PROGRAMMES | LUMEN
9
Programme boys to the issue of food . Under the overarching theme of Scarcity and Need , the students explored this global issue through various disciplinary perspectives – Humanities , English , and Science .
Stage 1 : Food Diary or Fridge Hunt
• students tracked the types of food they consumed and noted their origins
Stage 2 : Food Miles or Food Atlas
• students mapped out the routes taken by their preferred foods from “ farm to fork ”
Stage 3 : Humanities
• students learnt how to compare and evaluate print and pictorial sources ( especially in relation to the famine in Sudan )
Stage 3 : English
• students learnt verbal communication through the creation of an original rap , poem , or song dealing with the topic of food
Stage 3 : Science
• students learnt how to test for key nutrients in food
• students also learnt about various malnutrition diseases
Stage 4 : My Vocation in the World
• students reflected on particular areas of concern on the issue of food , guided by their personal values
Stage 5 : An Action Project
• students banded together with like-minded peers to carry out advocacy and action projects related to the issue of food
To broaden their learning , the boys were taken on learning journeys to either a butchery or vegetable farm where they gained a richer sense of the complexities involved in the supply of safe and wholesome foods for the Singapore market .
The World and Me programme has allowed our students to learn in diverse ways , across traditional subject and disciplinary boundaries . The programme challenged them to connect their classroom learning with the wider global context as well as their personal values and convictions .
As Kauthar Ahmed from Michael 101 put it , “ I feel , we all need to think about and be mindful of our food consumption patterns ; we all need to eat , and we all need to save food , especially in developed countries and among the middle
classes of the developing ones . If we can ‘ Reduce our Food-print ’, we can reduce humanity ’ s impact on our planet .”
To Zachary Caius Lim from Fintan 102 , food wastage is appalling . He emphasised , “ It reflects how much people actually care about the work put in to obtain the food and how oblivious they are to people who struggle to receive their daily meals . Food thrown into the trash can end up as someone else ’ s meal . Wasting food is almost
equivalent to spitting [ on others ] who do not have enough , mocking them at some point . Food wastage adds to the effect of starvation in many parts of the world .” He adds , “ I am concerned [ about ] fairness , of ' the haves ' having too much . The reason being some people have more than enough food but decide to simply throw away what they cannot finish while others struggle to find food daily .”
In the near future , the World and Me programme will also be offered as an optional elective to our O-Level programme students as well . Josephians will be challenged to be Persons for Others , not just locally , but responsible global citizens too .
Facing page ( top ): At our very own roof top farm Facing page ( bottom ): In rapt attention at Huber ' s Butchery
This page ( top ): Eagerly seeking clarification This page ( centre ): Being enlightened at the vegetable farm
This page ( bottom ): Carefully making observations