It was another typical day in the English Club at SMAN 1 Tana Toraja. The lesson started off with students reading then analyzing and hearing “Little Did She Know (She’d Kissed a Hero)” by Kristy Jackson. With some guiding questions from Bapak Paulus and ETA Angela Zhu, students discussed their ideas surrounding this song.

The song helped to introduce the events that occurred during 9/11. Angela explained the importance of the day to America. Following the aftermath of the attacks, Oklahoma City launched the Hope Bear Project, where teddy bears with words of hope were delivered to the Memorial Fence.

Inspired by this project and the actions of the community after 9/11, Angela decided to print teddy bear cutouts and focus the discussion on the importance love can have on society. To start their reflection process, students listened to “Love Is All You Need” by the Beatles. “Why is love important?” and “Why should we love one another?” were posed for students to think about how love can impact a society. The students filled out the teddy bear cutouts with their answers to the questions and included a positive message about love. Students shared their ideas with each other.

Angela Zhu is currently teaching at SMAN 1 Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi.