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Welcome to the third lesson of the Who Am I? program! This time we will learn about your vision of the future. Visions of a better world for every living thing. Children are capable of having greater visions than any adults have. They do not have the prejudices and the fears adults get with the years. Look around you, do you like what you see? How would you make everything a little bit better?

How would you like the world to be when you are older? In ten or fifteen years this world will have to go through many changes, good and bad. As a global community we have to be looking at the well being of people from all parts of the world. There are two basic types of changes: natural and those caused by men.

Natural changes are caused by natural events like earthquakes, hurricanes and storms. The Moon brings tide changes; and the Earth orbiting around the Sun brings us seasons. Men can make things change for better or for the worst.

What is your vision of a better world? What is your dream?

Discussion Questions:

1. The main occupation in a city or a country depends on the industries and materials abundant there. That is why working in the manufacturing industry is very common in some parts, while in other parts agriculture is the main source of income. What is the most important income source in your community? In your village? In your country? How does this kind of work influence the health of the population? Is this kind of work damaging the environment?
2. What is an industrialized country? Does being an industrialized country necessarily mean being prosperous? What are the dangers of industry towards the environment?
3. Men and science cannot stop a volcano, a hurricane, an earthquake or a storm. Nature is wise and everything has a purpose. These so called "natural disasters" cause changes that are completely out of our hands. State some. Have you personally experienced a volcano erupting, a hurricane or an earthquake?
4. Progress has brought us the development of new medicines needed to cure new illnesses. Are people healthier today than a hundred years ago? Does progress bring more happiness? Why do we have new illnesses?
5. Sometimes grownups are so busy with their lives that they cannot enjoy what life has to offer them. Life's most precious joys are completely free. Can you name a few? How do you and your family enjoy life?
6. "Our neighbors are our closest family." This saying implies that we have to have a good relationship with our neighbors. We can help each other if an emergency occurs. What else can you add to the advantage of being "good neighbors"? Countries have neighbors too. How can countries be "good neighbors"?
7. People come in different colors and shapes. Imagine the world filled with millions of people all looking exactly alike! If we all looked the same, how could we recognize each other? Our differences are what make us special. Even twins have some differences between them. On the inside people are different too. How do you describe yourself? What characteristics do you like in you? In your best friend?
8. Our opinions can be strong and varied. Even inside the same family there are different opinions. How do you solve a problem when you have different opinions inside your family?

Activities:

1. What is the main concern of the children in your class? War, drugs, violence, environment, prejudice, other? Search Kidlink's public database of registered kids to see what are the answers of children to the 3rd Kidlink question. From their answers you will learn what worries children in other parts of the world. For example: drugs, environment, prejudice, etc. (You may choose the same countries that you chose in the last lesson.) Tabulate the results. What is the most important problem for the children in each country selected? Can you explain your findings? Ask the students participating in the program to do this exercise in their class and share the results in the KidCom Who-Am-I? room.
2. Imagine you can change anything you want, what would you change? Write an essay explaining the things that make you worry about your family, your school and your country today and how would you like these things to be in the future. Post your essay in the KidCom Who-Am-I? room to share your ideas with the rest of the students participating in this program module.
3. Picture your community 100 years from now. Write a short story describing something in your community in this future year showing the picture you imagine. Give the story a creative title. Make a web page to publish the stories of everyone in the class. Add pictures. Share the address with the other Who-am-I? program participants.
4. Prepare a list of famous persons that have acomplished something (good or bad) that somehow has lead the world to be as it is now. Choose one of them. Make a poster of this person explaining: What did this person accomplish that makes him or her famous? Why do you think others remember this person? Add pictures, anecdotes and quotes from this person. Construct a web page using posters done by you and your class. Ask students participating in the program to do the same. Study their chosen famous people. List characteristics that can be found in all the famous people studied.
5. Construct a web page with photos of places in your country that you want to protect. Plan a "picture taking" outing to some of these places with your friends. Invite other children participating in the program to look at your web site.
6. Create a drawing that expresses your vision of a better future. Send this picture by email to your online classmates and ask them to do the same for you. Print and label the drawings with the name and country of each artist. Design a giant poster with all the printed drawings.
7. Answer the question "How do I want the world to be better when I'm older?". Add to your saved answers to the questions from the last two lessons.

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