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What is this?
Students get glimpse of real world
Published 06:00 a.m., January 10, 2010
Drawing a card out of a bucket Thursday morning at Eisenhower School, sixth grade student Jordan Marsh learned for a second what it felt like to get the short end of the stick.
Not just in a game, but in real life.
The Hunger Banquet, intended to offer participants a glimpse into the real world of global wealth distribution, was held Thursday for sixth grade Fergus Falls students as part of the district’s Making a Difference curriculum.
Each student randomly drew a card out of a bucket, which informed students whether or not they were born into a family with high income, middle income or low income. Cards also stated where students were born, including developing countries in Africa, South America and the Middle East.
Based on global proportions, 15 percent of students were born into high income families, 35 percent were born into middle income families and 50 percent were of low income families.
To illustrate to students the differences in lifestyles, each group was given food of varying proportions. With the high income students snacking on large popcorn balls in front of those who received only a few kernels, students began to discuss how unfair the situation seemed.
That’s the point, teacher Katie Gard told students.
The situation created a discussion among the sixth grade students that included both observances and potential solutions.
“I don’t think it’s fair, but you don’t think about it everyday,” said Marsh, who found herself in the low income group.
Student Ryan Viger commented on the impact of being born into a particular family, saying it’s likely someone will stay within the income level they grew up in.
Gard, who works with the school district through the AmeriCorps program, used Thursday’s program to launch a semester long project focussing on global and local poverty.
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