By Soccom Korea

Gwangju, Korea, 26 April 2024 -- Don Bosco School (Principal: Fr. Peter Kim Hae-young), a Wee School (Wee School = We + Emotion/ We + Education) entrusted and operated by the Salesians from the Gwangju City Office of Education, went to Jeju Island for three days from 22 to 24 April for an interdisciplinary field experiences trip in the 2024 school year.

The field experiences, involving a total of 49 people, including 37 students and 12 teachers, provide various types of lessons that are different from the curriculum content that can be learned within the limited area of the school structure. Through this, students develop self-determination and learn the importance of solidarity and cooperation between students, teachers, and other school members. In particular, on one of the three days, the students organized their own schedule in groups and decided on the overall plan, including course selection and budgeting, through autonomous discussion. The accompanying teachers were merely there to guide.

Don Bosco School is a semester-long foster school for students from high schools (regardless of liberal arts or business) under the Gwangju Office of Education who are having difficulty adjusting to school. As students who are about to give up their studies or are involved in school violence and have difficulty continuing their studies, they are likely to end up abandoning academic pursuits if they do not attend Don Bosco School, so as much as possible, we try to take them in. Therefore, the education provided to the students focuses on alternative subjects and creative activities such as sports and crafts.

Father Peter Kim, the principal, said, "Through this interdisciplinary field experience trip, we hope that the students will open their eyes to their own self-worth, realizing that they are agents of education and that they are enough to be loved just because they are young. I believe that through this experience, they will be convinced that they are the masters of their lives."

Amidst the beautiful natural surroundings, the students felt a great sense of freedom and were able to express the passions they had been harboring in their hearts, showing through their words and actions that they were loved. With smartphones slipped into their pockets, talking, playing games and pranks, screaming and shouting, and taking care of each other in the midst of it all, the "that time" that Don Bosco dreamed of was already unfolding before our eyes.

The experiential trip program, which was started with the help of donors and sponsors, has been confirmed to be a program that brings dreams and happiness to children once again, and we hope that it can continue and find institutional sustainability.

(using the blurred photo to protect children's privacy)

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