In the second half of 2022, a variety of STEAM education were able to be carried out with the support of Dai-ichi Life Myanmar at Dream Train.
First of all, we would like to make the report on the findings of a lesson, “Deep Dive! Literature of the World which was held on August 14, 2022.
This lesson was conducted by Ms. Yamin of Kids Labo, an IT/STEAM education provider in Yangon.
Seven children who are from 11- to 13-year-old attended that class.
The purpose of the lesson is to learn about the history, theory and critical spirit through world-famous work of literature.
The two works of art featured in the lesson were as follows:
◆The Wizard of Oz by Lyman Frank Baum, 1900, United States of America
◆The Animal Farm by Lyman Frank Baum, 1945, United Kingdom
Before the lecture, the participating children viewed these two films.
After viewing the films, they expressed their feelings like “interesting” and “pitiful.”
However, after rereading the stories from the backgrounds of the films and their impressive dialogues in the lecture, the children’s impressions of the stories also changed significantly.
Here are some excerpts from the children’s impressions after the lecture.
The Wizard of Oz
I like this story. Because this story helped me to understand things that I did not know. When I don’t know that what I want is actually inside of me, or when I don’t know what to do, this story helps me to understand how I can get to my goal.
I want to be like an angel because angels are kind. I want to be as kind as an angel. I thought that if there were no bad people like witches in this world and only good people like angels, there would be peaceful.
The girl had three friends. I like the lion best. Before, the lion did not know himself that he was brave. After his journey, the lion knew he was brave.
I like this story. There were many things I didn’t understand, but now I understand more after your lecture.
Animal Farm
I learned from this story that it is important not only to be a good leader but also a good disciple.
From this story, I understand that it is not good to be self-centered or to think only of oneself. We need to think about whether we are right or wrong without criticizing others.
I really like what she explained to me. I could not understand what she said at first, but after the lecture I understood what she meant. The white pig is very well spoken and correct. They did their job well. He gave food to other animals. They did not like bad pigs. Because the white pig thinks not only for himself, but for everyone. The white pig is not afraid and fights against people.
I learned many things from this story. I learned that we need to clean our hearts. Like the white pig, we must think of others.
Both of the two works of art are tasteful stories that allow our children to question from their own hearts.
In particular, “Animal Farm” is a story about two pigs who become leaders and try to create an ideal world by starting a revolution against farm owners who have mistreated animals, but ironically, the pigs themselves become like dictators in the end. Children who were exposed to the depth of this story in a time of rapid change may have also experienced an aftertaste and feeling that cannot be verbalized.
It was an experience that gave the children a new way to enjoy reading and a new perspective.
We would like to thank everyone from Dai-ichi Life Myanmar and Kids Labo for serving as an instructor.