The substance behind ‘Stories that Matter’: Grade 9 and 10 students on East Campus take on the newsroom to build their own UWCSEA Human Library
By Clare Kiersey, High School English Teacher, East Campus
6 June 2024
Mukul Deva, UWCSEA parent and novelist, shares his experience with East Campus students.
A library of human stories
Conceptually, the ‘Human Library’ serves as a space where students are able to access the various stories told by different speakers from our UWCSEA community and beyond; this includes students, parents, teachers, local artists and entrepreneurs. Each year, Stories that Matter features selected speakers who visit our Grade 9 and 10 classrooms over the course of two weeks to share their personal stories.
Previously, our unit focused on published writers like Meira Chand and Philip Jeyaretnam who shared with our students novels they had written and their writing processes. We’ve also been lucky to have parents in our community–Chetan Bhagat, Mukul Deva and Alison Jean Lester–who are novelists and came to share their experiences. We’ve recently expanded our approach to storytelling, welcoming journalists like Kirsten Han, a local Singaporean journalist and activist who writes for We, The Citizens to discuss their real-life experiences and offer writing tips to our students. Our unit now embraces different genres of storytellers, including UWCSEA parent, Tom Wright, an investigative journalist turned author of A Billion Dollar Whale. He has been a favourite among our students for the past three years. We also had Sonny Liew, an internationally renowned graphic artist most known for The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye. Sonny demonstrated how he incorporates visual and comic book elements into his storytelling through live drawing sessions and our students loved it! These various storytelling approaches broaden the appeal to our student audience and encourage them to view the world through different lenses and engage with narratives in creative ways.
Sonny Liew, comic artist and illustrator, demonstrates storytelling through art with East Campus students.
UWCSEA East students observing Sonny Liew's live demonstration on the big screen.
By sharing these stories, we can inspire others to strive for what they feel strongly about. Additionally, these stories can showcase the importance of access to education for all.
– Alina and Tasha, Grade 9, East Campus
We were cautious about bringing up anything that may be too personal, however, Deng’s journey was incredibly inspiring and I felt like I wanted to contribute and make a change in the world! It was a powerful experience.
– Aarshay, Grade 9, East Campus
Deng, Grade 11 Scholar from East Campus, shares his 'Refugee to Scholar' stories with Grade 9 students.
Some of this year’s most powerful Human Library stories were Grade 11 scholars from East Campus: Deng, Luna and Eugénia (Lala), among others. After their stories were shared, students in this unit then mirrored professional journalists, delving into interview techniques from making their interviewees comfortable, to posing lead-up questions and learning to develop, connect, and extract meaningful insights from their notes. What we hope for with the Human Library, is that each student finds a story which resonates with them or inspires them to share their own, carrying forward the impact of Stories that Matter.
'Intersectionalities of Identities' by Kim Cheah, DEIJ Lead, UWCSEA.
'My Life and Basketball' by Keith Booth, American Basketball Coach.
Nienke Altena, Teacher of High School History and Global Perspectives, East Campus.
Mizue Sauco, Executive Committee Member of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2).
Debbie Fordyce, President of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2).
Daisy Radford, Managing Director (Board Member) at Girls in Tech Singapore.
'Racism in Singapore' by Nisha Farah, Designated DEI Lead (DDL), East Campus.
'Climate Activism and Climate Justice Education' by Emily Ferguson, Head of Middle School English, East Campus.
'My Journey to UWC' by Luna, Grade 11 Scholar, East Campus.
Kirsten Han, Singaporean journalist and social activist.
The closing line
At the final stage of Stories that Matter students delve into the post-production process. They have the creative freedom to re-tell their stories in any format they wish. This can mean crafting engaging op-ed pieces or exploring various storytelling methods, including documentaries, podcasts, graphic novels or visual stories. These multimedia stories are then showcased on an online platform for our community to access. It’s an innovative approach to shared learning among students, pushing them to think beyond traditional storytelling, and catering to different ways of retaining and presenting information. Through Stories that Matter, our Grade 9 students immerse themselves in hands-on experiences that bridge classroom learning with the real world. They connect with people and their stories, refining their ability to convey meaningful narratives with substance and impact.
We hope our students leave their classrooms inspired to think about the bigger picture and understand how different perspectives shape the world around them. As they uncover and narrate the stories that matter to them, we’ve witnessed so many of our students grow in their confidence and resilience, discovering the true power of storytelling to connect, inform and inspire.
I adored having the chance to share my experiences with others! Everybody has something to say, and our voices count, in my opinion. For me, every day is an opportunity to learn, and I am incredibly appreciative of the opportunity to share the joys, hardships, and variety of experiences that have shaped who I am today. To all of you, don’t be embarrassed to express yourself! Remember, in a world full of winners, we need warriors!
– Eugénia (Lala), Grade 11 scholar and Stories that Matter speaker, East Campus