It has been an exciting month at MUIDS. We recently welcomed several 10th grade students as they completed summer school while the student body held virtual elections for the student government. Catch up on the highlights below.
Student Government Elections Held Virtually
MUIDS recently held its annual student government elections. Seven different political parties competed in the hopes of representing their fellow students.The names of the parties were Central, Nirvana, Pak Jai Gub Rao, Pentagon, Polaris, Resonance, and Woice.
Each party debated in pairs of two during different nights from June 24th to June 28th. The theme of these debates was,”don’t just choose the one who can talk; choose the one who can walk.” This forced students to engage in thoughtful but thorough debates about the merits and practicalities of their proposals.
Different parties addressed a variety of issues such as hair and uniform policies, expanding the number of seats in the student council, and increasing the number of activities with neighboring schools. Students that proposed changes to the school’s uniform policy challenged the assertion that uniforms increase students’ academic performance by minimizing the number of distractions in a classroom, and even suggested a controlled study to assess whether a strict uniform policy helps or hinders students’ academic progress at MUIDS. They also debated whether changing the structure of student government would better represent all of the students’ interests.
A proposal was also debated as to whether or not to expand the number of student council seats to seventy, or to keep the current number of five. Different parties presented various arguments for and against this proposal, with some arguing that it would increase the number of student voices within the government while others argued that adding more seats would make the government unmanageable. Similar arguments were offered for and against expanding the number of inter school activities between MUIDS and other schools.
After four nights of debate the student body voted virtually on July 1st; they chose the political party Woice to represent them. Congratulations to them and to all of the students who participated in this year’s student government election. The MUIDS faculty and administration is looking forward to working with Woice as well as all students during the next academic year.
Summer School Students Start Their MUIDS Adventure
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Some of MUIDS’ newest 10th graders took their first step as high schoolers during summer school. This immersive, four week program prepares students for the challenging nature of the MUIDS curriculum.
One class that is preparing these new students for their MUIDS adventure is Mr. Will’s summer writing class. This class is an immersive, four week program that introduces students to the fundamentals of English Language writing. Students study virtually as Mr. Will, a veteran teacher in the Modern Languages department, guides them through challenging material. They have studied various forms of writing such as poetry, narrative, informative and persuasive writing, all over an intense, four-week period.
“I’ve structured the class so that students can work in small groups, rather than just lecturing to them for the entire class,” Mr. Will commented.”They feel a lot freer in that format, and can more easily express themselves before they present their work to the entire class.”
Students recently completed various research projects and presented their information in various formats. One group of students used a compare and contrast format to discuss the differences between Northern and Southern Thai food while another group discussed cyber bullying with a problem/solution format.
“I’m tremendously proud of my students’ progress,” Mr. Will added.
Summer school students completed Mr. Will’s class, and other Summer school classes, on July 16th. They will start the new school year on August 2nd. Their new teachers can’t wait to work with them.
Summer School Students Master Citations and References
Knowledge builds on itself, a lesson many of MUIDS’ new 10th grade summer school students are beginning to learn. They recently completed their summer school Science class where they learned the importance of citations and references, which are ways of giving credit to a person who created knowledge.
Every Science class at MUIDS requires students to use citations and references. They allow students to not only give credit to the scientist whose knowledge they are using, but it also shows them that Science is a movement that builds on the work of others.
During classes their teacher, Ms. Natamon Rittilertnapa, the new head of the Science department at MUIDS, modeled the process of citing and referencing various articles, then gave students specific assignments, monitored their progress, and worked with them on an individual level. This “guide on the side” approach to teaching puts students in control of their education and helps them learn how to apply knowledge.
All students will begin studying basic Biology in the fall with the option to take several Science electives.