Project Information
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Project Author: Sarah Lucas <slucas@us.iearn.org>
Project Title: Laws of Life Essay Project
Project Begin & End Dates: 1/01/00 to 5/15/00
Project Summary:
This project is an international essay project which invites students to
reflect on and write about the values that have helped shape their lives.
Students post their essays to an on-line discussion group, where they can
read and react to other essays from around the world.
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Project Details
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Project Level: Basic
Curriculum Area: Community Interest, Language
Technologies Used: Email, Web Based Discussion Forum
Project Sponsor: I*EARN and the Templeton Foundation
Full Project Description:
The Laws of Life Essay Project is a joint project between I*EARN and the
John Templeton Foundation. This project is an international essay project
which invites students to reflect on and write about the values that have
helped shape their lives. Its purpose is to give students an opportunity to
express in writing how values such as courage, compasson and honesty have
impacted their lives and then to share their essays with students and
teachers from around the world. Teacher's Guides are available in Arabic,
English, Russian, Hindi, Chinese, French and Spanish, and include examples
of student essays, different ways of participating and teaching tips.
Student's essays will be published in multilingual books for distribution to
all participants of this project and to classrooms throughout the world.
Excerpts of essays will also be posted on the website. Selected students
from different countries may have the opportunity to read their essay at our
annual International Conf!
erence to be held July 2000 in Beijing, China.
Objectives:
*Development of Ethical Principles: We all have values that we live by,
although often those values aren't clearly stated, fully developed, or
critically examined. Writing an essay for the Laws of Life Project will give
participants the opportunity to reevaluate and clarify their values.
*Interaction with a World Community: By reading essays from all over the
world, students learn that many youths struggle with the same issues,
regardless of race, ethnicity or citizenship. They also learn of the
different hardships that young people face as a result of these same
factors. Finally, culturally diverse responses to one's values can provide
crucial and transformative perspective. What makes sense in one community
may not make immediate sense in another place; diverse life experiences can
inform and enhance all participants' understanding of how one should live.
*Acting on Belief: Both local and international discussions about laws of
life can lead both to positive changes in the values of participating
learning communities and to actions that aim to realize participants' values
in the world.
OUTCOMES: Student's essays will be published in multilingual books for
distribution to all participants of this project and to classrooms
throughout the world. Excerpts of essays will also be posted on the website.
Selected students from different countries may have the opportunity to read
their essay at our annual International Conference to be held July 2000 in
Beijing, China.
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Project Registration Information
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Project Email Address: slucas@us.iearn.org
Registration Acceptance Dates: 1/01/00 to 5/01/00
Number of Classrooms: no limit
Age Range: 8 to 18 years
Target Audience: Anyone
Project URL: http://www.igc.apc.org/iearn/projects/laws.html
Registration Instructions:
Free. Contact slucas@us.iearn.org, who will subscribe you to the e-mail
newsgroup and/or give you a password for the on-line discussion group.
Teacher's Guides are available in Arabic, English, Russian, Hindi, Chinese,
French and Spanish, and include examples of student essays, different ways
of participating, and tips for teaching.
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Project Contact Information
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Sarah Lucas - mailto:slucas@us.iearn.org
Membership Coordinator - International Education and Resource Network
(I*EARN)
http://www.iearn.org
New York, New York
US
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