TY Update Spring 2018 | Page 27

pictured clockwise; team feedback sessions, TYI Ambassador Jian O’Neill and (above) the TY students from St. Aloysius Secondary School with TYI and teachers analyse the situation. The situations were purposely open-ended to encourage engagement and included: ! ! • • • • • • • At school At the sport / gym / dance / art club At home At a party On holiday On social media In a relationship The feedback was excellent and formed the basis of some interesting discussions. TY’S know when they are being manipulated and shared many examples of FAKE NEWS ! The second session of the morning was kicked off by one of the students and TYI Ambassador Jiang O’Neill. Her presentation involved the challenges she’s faced due to bias relating to race (Jiang is born in China, raised in Ireland), and how she’s overcome various tests and obstacles in her life. Hearing this message from a peer brought the issues of unconscious bias home to many of the students and parallels were drawn with situations applicable to their personal lives. ! The talk also touched on the issues of advantage and how bias is formed, and how these affect one’s point of view. Stu dents were shown how, through critical thinking, they might address their own biases to see situations from alternate viewpoints. ! The final presentation focused on the creation of a campaign, with the practical component focused on the creation of a Critical Thinking campaign in the school. ! The group returned to their teams and considered what a campaign might include. So many great ideas, but this is where we left it …..for the day. ! Part 2 of the workshop (to be held in early April) - will concentrate on evaluating and prioritising the elements of the campaign, setting up a steering committee and identifying a timeframe. ! The workshop was hosted by TrendMicro who generously let us use their fabulous amenities, provided a fantastic lunch AND gave the students a tour of the facilities. WWW.T YIRELAND.COM