INTRODUCING ASEAN LITERACY , AN SJI INITIATIVE | LUMEN
ASEAN Literate Josephians
ASEAN Literacy is taking shape in SJI . For a start , the committee has organised professional development activities to provide the staff with opportunities to further their understanding of Southeast Asia , apart from developing beliefs and practices supporting the teaching and learning about ASEAN at SJI . We conducted two sessions within the ASEAN Literacy Speaker Series ( ALSS ) - the first ALSS was a sharing by Mr Loh Weiye and Mr Gary Koh from NUS ( Centre for Future-ready Graduates ) on preparing young Singaporeans for the 21st Century , with a focus on how ASEAN could be a gateway for Singaporeans in the post-Covid era ; the second ALSS was by Mr Frank Lee , Managing Director of Jumpstart Disruptive Innovations , who shared on his experiences cultivating global ready talents .
The second objective looks at building caring and enabling learning environments through integrating service learning elements into school experiences ( e . g . ASEAN school trips ), to strengthen students ’ desire to contribute to the wider community , Values .
The ASEAN-Literate Josephian Framework consists of :
• Three tiers of ASEAN consciousness : knowing , appreciating & engaging with ASEAN
• Hinged on four concepts : diversity , change , interdependence & sustainability
• Key Desired Outcome of ASEAN Literacy : to cultivate people-centred , future-ready & globalminded Josephians
Our ASEAN-Literate Josephians should possess the :
• Awareness and appreciation of how ASEANrelated changes impact Singapore .
• Capacity to appreciate diversity within and beyond ASEAN , while preserving their own values and identity .
• Ability to empathise with others from diverse backgrounds , and the desire to contribute to the wider community .
Educational programmes for students began with an ALSS for students by Professor Bruce Lockhart , Department of History , NUS , he spoken on how ASEAN was established during Cold War , the struggles it faced in the context of the Indochina conflicts , how it became more important through involvement in the Cambodia conflict and finally , the challenges faced . In November , the Year 3 IP students visited six ASEAN countries and three Asian countries for their International Experience Programme . Similarly , Year 5 students visited 6 ASEAN countries and 1 Asian country for their Global Education Programme .
The plans moving forward include :
• creating opportunities for more meaningful inter-department ( i . e . cross-disciplinary ) collaborations within / beyond SJI , and thus the transference of learning across disciplines .
• broadening the range of authentic learning experiences that can nurture ASEAN Literacy ( e . g . ASEAN school exchanges , overseas partnerships ), beyond curricular initiatives towards lifelong learning .
• further integrating question-led learning with our suite of activities to nurture ASEAN Literacy .
• systematically evaluating the effectiveness of our various ASEAN Literacy-related moves .
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