Belonging Speech Essay

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Belonging has and will always play a significant part in everyone’s life. I remember those worrying thoughts of not being able to assimilate once entering a new country as a childhood migrant. But, thankfully, through familial and cultural acceptance, I was enabled a memorable sense of inclusion. Belonging is an integral aspect of every human being’s life. Especially the most vulnerable of humans; teenagers. Continuing the study of Peter Skrzynecki’s poems ‘The Immigrant Chronicles’ and the feature article ‘Marked as an enemy of the state’ would definitely provide helpful understanding of the concept of belonging. So, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board of Studies, I present to you, my firm but humble reasons as to why belonging must be retained in the syllabus. Maintaining the belonging concept in the syllabus primarily enables a widened understanding of familial relationships in regards to daily importance. Skrzynecki’s words, “gentle father kept pace only with the Joneses of his own mind’s making” as quoted from his poem ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ exhibits, through the descriptive word ‘gentle’ and the metaphorical use of ‘only with the Joneses of his own mind’s making’, the obvious admirations of son to father as well as the childhood lesson of staying true to oneself. Thus, upholding the concept of belonging in the English curriculum as well as continuing the analysis of Skrzynecki’s poems is vital as it permits students to understand the notion of familial relationships. After all without our family, who else could we belong to? Will Hodkinson’s feature article “Marked as an enemy of the state” also demonstrates the importance of familial belonging. Baldaev’s widowed wife Valentina expresses her strong emotions when referring to Baldaev’s drawings as “she didn’t know what to do with them, but she was concerned that her family would throw them out when she died.
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