In an earlier post I mentioned that my students and I were discussing the book “A Year Without Made in China” by Sara Bongiorni as part of our inquiry about China. After many discussions and debates we decided to try our own experiment with the following guidelines:

*Participation in the experiment is optional; reflecting on the experiment is mandatory.

*No items that were manufactured in China should be brought into the classroom during the week of April 7-11.

*If you must wear/bring something that was made in China then tell Mrs. Bowes and she will take a picture of it and we will put it into the bins labelled “confiscated goods”. Note:Who knew how hard it would be to find storage bins that weren’t made in China??

*Anything in the classroom before the experiment that was made in China needs to be removed and placed in the bins to help provide a visual representation of the impact it would have on our classroom.

*Reflections will be recorded privately and as a class every day.

*On Friday, April 11 we will hold a tear-filled reunion with all of our “stuff”.

Why are we doing this experiment? Do I have a grudge against China? These are some of the questions I have been asked by staff, parents and students. Those that know me well understand that it is part of a master plan to engage my students in an activity that will reflect our global identity. This is the last year that China is included in the Grade 6 social studies curriculum so why not go out with a bang! Any time I can promote “deep thoughts” in my classroom I am definitely up for it.  (No respect to Jack Handey’s “Deep Thoughts” intended.)

Some deep thoughts to ponder:

Do we know how dependent we are on other countries for goods?

Are the goods we consume for basic needs or luxury?

Do we really need this much stuff?

Do we care if we are dependent on other countries for goods?

Of course, I could take another approach and investigate the factories and their labour issues, but that is not the point of the experiment. We discuss human rights violations and child labour issues through many of our other discussions. With the uprising in Tibet right now, my students are already diving into a lot of political discourse.

Some students can’t wait for the experiment - others don’t want to be “inconvenienced”.  All I can do as an educator is to open doors and hope they will at least see who is knocking.

I will post some of their reflections after the experiment for your perusal. Who knows? Maybe they will all become minimalists and give up their electronics Okay, I’m not holding my breath.

Until next time,

Mrs. Bowes (AKA The Head Monkey)

As I begin teaching all about China to my grade six students this week, I am excited to be exploring more literature and technology with them as opposed to past years when I have been more dependent on outdated text books and reference books. A friend recommended the book “A Year Without Made in China” by Sara Bongiorno as a springboard for discussion. It is the journal of a mother/writer who spent a year keeping China out of her home to show the dependence her family had on products from China. Although she has a slight political agenda, she tries to keep nonjudgmental and informational in her reportings.

When I approached my students about this project, I got mixed reviews. Some students thought this would be a cool adventure and others were horrified at the prospect of living without their favorite electronics or gadgets. Some wondered how much “China stuff” they actually used. We came to the conclusion that although it would be difficult, we wanted to explore our dependence on China in some capacity. I am trying to keep the experiment positive - my purpose is not to boycott Chinese made products, it is to bring an awareness to our purchasing power in this global economy.

We have decided to try our own experiment called “A Week Without Made in China”. We will place all of the products in our classroom that are made in China into containers (hopefully they are not made in China!) and photograph our findings. We will then put any objects that we were going to use (but couldn’t because they were made in China) into the containers as well. We will reflect on our findings through journal entries and blog entries. A date for this experiment will be set next week.

Some students have expressed that they do not want to participate in our experiment. They will still have to reflect on their experiences even if they are not directly impacted by it. It will be impossible to not be influenced by our discussions and observations.

More thoughts to come!