Children across Korea will be learning about marine conservation from a new book - one written and illustrated by Chadwick junior Gloria Lee. She published the book as part of her sophomore year Personal Project. Although the assessment had officially already been completed, she wasn’t satisfied just to publish the book, she wanted it to be put to use. This fall, she donated copies of “The Turtle’s Dream” to the Korean Ocean Education organization to use in their educational programming.
After watching a documentary on the devastation that pollution is causing marine wildlife, Gloria was inspired to take action. She felt that this problem was so big that it would require awareness and action from her generation. When she started talking about it with her 7-year-old cousin who had watched it with her, she realized that the documentary was too complex for her to fully grasp. Gloria was motivated to tailor the information to kids so that they could easily understand and see how to take action and responsibility for the world that they are living in. “The Turtle's Dream” features a turtle who compares polluted oceans to the clean oceans of the past and explains how to help solve this problem and protect the marine environment.
“I hope younger children can gain a better understanding about water pollution and its seriousness,” said Gloria. “I want them to go out even further and take action, even if they are small steps.”
Gloria wrote her book as part of her Personal Project for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. Each year, Grade 10 students complete a Personal Project that is a formal assessment of their approaches to learning skills of self-management, research, communication, critical and creative thinking, and collaboration.
“I think the Personal Project helped my learning in a lot of different areas,” Gloria shared. “I built up my self-management skills and communication skills. I really learned about the importance of time management and how receiving feedback from various people can help to improve my work.”
Gloria is considering doing another series of the project, but for now, she feels very happy that her book can be used in a meaningful way to educate students.