Giving does not have to be materialistic

Nothing can be compared to the feeling of providing something valuable to others. Last Tuesday, October 10th, 2023,  our class went to a school visit, and we were split up into groups. Our goal was to teach the students about various topics that we learned in class, such as AI, discrimination, emotion, and identity. We also wanted to show them different perspectives on what learning really means. Before the visit, my team and I planned our activities and prepared our materials. At that time, I had mixed feelings. I was excited to go there and do something valuable, but I also had some worries. I wondered how we would treat the students, especially if they were children, and how we would make them happy. Therefore, my team and I decided to plan well in advance. We agreed that we would get to know them first and we designed an ID card game that would help us learn their names and interests. Our plan was to play different games with them and talk about a topic of their interest. We thought we would divide the team into smaller groups if there were many students, and each group would chat with three students. However, when we arrived at the school, we realized that they were adults, not children. We decided to stick together as a team and introduce ourselves. They welcomed us warmly and showed eagerness to learn and listen to us, which made our visit much easier. After we knew them, we started by talking a little bit about AI, what it is, and how people use it. Then we played a game called Glucose, which was about self-awareness and identity. I managed this game and translated it into Arabic for them so that they could understand it better. They enjoyed the game and felt that it reflected their personality and their true identity. Then we played another game and asked them what they wanted to learn in our next visit. In my opinion, our team did well. We all worked together and supported each other. We also were able to adapt our plan to the students’ interests. 

In future visits, I would like to try different activities that are more fun and meaningful for the students. I would like to discuss the topic of discrimination against women and other forms of discrimination that exist in our society as they prefer. We can use the materials that we learned in class, such as the video about the four types of discrimination and the reading that we annotated, “The Problem of Othering: Towards Inclusiveness and Belonging”. These materials explain well the concepts of discrimination, marginalization, and how we unconsciously categorize and exclude others. I think these are important topics that everyone should be aware of. 

To end off, the school visit was one of the opportunities that helped me discover my identity and what I’m capable of. As we learned in class, community building is about making a positive impact in our society and sharing our knowledge with others, so that they can benefit from it. The most important lesson I learned from this visit is that giving does not have to be material, but it can also be something that is priceless, worthwhile, and has the power to make others happy.