TGA Students
Take Their Learning Outside of School
By Caroline Marx
On Thursday, November 21st, 2019, TGA’s Mr Tom Gilbert’s HS technology class along with Environmental Science teacher and Roots & Shoots Leader, Ms Leonela Silva, visited the Jian Ai Animal Shelter in Teda.
As a representative for the Journalism Club, I joined them to help document their trip. The animal shelter, run by 2 sisters - Da Gaojie and Xiao Gaojie, along with Brazilian volunteer Amanda, has been through some uneasy times, as they have had to move all their animals and belongings 2 times since they neither have nor can afford their own place. The ladies and the animals are currently in their 3rd location, and it is not certain for how long. They have dedicated their time to help the 100 dogs and 20 cats that they shelter. The students learned that the ladies have had difficulty getting people to adopt these animals, and while there are many factors to this, the main one is the fact not many people know about the shelter. This created the purpose for the visit to the animal shelter. They remain obscure, because they do not have a website, which expats living in China can easily access. This visit was to help technology students get information and photos to build a website to promote the Jian Ai Animal Shelter.
A Network of Need
Ms Silva explained, “As expats living in China, we find WeChat groups according to our needs and interests.” Mr Gilbert and Ms Silva were interested in adopting a pet, so someone added them to the Jian Ai Animal Shelter WeChat group, where Amanda regularly shares information regarding the dogs and cats rescued by the two sisters. “That’s how I adopted my cat “Sultan”, and Mr Gilbert adopted “Callie” and “Tabby”,” Ms Silva added. “A few months ago, someone asked Amanda if the shelter had a website, where any other foreigners could find information about the shelter. Mr Gilbert, TGA’s Technology teacher, who is always keen to give students real-life applications, had the idea to assign students the task of creating a website for the shelter.
The Shelter's Needs
The animal shelter needs a permanent location. Since sisters, Da Gaojie and Xiao Gaojie are unsure of how long they can have their current location, they need funding to be able to get a place that they can call their own. Many of the rescued animals are brought in with injuries and sicknesses, so animal vaccinations are also needed. With the new website, visitors become aware and can donate to the animal shelter.
He said; she said
Asked to comment on the project’s outcome, Mr Gilbert said, “It was amazing! I was proud of the students; it was heart-warming to see their interaction with the animals and the ladies that work there and gave the opportunity for the students to deal with a real-world problem. Education is much more meaningful when students can direct it to the real world.”
About the sisters, Ms Silva said: “Da Gaojie and Xiao Gaojie embody the meaning of altruism and love. Through their experience I have confirmed that when you do what you love and it feels right in your gut, you will find good and caring people, and life will provide the resources to continue your mission.”
High school junior, Minju Kim said: “This was a good experience for students to learn outside of school. I didn’t know my Technology classmates well, but made more friendly connections through our working together to build the website.”
TGA's Mission Through Service
Attendees had the opportunity to learn how the animal shelter works and the hard work and dedication the ladies put into running the shelter. As well as learning, students enjoyed playtime with the animals and interacted by feeding and holding little kittens. TGA strives to prepare students for a world where they can be globally aware and active through the Mission Statement “Empowered to become citizens the world needs.” One way in which TGA achieves this vision is through providing students opportunities to become locally aware of the environment around them through service. This activity gave students the chance to get out of a typical day in the classroom and go into the community and make a difference. The students agreed it was an educational trip which helped give content for their website and at the same time make memories about their experience at the shelter. The informational website is now available for access at jianaishelter.com
TGA学生校外活动, 拜访泰达捡爱动物收容所
2019年11月21日星期四，TGA Tom Gilbert先生带领HS科技班以及环境科学老师，和“根与芽”负责人Leonela Silva女士参观了位于泰达的捡爱动物收容所。
作为新闻俱乐部代表，我全程记录了这次活动。这个动物收容所由两位姐姐和一位志愿者负责，运营非常不容易，因为经费问题先后搬过两次家，现在收容所有100只狗和20只猫，这次参观活动可以让科技班的同学获得第一手资料，然后帮助捡爱动物收容所建一个网站。
Silva女士解释说：“外国人居住在中国，我们总是根据自己的需要和兴趣加入微信群”。之前Gilbert先生和Silva女士想收养动物，是其他人把他们加入到捡爱动物收容所的微信群，在这里他们也成功的收养了自己的宠物，他们也常常在微信上分享相关收容所的信息，几个月后有其他人询问收容所是否有网站，Gilbert先生是科技班的老师，他热切的期望提供给他的学生真实的社会实践，所以我们有了这个活动创意，为收容所建一个网站。您可以访问捡爱动物收容所的网站jianaishelter.com。
当被问及对项目成果的评论时，Gilbert先生说：“太神奇了！我为学生感到骄傲，为学生提供处理现实问题的机会，真是令人心动。
高三学生Minju Kim说：“这是一次很好的体验。我对我们班级同学不太了解，但是通过我们共同建立网站，建立了更加友好的联系。”
