Secondary Academic Highlight – I&S

Students in Grade 10 IGCSE History are completing their Depth Study: Israelis and Palestinians since 1945. In order to understand the Essential Questions ‘What was the impact of the Palestinian Refugee Issue?’ and ‘Why has it proved impossible to solve the Arab-Israeli issue?’, students investigated the various lives of real people living in the West Bank. These individuals include Israeli Settlers, Ethiopian Israelis, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Palestinian refugees, and members of the Palestinian Authority. Students then used their knowledge of Israeli-Palestinian history to “graffiti” artwork on segments of the West Bank Wall. The artwork had to specifically highlight various perspectives, languages, religions, and ideologies while retaining the dignity and humanity for all parties.

This relates to the IB Learner Profile of “Balanced” and “Caring” as the Arab-Israeli Conflict is one of the most controversial and complicated topics to dissect. Students must be aware that there are far more than two sides to a story and that each student should listen with care and critical analysis to a variety of viewpoints in order to form their own opinion. A combination of artwork and academic writing was utilized so students can emotionally connect themselves to the conflict through an active creative practice of empathy. Students demonstrated the Affective ATL Skills of social-emotional awareness to develop their maturity when approaching sensitive traumatic topics that range from terrorism to physical displacement.

Solving the enigma of a Peace Process in any global conflict requires critical thinking, historical context, and empathy. Therefore, this assessment and unit was not only an analysis of the Arab-Israeli conflict in a vacuum, but an evaluation of the universal concept of Community Bridge Building. BIS students value the “initiation of new ideas in a variety of situations by overcoming challenges through creativity in order to make connections between their learning and global issues.” Here are three samples of student artwork that demonstrate these characteristics of our Mission and Vision:

Artwork by G10 Grace Li.

Artwork by G10 Cindy Hsu.

Artwork by G10 Yoyo Huang