This term we celebrated our tradition of Teachers Day, where students have the opportunity to reflect on learning, and the many people in life from whom they learn important lessons. At assembly, some students read short presentations about ‘a wise person in their life’. Some of the speeches are below…
I admire Adam Goodes because when you fall down, he’ll help you up. He is a fantastic football player. He would stand up for people who are wronged. He was a really good captain. He has really good skill in AFL.
L. I. (3rd class)
I admire Albert Einstein because he is very smart and very intelligent. He also made some great inventions. He is very wise and he used to say it is not that I am better than others, it’s just I ask questions much longer.
B.G. (3rd class)
My Dad, Jason, is a wise person in my life. He has taught be about acceptance. He tells me to accept what I get. When I play Lego I want the colours on the diagram. Dad has taught me that it doesn’t matter if I don’t have the same colours for my creations.
D. C. (Upper First)
I think Dad is a wise person because he teaches me maths and dinosaurs.
R. C. (Lower First)
One of the most important people that I learn from is my Mum because she always shows we what is right. She shows me what it means to have a part in this world and what your role is. Every time I think something is unfair, she tells me to look at it in a different way. When I practise my music and I get a note wrong she’ll come into my room and help me get it right. I never really find a time when I can show her how grateful I am but I hope one day I can do something amazing and show her what her input really means. Every time she gives me advice it’s just another thing that helps me along my path to become who I choose to be, and I know I couldn’t have a better teacher than her.
S. K. (4th Class)
When people think about the word ‘wise’ many would say that it means being “smart”, but I think differently. I believe it is not necessarily just related to knowledge but more importantly it is also about how you behave under pressure and how you show that you care. For example, in difficult times, knowing your times tables may not help you to make a good decision or know what to do.
I think a wise person in my life would definitely be my Grand Pa, he has always been there for my Mum and he’s always there for me too. Recently though, my Pa became sick and was diagnosed with cancer. Obviously we all freaked out, but not my Pa! He stayed strong and never gave up. He followed all the doctor’s instructions, and changed his diet and lifestyle to give his body the best chance to fight the cancer. We all admired him a lot for this, especially me because it is not easy to change old habits and to accept new ideas. Luckily he survived and only lost a few toenails on the way! He has stuck to his new healthy exercise and diet and maintains a very positive attitude. For me his behaviour in this situation showed some important qualities of wisdom, such as patience, bravery and optimism.
With wisdom, you can change the world, but you must not forget that some things do not need changing and some people do not want to change. To be wise you must accept this and know the difference. As the example of my Pa shows, being able to understand and change yourself is also an important characteristic of wisdom.
Wise people are all around us, and in fact we are all wise in our own different ways. We show our wisdom in how we live our lives and who we choose to be.
M. K-J (5th class)
Many people have taught me many things about situations in life and decisions that you will eventually have to make. Today I would like to talk about my Grandpa and his time through dementia.
My Grandpa started showing signs of dementia in mid-2015. He was quite sick and went to hospital. After a few weeks, he was released. He went to hospital again and afterwards he went to a nursing home. It was very scary experience for me to see dementia first hand, with all the delirium, the other dementia ward patients, and the environment. But after a while, I got used to it. This experience taught me not to go ahead and assume that something or someone is bad or unfriendly. In essence, don’t judge a book by its cover.
My Grandpa had a fall one night and broke one of his ribs. Two days later, he developed a chest infection. That taught me that from little things, big things grow.
Two or three days later, my Grandpa passed and I was very upset about losing my Grandpa so early on in my life. That situation taught me that sometimes, people have to die to be back with their Creator, their God, their loved ones who had passed before them. Sometimes, things happen.
K. R. (6th class)
