Debating: Was King Di Xin of the Shang Dynasty ultimately a coward?

Today, Year 6 explored the evidence and created a paragraph for either the proposition or the opposition in order to debate the motives and reasons behind the last Shang King (King Di Xin) burning down his palace and ultimately taking his own life rather than face his enemies in the Battle of Muye. This created quite the debate in Year 6 with many believing he was brave for acting in this way and others passionately disagreeing and protesting that the king was in fact nothing more than a cowardly lion! 

Daniel, says: 'I believe that the king acted in the best interests of his family by sacrificing them to the fire. Imagine if the Zhou army had captured them, they would have been tortured and killed anyway!' 

The Liverpool Slave Trade- What compelled society to allow the slave trade to happen?

This afternoon, we explored the varying beliefs and conflicting perspectives of British society at the time of the slave trade. We examined how religion, social prejudice and government played a central role in shaping society’s beliefs regarding slaves and the slave trade. After sifting through the various testimonies and sources, we then used Google Classrooms to answer the question: What compelled society to allow the slave trade to happen? The lesson conjured up many interesting opinions and we were able to develop our own perspective of the actions of society during this time.

Luke from Class 13 says: "I believe that poorer members of society were left with no choice but to be a part of the horrific slave trade in Liverpool as it provided jobs for many people who were starving and couldn't look after their families. People were desperate."