by Elizabeth Tina Fornah | 8 Dec 2021 | Africa, African Leadership Academy, Contest winners, Educators' Catalog, Personal Reflections, Student Posts, Youth Voices
My father was the light in my life — until he left. A setback, for sure, but my mother and I persevered. Now I know courage bows to no obstacle. (Shutterstock/Anna Ismagilova) This story was co-winner of the first prize in News Decoder’s 10th Storytelling...
Elizabeth Tina Fornah of the African Leadership Academy relates the pain that so many young people experience when separated from a parent, but her story rises above self-pity as the narrator discovers courage in her refusal to bow to inevitable obstacles. “This is a painful, yet relatable reflection on the challenges of pursuing survival and the determination to succeed,” News Decoder Trustee Faith Abiodun said. “This writer has such a way with words that a difficult topic becomes almost enjoyable. Brilliant and gripping at the same time.” Throughout the highly personal account, Tina Fornah leverages the image of light to lend continuity as the narrator grows in strength and understanding.
Exercise: Ask students to describe their relationship with their parents and whether the expression “there is light at the end of the tunnel” captures their feelings as they contemplate eventually leaving home.
by Li Keira Yin | 6 Dec 2021 | China, Contest winners, Culture, Educators' Catalog, Human Rights, Politics, Student Posts, Thacher School, Youth Voices
Tibet’s many languages are under threat from Beijing’s policies and economic realities, putting cultural traditions and memories at risk. Tsupkhu Lama in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India in June 2019. (Photo by Li Keira Yin) This story won honorable...
Li Keira Yin of The Thacher School examines the difficulties that minority languages face surviving in Tibet without falling into the trap of concluding that it’s all the fault of the Communist Party leadership in Beijing when economic pressures in a globalized economy are part of the explanation. For her nuanced view, Yin draws from her unique perspective as someone raised in China who is studying in the United States. Her account of the complexities of language in Tibet started when Yin listened to her Chinese grandmother speak a dialect at home while speaking in Mandarin when picking up the phone. “I started wondering why dialects and minority languages have to be overpowered by Mandarin in China, and so I dug deeper,” Yin said. A lesson for other students struggling to understand how their lives fit into the bigger scheme of things.
Exercise: Ask students to discuss when it’s important for authorities to protect minority languages.
by Li Keira Yin | 29 Nov 2021 | China, Culture, Personal Reflections, Politics, Student Posts, Thacher School, Youth Voices
Curious about my family’s roots, I visited a remote region of China where minority Uighurs celebrated and laughed despite repression and a pandemic. Uighur Women in Procession at Sunrise, Kashgar, July 2021 (All photos by Li Keira Yin) I took these photos on a...
by Jean Bosco Sibomana | 5 Nov 2021 | Africa, Culture, Kepler, Personal Reflections
“Working hard should matter. Do not be afraid of hardships.” A Rwandan reflects on being challenged and on change. (Photo by: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via AP Images) Below is a poem by Jean Bosco Sibomana, who works at News Decoder partner Kepler in Rwanda....
by Paul Spencer Sochaczewski | 4 Nov 2021 | Art, Personal Reflections
Almost all of us collect objects of some sort. Psychoanalysts think they are part of our identity. But when does a pastime become an obsession? The author’s “dupondius” of Augustus and Agrippa celebrating their military victory against the combined...
