Field Trippin'

Last month, the fourth graders at AIS went on their first field trip of the school year. In science and social studies, we had just completed a unit on conservation and were hoping to find a way for the students to relate what they had learned to areas that were pertinent to them. Turns out, one of our fellow gym patrons works for a climate control organization that focuses on helping Ho Chi Minh City deal with it's intensely damaging problems related to flooding. Amazing Amber, our ESL teacher, was able to work closely with the representatives of this organization to devise a field trip where students were shown various areas of the city where flooding is particularly devastating, learn about possible solutions to the problems, and decide for themselves which solution they think would be the most effective. Overall an incredible activity that allowed students to become aware of the issues, understand why the problems were present, and use their own creativity to think of solutions.

We bussed our students to District 4, an area of the city that formerly housed the Vietnamese gangs (perhaps they still live there? I have trouble believing there is any violence in this city... hopefully I'm not being an overly optimistic city-dweller who seems to think everything is safe in comparison to Central America). Many of our students had never even been to this area of the city which was a mere 6 minute drive from our school. We saw houses whose foundations were lower than the street, causing rain water to enter their homes immediately after the streets began to drain. We compared the temperatures of areas in the city that had more trees to those that were without any plants. We saw where a giant pipe originating in the city's septic system lead to the river, skipping the whole filtration process. And we spent time standing on a simple bridge that looked out into the consequences of the city's actions in this river, and what a lack of waste management forces people to do.

Standing on that bridge, watching some of my students gag and frown in disgust, felt like we had traveled to another place. This neighborhood houses hundreds of families who's homes were made from tin roofs, rusting metal, and rotting wood that held the tiny one-room structures 10 feet above polluted waters. No reflections of these homes could be seen in the river as it was as black as night, and even if a reflection could be seen, it would go unnoticed with other distractors like rats, garbage, and oil streams.

people really live here

It really was quite the sight to see.

An even greater sight though was seeing the reaction of our students. Until this day, none of them really understood where their waste went after they placed it in a garbage can. Too often recycling campaigns do not focus on the other two "R's" and how much more important they are. Children are told that if they put their garbage in a can then they are helping the environment. In HCMC, this is more true that in other places since the majority of people seem to think the ground is the same as a trash can, but the action of throwing away is what leads to the blackened rivers, foul-smelling streets, and overly crowded dumps. What we really wanted to show our kids is that creating less waste is really the answer, not just recycling the waste we do create.

at least someone can find enjoyment here

My favorite "ah-ha!" moment of the field trip however, was when our students actually felt the temperature variance between the street that was bordered with trees versus the one where only cement could be seen. As we stood on the cemented platform next to the river listening to a presentation, students began to shuffle around uncomfortably while fanning themselves with their papers. Some began to ask if we could return to the car. Then suddenly, one student noticed that no one had been complaining at the last station we were at, commenting that the trees on that street had provided us with shade from the sun and had absorbed some of the CO2 in the air to help with the air quality-- genius!

the green street!

that big pipe in the back? that's where all the poo comes from

After our return to the classroom, the kids were given temporary tattoos and all was right with the world. We used that opportunity to remind these little dudes that some day THEY will be in charge of this city. These problems weren't going to just disappear on their own-- they needed creative, intelligent, and compassion people like the 4th graders at AIS to fix what was broken. Like all children, they dreamed up big plans for the future and seemed genuinely concerned with finding solutions to these problems... we'll see just how long this lasts ;)