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| Sunday, 29 August 2004 |
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Girls think....
Last week we rounded up a bunch of gals and asked them: "IF YOU COULD CREATE A NEW COURSE TO BE TAUGHT AT YOUR SCHOOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE CALLED, AND WHAT WOULD IT TEACH KIDS ABOUT?" And this is what they had to say. "If I could create a new course to teach in school I would teach how to be respectful. I feel that teenagers are getting more and more disrespectful as time goes on. I would teach table manners and how to respect parents, teachers, elders, and others. I really don't know what I want to call it but... that's what I think should be a part of school." - Michelle (no surname) "If I had to make up a new subject it would be a course about politics. A lot of my friends don't understand anything about what going on in the country and the different ideologies of the various parties and so they don't get the news. I think it would help a lot since a lot of kids don't care about the election, they just say things like, "I can't vote anyway" and "Why should I care it doesn't affect me." My class would help that. I find politics quite interesting and I think other kids would too if given the chance. By doing this they could learn their own opinions about the President's decisions and say what THEY want, not what everyone else does." - Allison Pereira "If I could create a new course at school it'd be called Culture Clash Class. It'd allow kids to travel to other places and learn new things about this world. There are so many countries and ways of life and it's so unfortunate that most don't get to experience it whether it's because of money or a missed opportunity. Not only would they absorb themselves in other languages, but learn new things like other government systems etc. Plus I'm sure they'd be having a blast the whole time!" - Mubashara, age 15 (recently returned from the UAE) "If I could create a course in high school it would be all about being a teen. There is so much that teens need to know about like relationships, drugs, drinking, their futures, and parents. I think it would help a lot when it came to peer pressure and making tough decisions." - Upamalee age 16 "If I could make a new course in school, it would probably be called death. It's not something that is talked about much in school. Most of the time it's only brought up if someone in your class loses a family member. It's a really strong situation and I believe that people should talk about it more often. Many people lose a family member or a close friend and sometimes they might be scared to talk about it. I had no one to turn to. I wanted to cry and I wanted someone to be there. I've gone through a lot of deaths in my family, and every single time there was no one to turn to. I strongly believe that in school death should be a course, because someone will always die and it's something that needs to be discussed openly." - Sarah "I think a course mainly for girls should be taught. There should probably be a separate one for guys just in case. The course should be about how to protect yourself from attackers and what to do if you've been raped or if you get raped. It should also be about molesters, and how to know if you've been molested. I've known MANY girls who have gone through this stuff (including myself) and I find it very VERY important. Teaching ways to defend yourself is also a good idea, along with learning to use pepper spray." - I don't want to reveal my name. "If I could make one more course that should be taught to pupils in school then it would be a confidence class. It would teach kids of all ages to be able to be in front of people and speak, act, whatever and not get embarrassed. I know this also sounds a bit like drama but here it would be a proper class room with written work, chairs and tables etc. You would also learn how to boost your confidence among your friends so that you could relax and be yourself. It would be good because I know a lot of people, including myself sometimes, who dread a performance and when they get up to perform they are so nervous they stutter and stumble and make fools of themselves when I know they could do better. In later life nearly everyone has to perform so you should have to learn to prepare and such. My parents give large meetings all the time so I should know." - Hashanthi "If I could create a new course at my school it would about relationships, meaning friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, family, etc. It would help you keep a healthy relationship with these people in your life and how to talk to them." - Mumeeza "I think I would invent a course where kids that make fun of handicapped people, could actually learn how it feels to be handicapped, whether it's not being able to hear or not being able to see. I think kids would probably have more respect and will not make fun of handicapped people after the course." - Kanchana "If I could create a new course it would probably be something along the lines of being yourself. A class that would support your ideas and thoughts and match you up with others of the same interests. So many people are changing who they are to be popular or get boys, but it's not worth it. I would probably call the class 'self-discovery' and every student would have to take it every year and they would show how you changed, whether good or bad, and try to find out why. It would be good for everybody because there are just too many people out there who are unhappy because they're not true to themselves. - Adaeze Wow. Profound stuff. May be the Ministry of Education should take a look at this. Anyways, if you want to share your thoughts why not let us know your thoughts on: "If you could design an ideal day with your friends - and money was no object - how would you spend the day?" You could email your thoughts to: [email protected] or mail them the old fashioned way to 'Sunday Observer Magazine', No. 35 D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha, Colombo 10. Please indicate - 'Girls Think' on both types of males. And guys, we'd love to hear what you have to say on this matter too. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
From the profound to the inane.... We all know that girls talk,
incessantly at times, about guys and clothes and make up and movies. But
what do they think, when they take a breather from girl talk and are asked
to think about.. well something in particular.
