沙漠、渔村、古城、茶园：社会联结体验旅行，我们的4月课堂
世界是我们的“无墙”课堂。走，和我们去沙漠、渔村、古城、茶园吧！……
4月26日至28日，启明星6至10年级学生开启社区联结体验旅行，前往内蒙古、青岛、西安、苏州等多个城市，探访当地的文化，了解社会的发展，并参加围绕联合国可持续发展目标设计的、和社会创新联结的实践活动。
谈到旅行的必要性，社会创新总监Elizabeth Walker Sobhani说：“我们相信，这样的体验会帮助学生更好地理解世界的发展和正在面对的挑战，启发学生思考作为变革者，采取什么样的行动才能带来积极的改变。”
9、10年级学生来到内蒙古，考察沙漠环境治理前后的经济发展和当地人生活变迁，并为训练“社会叙事”的表达技巧制作旅行纪录片。
第一个目的地是内蒙古的库布齐湖沙漠。他们首先参观了当地的科技中心，了解全球治沙技术的水平，以及中国在沙漠治理方面的技术和成绩——无人机播种、种子包衣技术、削峰填谷技术、微创气流指数技术、甘草平移技术等。
走出科技中心，孩子们在当地一位投身植树固沙事业20多年的老人指导下，也种下了代表启明星心意的防沙树。
最让孩子们印象深刻的是当地牧民家庭生活在治沙前后的变化，启发他们思考环境变迁和社会经济发展之间的互动。孩子们参观了2位牧民的家。治沙前，牧民住的是用泥和动物皮毛盖成的土坯房，家庭收入来源主要是牧场。治沙后，交通条件也随之改善，牧民家庭的大量收入主要来自旅游，全家也搬进了明亮整洁的砖瓦房。
“我们多次对当地居民问道：‘治沙工作对于本地的积极影响都有哪些？’我们原本以为治沙工作的积极性局限在了改善生态环境与减少沙尘污染上，但是当地的治沙人与牧民告诉我们，国家推动治沙项目同时也推动了当地交通的发展，因为要治沙，所以路修好了，对当地的旅游业经济发展做出了不可或缺的贡献。这让我学习到了治沙这一工作除了改善环境外，其实还可以带动当地的沙漠经济。”9年级学生王康睿说。
和任何一次学校旅行一样，内蒙之行对学生来说有很多好处。最重要的两个好处始终是教育和社交两个方面。从教育的方面来看，学生们能够亲身体验荒漠化如何深刻地影响当地社会，以及人们如何利用创新和创造性的方式来对抗荒漠化的负面影响。此外，从社交的方面来看，学生们能够以一种和平时上学期间不同的方式，与同龄人相处并建立和加强联系。
——中学英文老师 Luke Jones
第二天，大家参观了光伏发电厂，了解到光伏发电的成本和国家对光伏产业的支持政策。沙漠中，太阳能板连绵无际，看起来非常震撼！
学生们也参加沙漠穿越活动，学习在沙漠里的生存技巧。
“当天有严重的沙尘暴，沙子从沙丘上飞出去肉眼可见，一睁眼就有沙子进眼睛，一张嘴嘴里就嘎吱嘎吱响。我从之前对治沙人的采访中得知，过去他和团队拉骆驼进沙漠，一进就是7天。沙尘暴严重的时候，吃东西时需要拿衣服挡着嘴嚼，环境艰苦。” 10年级的张安秋回忆说，“亲身经历了沙漠中的沙尘暴后我才发现，原来治沙人在如此艰难的条件下工作，他们的努力不可或缺。他们为现代科技治沙奠定了重要基础，为治沙事业做出了莫大的贡献！”
在陪同9、10年级学生去内蒙的这次行程中，我发现孩子们最大的改变是慢慢认识到沙漠化的治理非常重要......他们通过参观与采访等方式了解到沙漠的形成、治沙英雄的付出、牧民们生活的改变、清洁能源的开发、黄河水的利用等等……他们践行了团结合作、沟通交流、批判反思等多重素养，我认为这次游学在他们心中埋下了小小的种子，希望这粒种子能长成参天大树。
——中学中文老师 穆晓捷
活动最后一天，大家来到黄河三盛公水利枢纽，了解黄河沿岸的农耕文明，认识生态变化对黄河水域产生了怎样的改变。
回顾几天的行程，学生们反馈说，这样的旅程有助于让他们看到一个不同的世界，一个不同于北京的世界。而这种视野的拓宽，正是城市里成长的孩子最为需要的。
其他年级的旅行也非常有趣、有意义：
6年级学生探访了青岛，了解杨家洼渔港人的生活和当地经济的发展，思考渔业发展和保护生态的平衡。学生们也来到野生动植物保护站，制作鸟巢，认识和种下当地特有植物青岛百合，亲近自然。活动的“高光”一刻是学生们访问了坚持几代人都在做自然保护的渔民家庭！
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7年级学生前往西安。大家在古城城墙上骑行，参观兵马俑博物馆之后，分小组制作70公分高的兵马俑，在汉阳陵国家考古遗址博物院体验考古，参加古代游戏。所有这些活动都在启发学生思考，在经济高速发展的今天，该如何保护传统文化，不至遗忘历史。
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8年级学生的目的地是苏州，学生们参观了和社会创新直接相关的一系列项目——创想机器人科技馆、光大环保垃圾焚烧发电厂、捷安特自行车工厂。在捷安特工厂，孩子们收获很多，大家了解到工厂研发的、更便于骑车绿色出行的自行车新材料，直接体验到企业的社会责任。为体验和学习传统文化，学生们也来到茶园学习采茶、制茶知识，体验传统木刻，学习烹制苏州美食，走近文化的苏州。
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法国作家、哲学家列维·斯特劳斯说，每一个人，身上都拖着一个世界，由他所见过、爱过的一切所组成的世界。
我们期待启明星的学生通过在这些“无墙”课堂里的学习看见更大的世界，更好地理解其他文化和社区，以及他们的需求和面对的挑战。毕竟，在采取创新和积极行动的之前，我们首先需要了解问题出在哪里！
Let’s go to the desert, fishing village, ancient city, tea garden … Let’s travel around the world – our “borderless” classroom.
From April 26-28, Daystar Grade 6-10 students embarked on the Community Connections Experience. They travelled to Qingdao, Xi’an, Suzhou, Inner Mongolia to explore the local cultures, understand the social and community development, and learn about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN.
Speaking of the significance of this journey, Elizabeth Walker Sobhani, Director of Social Innovation said, “We believe such experiences give students a deeper understanding of the progress and challenges local communities face, and inspires them to come up with ways to make a positive difference as social innovators.”
Grade 9 and 10 students went to Inner Mongolia, to probe into the changes in economy and the local life before and after the desertification control. For practising social story telling skills, they also produced videos to record the interesting journey.
Their first destination is Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia. They visited the local technology center to learn the technologies and achievements of China and other countries in desertification control – drone seeding, seed coating, peak shaving, minimally invasive airflow, and liquorice translational planting.
They were then guided by an elder with over two decades of devotion to planting trees within sand in the desert. Students planted sand-break trees that embody Daystar’s kind intentions.
What impressed students the most was what happened to the nomads’ life after the desertification control, which inspired them to think about the relationship between environmental evolution and socioeconomic development. Students visited two nomad houses and interviewed them. Before the desertification, they used mud and animal furs and skins to build adobe houses, and they mainly worked in the pasture to put food on the table. After the desertification, the transport infrastructure was improved, and their main income source was tourism. Now, the families have moved into tidy and bright brick houses.
“We asked the residents many times: ‘what are the positive influences desertification has had on the local environment?’ We thought it’s just improving the ecological environment and reducing sand and dust pollution. But the local staff and nomads told us that the traffic infrastructure had been improved and roads fixed, making an indispensable contribution to the local tourism economy. We’ve learned that desertification not only improves the environment but also drives the local economy,” said Grade 9 student Kerry Wang.
As with any school trip, there were numerous benefits for the students. However, the most important two benefits are always educational and social. From an educational standpoint, the students were able to experience first-hand how desertification has deeply affected society in Inner Mongolia and how people are using innovative and creative ways to battle the negative effects of desertification. Furthermore, from a social standpoint, the students were able to build and strengthen bonds with their peers in a way that is not possible during regular school days.
——Luke Jones,
Secondary School English teacher
The next day, students visited a solar panel farm, to learn the cost of solar power and China’s favorable policies on this industry. The solar panels lining up the whole desert look so amazing and magnificent.
Students also participated in the desert crossing activity and learned skills of surviving in the desert.
“We encountered a severe sandstorm that day. We saw the sand flying higher from the dune with our own eyes. The moment we opened eyes or mouths, sand came in and made a crunchy sound. I had an interview with a desertification staff before. He told me that his team and camels once spent seven days in the desert. When the sandstorm got serious, they had to cover their mouths with clothes while eating. It was so hard,” said Grade 10 student Michelle Zhang, “Now, after experiencing a sandstorm, I finally realize what a tremendous ordeal they had been through and that their indispensable efforts laid a solid foundation for today’s desertification and technologies.”
During our journey to Inner Mongolia, I noticed how the ninth and tenth graders became increasingly aware of the importance of reducing desertification. When just arriving at the Kubuqi Desert, they had some complaints about the strong wind and long bus tour. However, as they traveled further and learned more things through visits and interviews, such as what desertification is, how people fight it, how local herders’ life has changed because of desertification prevention, how clean energy is developed, and how the Yellow River is used, they stopped complaining. Instead, they became dedicated to this journey and were able to relate to what they had seen. During this trip, students also developed a variety of skills, such as teamwork, communication, and critical thinking skills. I believe this journey has planted tiny but precious seeds in their hearts, which will help them grow and thrive.
——Xiaojie Mu,
Secondary School Chinese teacher
On the last day, students went to the Sanshenggong National Water Conservancy Scenic Spot of the Yellow River, to learn about the farming civilization along the Yellow River, and how the ecological changes shaped the Yellow River Basin.
Looking back at this journey, students felt that they had seen a totally different world from their life in Beijing, and such a horizon-expanding experience is what students growing up in cities need the most!
Trips of other grades are also interesting and meaningful:
Grade 6 students visited the Yangjiawa fishing port in Qingdao, to learn about the daily life of fishing villagers and the local economy, and reflect on how to balance developing the fishery industry with preserving ecology. They also went to a wildlife protection station to make bird’s nests, learn about and plant the Qingdao lily, which is a special local plant. A highlight was interviewing the fisherman who have been doing this in their family for generations!
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Grade 7 students went to Xi’an. They rode on the ancient city walls, visited the Terracotta Warriors Museum, teamed up to make their own Terracotta Warriors about 70 cm tall, had an archaeology journey and participated in ancient games at Han Yangling Museum. All these activities were designed to inspire students to think how to protect our traditional cultures and bear in mind our history in the modern society considering the rapid economic development.
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Grade 8 students went to Suzhou and participated in a series of Social Innovation projects. They visited the Science & Technology Museum of Innovation, Everbright Environment’s waste incineration facility, and the Giant bicycle factory. At the Giant factory, students learned a lot; they saw the newly developed materials that make bicycle tours greener and more convenient, and learned the meaning of social responsibility. From a cultural perspective students went to a tea garden, to learn how to pick tea leaves, make tea and how to cook local cuisine, while they also experienced traditional wood carving.
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“Every man carries within himself a world made up of all that he has seen and loved; and it is to this world that he returns,” quoted from Claude Lévi-Strauss, French writer and philosopher.
We hope Daystar students broadened their perspectives from these Commuinty Connection Experiences and gained an understanding of other cultures and communities and their struggles and needs. Afterall, we first need to deeply understand the issues before we can innovate and take positive action!
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