Humanity

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-35612244

A mother in Scotland rushed her son to hospital when he had difficulty breathing and left her car parked overnight to stay with him. When she returned to her car in the morning she had received a parking ticket because the car was not allowed to stay for that long.

But attached to the ticket was a note saying "pay it then forget it" and the money for her fine. The mother has no idea who left the money on her car.

- what is the picture of?

- what do you think the note means?

explain the picture

- why did someone do this kind deed?

- how do you think the mother felt when she returned to her car

- did the person leaving the money check who owned the car first?

- do you think the person leaving the money only wanted to help the owner of the car of they were the same faith, or same gender or same sexual orientation?

- does the person leaving the money care what race or nationality the car owner is?

- what can we learn from this story?

Ballet Breaking Down Prejudice

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016/02/15/teen-stephanie-kurlow-first-hijab-wearing-ballerina-scholarship_n_9236124.html?utm_hp_ref=uk-universities-education&ir=UK+Universities+%26+Education

Stephanie Kurlow from Australia has a dream to be the first Hajib-wearing ballerina and she has landed a scholarship to a dance school.

Bjorn Borg, a company from Sweden, heard about Stephanie and offered to pay her fees.

In 2010 when Stephanie converted to Islam, she stopped dancing because she thought she could not be both Muslim and a professional ballerina. But recently she changed her mind;

"So many inspiring changes are happening to the world.. African-American ballerinas- Michaela De Prince and Misty Copeland, the first Hijabi Emirati [weight] lifter Amna Al Haddad and the first Hijabi news anchor on American television Noor Tagouri - that have motivated me to pursue my passion."

"I plan on bringing the world together by becoming the very first hijab-Wearing ballerina so that I can inspire so many other people to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams," she said. "I want to encourage everyone to join together no matter what faith, race or colour and I hope to leave in a world with greater acceptance."

- what's happening in the picture?
- What do you notice about what the dancer is wearing?

- Why did Stephanie think she had to stop dancing 6 years ago?
- What changed her mind?
- Some people might say Stephanie should not dance, what would you say to them?
- Why is a company from Sweden, thousands of miles away from Stephanie, helping her?
- What can we learn form Bjorn Borg company?
- What message do you think Stephanie wants to give to us? (no matter what faith, race or colour = no outsiders)
- What can we learn from Stephanie?

Yoga and community cohesion

http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2016/feb/08/south-africans-dance-in-silence-to-a-secret-sunrise-in-pictures

A craze is sweeping Johannesburg, in South Africa. Secret Sunrise is an event where people meet up at sunrise to join yoga classes. Locations are only revealed 24 hours before each event and could be the top of a car park or a field.

Each morning begins with a silent yoga session. People often dress up and are encouraged to wear imaginative costumes. Then everyone dances to music played through headphones. Groups often finish with a conga line around the venue,

https://www.facebook.com/secretsunrisejohannesburg/

At the end of the session, everyone joins hands and says goodbye. The aim is to start the day positively. One participant said, "Last time I did this I had the most amazing day at work so it is just a good start to the day"

- what's happening in the pictures?

- what are they all wearing?

-why is everyone smiling?

- what does yoga aim to do for the body?

- some people do yoga on their own, why are these people doing yoga together?

- Does everyone know each other?

- Who are the classes for?

- Are the classes only for men? Only for women? white people? Are gay or lesbian people allowed?

- How do you think the class effects people for the rest of the day? Why did the participant have "the most amazing day at work" after joining Secret Sunrise?

What can we learn from the organisers of Secret Sunrise? Do they leave any one out?

Diversity in national anthems

Thousands of people braved rain showers to celebrate Canada Day on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Wednesday, July 1, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand

The government in Canada have announced that they are to consider changing four words of their national anthem to make it more inclusive.

Currently the third line is,"True patriot love in all thy sons command" and the government want to recognise women too.

The proposal is to change the line to, "True patriot love in all of us command".

Senator Nancy Ruth says, "For women this will mean we are included and valued for all our labours in building this country. It means this is for all Canadians."

In 2012 Austria changed the words to their national anthem to include women. The line about Austria being home to, "Great sons" was changed to "Great sons and daughters"; and "a choir of brothers" was changed to "A joyous choir".

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/27/canada-national-anthem-change-women-military?CMP=share_btn_fb

- what is happening in the photo? What clues tell us where was it taken?
- What can you tell me about Canada by looking at the picture? (focus on the diversity in the picture)

Explain the story about the national anthem

- What is a national anthem for?
- Why do people want to add lines about women?
- Do you think it matters?
- Mention the Austria story, why do you think these national anthems written a long time ago, didn't mention women?
- Did the Equality Act exist when these were written?
- What's different about society today? Why is it important to mention women in these anthems today?