DIALOGUE IN THE DARKGRACE ORCHARD'S EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING JOURNEY for teachers and students
DIALOGUE IN THE DARK: GRACE ORCHARD'S EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING JOURNEY OF THE HEART KIND
" I have so much to be thankful for…," these words reverberate with others like " I'm lucky…, I'm happy…" and the like, sincere words that were never recorded, uttered by students and teachers of Grace Orchard School as they completed their tours of Dialogue In The Dark (DID) on 19 August 2011 and 01 September 2011.
To date, some 50 students of the 16-year-old cohort and 50 teachers have participated in the student and staff learning journey organised by the Vocational Education team and the Student Affairs department. For the next two years these numbers will grow.
This is all made possible by the generous support from Tan Chin Tuan Foundation.
With our objectives:
• To witness the abilities and good work attitudes of people with special needs as they serve as role models by being guides of the DID Tour,
• To inculcate empathy in students and teachers by raising awareness and facilitating the inclusion of marginalised people in our community,
• To go through everyday situations like being in a typical Singaporean housing estate with a neighbourhood market or buying a drink at a coffee shop, crossing a busy road or simply strolling in the park, except, all in total darkness,
• The opportunity to use the other senses of hearing, touch, smell and taste when, in complete darkness, the sense of sight becomes non-dominant.
After the tour, class teachers conducted a reflection session with students to set them thinking deeper about their own strengths and weaknesses, work attitude and level of resilience.
It is our every wish that the objectives set out under the experiential learning journeys for both students and teachers be met from the classroom to the field…and these are well received by the teachers and students of Grace Orchard School.