One BIG Reflection // World Around Us, Ethics Weeks

The World Around Us

How did this week give you a new [possibly real-world] perspective on traditional subjects?

Saw a bit of what regional life and schools are like.

What was it like to study through a Galileo-filter?

W H A T   I S   A    G A L I L E O    F I L T E R ?

What did you discover about life outside of the city?

Schools are really well maintained, there’s minimal litter

How was your experience in Leongatha?

I really enjoyed it. I would’ve preferred to document it more but nonetheless it was enjoyable!

Ethics

What was your standout experience this week?

I really enjoyed the ethics of sex trail!

Do you have any new insights into the nature of ethics and your own personal code of conduct?

Definitely!! Though I was a ware of most things we discussed on trail, I still found the experience great! Also it was cool to get a better understanding of others’ ethical reasoning.

How is your team doing in terms of preparation for the Options Trail next week?

We’re almost ready. We just need to organise a few details such as small tokens of appreciation and recording devices.

 

Are you facing any challenges? If so, how could you overcome them?

The fact that Patrick is leaving next week will be difficult. Also incorporating Daniel into our team work style too.

Week 5 // Liveability Week

above: jane’s bioblitz trail group 😀

quick note: my critical question #2 is on its way! i’ve been a bit busy lately..

How was it settling back in to the rhythm of school post camp [or post break]?

Pretty easy, even though I didn’t go, I think most things are back to normal. A few inside jokes though TT,TT

Have you noticed any changes to the way Brookes relate to one another – are you closer, more comfortable with each other, or are friendships more defined?

Yeah, everyone definitely gets along much better. Once again, though I wasn’t at camp things are still going just as well for me !

How liveable do you think your suburb is? What would make it more or less liveable for you?

My suburb is ranked around 236 and personally its quite surprising seeing as Aberfeldie (which is less than 8 minutes away) ranked 4th. Though things like the airport and distance from the CBD have positive AND negative aspects to them, my suburb’s overall liveability is not bad. It’s safe, clean, quiet and mostly residential. But I may not be the best judge of that as I technically live on the border of 3 suburbs. But like we discussed in the suburb liveability session, for some home is simply a place to kick back at the end of the day. For me, personally, I go to school, meet friends and spend a lot of my down time in the city rather than at home.

What are your hopes for the remainder of the term? Which skills, areas of knowledge and personal qualities do you want to keep working towards?

I want to focus a lot more on teamwork and leadership. Less by being the leader and hopefully more as the moderator. I want to be able to keep moving forward in a way that my team project group can get along better.

Week 4 // Camp Week

 How was your week? What was a standout moment for you?

My standout moment for the week was being elected as the 2015 Vice President of the University High School SRC. The rest of my week was spent awkwardly dropping into school to finish my 2014 Secretarial duties. I also enjoyed spending some time with my friends Leo, Quynh & Sara. I spent Friday afternoon with my friend Cam and then the evening at a Halloween movie night at my friend Juliet’s place.

What kind of experiences have you had that have challenged you? How have you found the strength to overcome these challenges?

I haven’t really felt very challenged this week. I got plenty of work done and got to spend some more quality time with my parents.

Week 3 // Sustainability Week

image: Jane w the Brookes LEAP members 🙂

Which aspect of sustainability made the biggest impression on you – do you think you’ll be able to try and incorporate it in to your everyday life?

Recycling properly is really important. I try to incorporate it as much as I can already! Fact- If you put your recycling into garbage bags it gets disposed into general waste instead.

Think back to the session on personal sustainability – how balanced do you think your life is?

Pretty balanced, I’d like to think. I’m pretty lucky to have the things I have.

Are you investing enough time and energy in to the things that fulfill & inspire you? Do you need to make any changes?

I think so. I’d like to spend more time making art. Get a job. Work hard to be able to do more of the things I love.

How was mini trail? Are you pleased with the quality of information that you & your team gathered? Would you do anything differently given the opportunity? How was your teamwork – was there a different dynamic from your experiences with the City Grid task? 

Mini trail went quite well. We got to the gallery quickly and split up into pairs to complete surveys. Though we didn’t get a great amount of information, we got all that we needed and wanted. In our free time we even managed to get a look around the 21st century art exhibit as well as HYPER NATURAL. As for teamwork, there was a bit of difficulty around organising the presentation as the majority of the team wanted a more simple presentation while another member insisted on keeping a 33 slide prezi centred around the word ART. In the end (though it hasn’t really happened yet) some negotiation was made, but nothing is final. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.

Week 2 // Justice Week

Did your perspective on Melbourne as a city [fair or not] shift this week?

Not really. Though the Youth Law session made me feel slightly more uncomfortable about whether added police presence is good or not.

Which experiences packed the most impact for you?

I really enjoyed going to Lentils and speaking to the people there. Everyone is so dedicated there and the sense of community is astounding!

Have you become inspired to become an activist?

Definitely! I would like to think I’m a grassroots activist. I try to advocate for environmental action on a community level as well as help improve our school for students (mostly in SRC and LEAP!).

What cause are you most passionate about?

As you can probably tell, the environment! Also, Mental Health. Both are pretty important for living.

Have you been able to work towards achieving any of your learning goals this week – which ones and in what ways?

I certainly know more about the environment, but definitely a lot more about Australian Politics. I think after our Wednesday Fair Food trail, I learnt a lot more about Climate Change and human effects on the environment. At Parliament I learnt a lot about the layout of State Parliament and its laws.

Week 1 Reflection // Orientation Week

What has been a standout moment for you?

I really enjoyed the team skills sessions on Thursday morning. I liked being able to make new connections with others in my sub school as well as learn about the best ways to work as a team.

Has anything taken you by surprise?

I was pretty surprised about the lack of participation in class. Hopefully more people open up to class discussion because I really hate being the only one talking!

Has Galileo met your expectations thus far?

Yeah, I think it has. The first week has been pretty relaxed, though I’m sure there’s plenty more to come.

How did you experience the difference between the Mini Melbourne and City Grid trails?

I found the City Grid trail to be much more independent, not only because we were alone but also because we were left to sort out any team difficulties by ourselves. It meant we had to assign roles and do our jobs properly. I also found the city grid to be much more hands on; though the task was simple we weren’t guided so we each had to take separate initiatives.

What was it like to receive so much trust from the teachers- did it motivate your group to complete the task?

Yeah, we finished the tasks pretty quickly. The trust made things much faster, as we could go wherever we wanted how we wanted. This meant we could focus on the train network making it easier to head to our destinations via City Loop.

How was your experience of working in your team project group?

There was a little trouble when assigning roles but once it was sorted out, the day went along quite smoothly.

Did you embrace a leadership opportunity?

Yes, I did. I wasn’t planning on it, as I often take leadership roles and like to let other people have a go. But after there was a bit of indecision of who should take the lead, I stepped up.