struggle to relate in any way to countries that do not have it? I wondered if I was making too many assumptions about the kind of work which the group (advanced as they are) can cope with. I concluded that they are simply too young, and that empathy will come with maturity.

For more information about the Berlin Wall, click on these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall
http://history1900s.about.com/od/coldwa1/a/berlinwall.htm