COVER STORY
Story. Teamwork must be part of an education; it helps students
understand the importance of working and living together. They
can learn from each other, support each other to learn and improve.
Teamwork can also lay the foundation to success as Tony Ma from
grade 10 noted after winning one of the group competitions at the
2015 North East Asia Math Competition: “I cannot make a mistake.
If I make a mistake then my teammates will also make a mistake. It
was true teamwork.”
Teachers also work in teams, at times, from planning each IPC
unit in primary school to designing special projects within or
across subjects. For instance, when middle and high school teacher
George Baxter designed a project where grade 7 students had
to conceptualize rubber band cars, he collaborated with middle
and high school Science teacher Amanda Narkiewicz on teaching
students the mechanisms needed to execute their ideas. The beauty
of education emerges in teamwork, in the lightheartedness of
brainstorming, in the cusp of collaboration, in the clash of ideas, and
in moments of completion. There is no better feeling than this.
Open-mindedness: Cultural Cross-connections
The excitement of learning does grow when learning extends beyond
our gates, such as through experiential learning trips, service to
communities, or even global peer learning. Visual Arts students from
grade 10 engaged in a peer-learning project with a girls’ school in the
UK. “At first, I was nervous but also quite excited about the peerlearning assignment. This was a rare opportunity, and I wanted to
share my best work with the peer school. I really wanted to see the
peer school’s work, and how they would assess us, especially because
they are culturally different from us,” said Vincent Liu from grade 10.
Nancy Li, Grade 11
“With each lesson, I gradually started to
discover the importance of individual
thinking – critical thinking, creative
thinking and divergent thinking, as well
as individual styles in writing, drawing
and performance.”
16 THE KEYSTONE MAGAZINE
Cultural openness, however, begins with knowing one’s own culture
well in black, white and all shades of grey. For Keystone this culture
is China, as home country for our local students and host country for
our expatriate students. Promoting Chinese culture and identity in
a world context is one of our three keystones, and embedded in the
school’s philosophical and academic structure through Keystone’s
signature framework – The Chinese Thread. For instance, when
grade 7 students research Confucian and Taoist philosophies in their
Chinese History lesson, their World Civilizations lesson focuses on
ancient Greece. “Sometimes, I can draw historical comparisons when
the lessons are aligned,” said grade 7 student, Makar Cherepanov. As
an international student, Makar also feels that the Chinese Thread
curriculum gives him a deeper understanding of China’s history
within a global perspective.
Giving: The Learning Continues
There is one perspective that brings learning and the art of learning
into sharp focus, that of giving back. This forms the heart of
education at Keystone – the Service Learning Program. Service
learning enables the development of empathy and compassion in our
students. Learning is also about “education of your heart and mind,”
as Head of School Malcolm McKenzie often says. It is not only about
fund raising and donations. Service is about giving yourself – your
time and effort – to the community. Students from middle and high
school also volunteer at local animal shelters and other charitable
organizations such as the Roundabout Project, every weekend.
Even the youngest students at Keystone were eager to help a local
community school by organizing a charity sale in the summer of
2015.