The Primary English team of Qingpu built a project to raise awareness among children from Grade 1 to Grade 5 regarding jobs and the stereotypes they carry, thanks to the participation of several students’ parents who joined the conference to talk about their job, usually associated to the opposite sex.
To prepare the kids for this meeting and to make them realise how mental image often comes from what society shows us the most, children had to draw the people they were imagining doing different types of jobs. The second step of the project invited children to observe others’ drawings to understand how strong stereotypes can remain in our minds. Among the selected jobs, we had:
Merchant marine officer, expert in naval construction
Business controller of a production unit that manufactures all types of electrical products
Marine engineer
Aerospace engineer now managing the Business Terminal of Hongqiao airport and in charge of a company which maintains private jets
Artist and stay-at-home father
Each guest talked about his/her job with enthusiasm and answered children’s questions. Behind this opportunity, the real objective is to push mentality forward and to open new possibilities for children to build their future beyond the stereotypes to which we are confronted.
Well done to the teams for this initiative and to the parents who came presenting their experience with so much passion!