Let’s TOK about it

Pim Wongswan, 12Z

Once the Year 12 students and their piles of luggage were loaded onto the bus, we ventured to Nakhon Nayok for our last ever Residential. Whilst many saw this as a temporary escape from the rigorous IB, others were feeling less than enthusiastic about the five days of workshops, lectures and group projects. The Year 12 Residential Visit is different from previous visits as the entire trip is oriented around the study of Theory of Knowledge (TOK). This subject is one of the compulsory aspects in passing the IB diploma where students must reflect on the nature of knowledge and take a step back to question how we know what we know.

Throughout the day we attended sessions where the nature of the workshops and lectures varied on the subject area. Sessions ranged from Human Sciences to the Arts, providing us with a better insight into the different Areas of Knowledge (AoKs) and thus preparing us for future presentations and essays. For example, in the Human Sciences session we explored this area of knowledge through the lens of Economics. We discussed the limitations of economic models as they assume individuals are completely rational or ‘homo economicus’ and thus allowed us to judge the reliability of models (due to the many assumptions that must be made). In addition to these sessions, there was a collaborative group project. The Group 4 project is a collaborative research project where students from different specialised areas of science must choose a solution from a geoengineering category and evaluate its efficiency through the lens of ethics, social and economic impact and perspectives (from different AoKs). We had to collaborate to exchange ideas, allocate the jobs and present the final presentation. Overall, everyone learnt something new from each session which will help enrich our learning in the future.

To allow us to unwind and relax after a long day of critical thinking, we were given generous amounts of free time providing us a chance to socialise and enjoy the lush vegetation and scenery of the resort. One of the highlights was the ‘Old Skool Sports Day’ where tutor groups wrestled it out (literally) in a variety of events including the egg and spoon race, three-legged race and tug of war. It was a

“TOK camp has a great balance between learning and decompressing. Thank you for your work to make this Residential what it was!” – Patrick Ledoit

“The Year 12 Residential was genuinely so much fun and was a really nice switch from the standard classroom style of learning. It was really interesting learning about all things TOK the different AoKs and gave us an opportunity to learn about areas that aren’t necessarily within our comfort zones. The evening activities were also fantastic, specifically the hungry games with Ms Dewse’s brilliant recreation of Effie Trinket!” – Anna Meller

very relaxing way to unwind after a long day of learning. One of the main features of this afternoon was that each tutor group had dressed up in common themes ranging from FoodPanda deliverers to Christmas attire.

Over the course of this TOK Camp, the funniest moments occurred during the ‘Hungry Games’ (a games night arranged by Miss Dewse). As the different ‘districts’ battled it out to be crowned the ultimate winner, we may have looked slightly crazy in the process. The night composed of students cracking eggs on their heads, ‘pushing’ (throwing) friends to win a game of Dead Ant, the entire Year group cheering over a game of rock – paper – scissors (no exaggeration) and much more. Although out of context this may present Grad 22 as slightly bizarre, we are in fact a group of caring and composed individuals who are simply enthusiastic and filled with positive energy (until you mention competition at least).

As a tired group of Year 12s left Cholapruek Resort on Friday morning, we felt content with the knowledge gained, friendships built and memories created. It is certain that we will be “TOKking” about this Residential for many years to come.