Our Community
In this unit, we enjoyed celebrating everyone's differences. we were able to identify the diverse range of identities in Britain today and compare them to the past. Some of us were surprised how different things were, only one hundred years ago.
We know that we all have unique characteristics - these characteristics make us special. Take a look at a few of our pictures that shows some of our differences.
As a class, we discussed why respect, diversity and tolerance are important.
"We want the world to be full of equality and freedom to be who ever you want to be."
"As long as you don't hurt anyone and are kind, it doesn't matter if you are different."
We studied the poem called, Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou. It is a poem that discusses rising above adversity, being strong, self-confident, hopeful and brave. We came to grips with the powerful message that she wrote about rising above racism and trauma that she dealt with in her life.
We were inspired to write our own versions in our English lesson.
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt,
But still, like dust, I rise.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes and springing highs,
Still I rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like tear drops,
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Out of the huts of history’s shame,
I rise.
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain,
I rise.
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise.
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise.
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise.
I rise.
I rise.
by Maya Angelou (Adapted version)