In humanities class this week, 7^th grade students wrote letters to His Majesty King Abdullah II as part of a class assignment that aims to examine the concepts of culture, community and place using King’s Academy as an example.

The class unit gave the 7^th graders, all new to King’s this year, the opportunity to learn more about the school’s mission, philosophy and ideals in addition to examining their own individual identity and how it is shaped by many forces, including cultural attitudes, values and beliefs.

Students began by reflecting on their personal backgrounds, each writing a poem entitled “Where I’m from.” Next, they studied the definitions of community before delving deeper into the study of a particular place — in this case, King’s.

In addition to learning about the history of King’s — including reading “Desert Deerfield,” a chapter in the King’s 2011 memoir Our Last Best Chance — the students also learned about Madaba, the historical city the school calls home.

After spending the last few weeks engaged with these subjects, the students were tasked with penning individual handwritten letters that, once finalized, will be mailed to King Abdullah.

“By writing letters to His Majesty, the kids know there is a real audience who will see their work, so this assessment challenges them to think and write about these ideas,” says humanities teacher George Morganis. “They learn that they are each living their own journey, and at the same time they are part of the unique culture, mission and story of King’s Academy.”