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Wan Yuan interest activities foster initiative
June 26, 2013, Wednesday
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THE SUIS Wan Yuan US High School team is developing an elaborate and extensive interest-based activities program that will kick off this fall. Wan Yuan's Extracurricular Activities and Events Coordinator, Patrick Manno, along with his colleagues, are creating this program to help students become independent-minded global citizens.
The program is designed to foster student exploration and initiative. Students are challenged to engage in extracurricular activities that they are skilled and interested in, as well as pursuits they may not have had prior experience with, but are curious to learn more about. Having students join an activity of their own choosing will help them build good decision-making habits, expand their interests, and develop responsibilities such as time management and leadership.
Students who join an extracurricular activity on their own volition are also showing initiative, which Wan Yuan believes in fostering.
"Universities love it when they see a student doing extracurricular activities of their own initiative, rather than doing it for graduation requirements," said Nancy Ku, Wan Yuan's college and university guidance officer. "They believe that if a student habitually demonstrates initiative in high school, it will be a behavior the student continues in university. No one will knock on your door to get you involved; you have to do that yourself."
Moreover, students who excel in after-school activities by achieving all of the activities programs' outcomes will be eligible for special school honors. These are markers of achievement that students can incorporate into their university applications.
The Wan Yuan program offers students a wide range of activities to choose from with the hope that at least one or two will pique an interest in each individual. Though teachers are at the forefront of developing and leading the activities, students have the opportunity to initiate their own activities too. Student-led activities are a great way for students to develop their leadership proficiency. In fact, in a 2010 survey by the non-profit organization dosomething.org, founding a club or starting an activity was seen as the highest indicator of "good citizenship" by 33 top colleges and universities.
Two examples of student-founded activities at Wan Yuan are the Dance Club and the Dance Team. Both are led by the Student Council President, Kathy Chen, and Grade 9A Student Council representative, Mario Chen.
"Leading dance has been tiring and stressful," Kathy said. "It's hard to teach your friends when they view you as a friend and not a teacher. Also, none of them had taken a dance lesson before, which made it more difficult."
Kathy and Mario have been leading the Dance Club and Dance Team since last October. In the time that has past since they have participated as cheerleaders for the "Shanghai Sea Dragons" American football team, in addition to winning second place in the "One Dance" competition hosted by SMIC Private School and Shanghai High School International Division.
"Even though it's difficult, I am still very proud of our team and what we accomplished," Kathy said.
The US High School divides activities into subject-based groupings which are areas attached to school departments: Athletics, Music and the Fine Arts, Liberal Arts, and Science, Tech and Mathematics. The idea of sectioning activities into specific, subject-based groupings is to allow school departments to have a direct role in creating, staffing and running activities. For example, the Social Studies curriculum in the Liberal Arts department directly influences the work of the Wan Yuan Student Council. Students have learned about elections and have created a constitution in their American Civics class, which the high school now embraces.
The Activities Program at Wan Yuan is providing experiences that will enhance intellectual, social and physical capabilities, but most saliently it will foster initiative, responsibility, cooperation and leadership - the hallmarks of global citizenship.
The program is designed to foster student exploration and initiative. Students are challenged to engage in extracurricular activities that they are skilled and interested in, as well as pursuits they may not have had prior experience with, but are curious to learn more about. Having students join an activity of their own choosing will help them build good decision-making habits, expand their interests, and develop responsibilities such as time management and leadership.
Students who join an extracurricular activity on their own volition are also showing initiative, which Wan Yuan believes in fostering.
"Universities love it when they see a student doing extracurricular activities of their own initiative, rather than doing it for graduation requirements," said Nancy Ku, Wan Yuan's college and university guidance officer. "They believe that if a student habitually demonstrates initiative in high school, it will be a behavior the student continues in university. No one will knock on your door to get you involved; you have to do that yourself."
Moreover, students who excel in after-school activities by achieving all of the activities programs' outcomes will be eligible for special school honors. These are markers of achievement that students can incorporate into their university applications.
The Wan Yuan program offers students a wide range of activities to choose from with the hope that at least one or two will pique an interest in each individual. Though teachers are at the forefront of developing and leading the activities, students have the opportunity to initiate their own activities too. Student-led activities are a great way for students to develop their leadership proficiency. In fact, in a 2010 survey by the non-profit organization dosomething.org, founding a club or starting an activity was seen as the highest indicator of "good citizenship" by 33 top colleges and universities.
Two examples of student-founded activities at Wan Yuan are the Dance Club and the Dance Team. Both are led by the Student Council President, Kathy Chen, and Grade 9A Student Council representative, Mario Chen.
"Leading dance has been tiring and stressful," Kathy said. "It's hard to teach your friends when they view you as a friend and not a teacher. Also, none of them had taken a dance lesson before, which made it more difficult."
Kathy and Mario have been leading the Dance Club and Dance Team since last October. In the time that has past since they have participated as cheerleaders for the "Shanghai Sea Dragons" American football team, in addition to winning second place in the "One Dance" competition hosted by SMIC Private School and Shanghai High School International Division.
"Even though it's difficult, I am still very proud of our team and what we accomplished," Kathy said.
The US High School divides activities into subject-based groupings which are areas attached to school departments: Athletics, Music and the Fine Arts, Liberal Arts, and Science, Tech and Mathematics. The idea of sectioning activities into specific, subject-based groupings is to allow school departments to have a direct role in creating, staffing and running activities. For example, the Social Studies curriculum in the Liberal Arts department directly influences the work of the Wan Yuan Student Council. Students have learned about elections and have created a constitution in their American Civics class, which the high school now embraces.
The Activities Program at Wan Yuan is providing experiences that will enhance intellectual, social and physical capabilities, but most saliently it will foster initiative, responsibility, cooperation and leadership - the hallmarks of global citizenship.
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