by Souad Daamouch (TUD)
On December 14, 2021, I spoke at an elementary school to raise awareness about diabetes and bone fragility. I was a student at this school 16 years ago. However, this time I was the teacher for a day.
I was overjoyed to be able to retrace my steps in a school where I had previously attended. From my perspective, it was also a wink to the little Souad of the past, telling her, “You did it.”
True, I was concerned about this young audience’s reaction and focus on a somewhat misunderstood subject. Indeed, despite the fact that diabetes is a disease with a high mortality rate that is on the rise, some people’s understanding and awareness of this pathology remains hazy. That’s why, in collaboration with the FIDELIO program and as part of a French education module, we thought talking to primary school students would be a good way to spread the word about diabetes.
I asked the students to write down what the concept of diabetes meant to them at the start of the session. “Disease” and “sugar” were the first words that came to their minds. At the end of my presentation, new words were chosen: “hyperglycemia,” “hypoglycemia,” “insulin” and “obesity”.
It was a lot of fun explaining diabetes to kids while they listened and participated. I was pleasantly surprised by the students’ active participation. They were attentive and had pertinent questions. As a scientist, I found this young public quite mature for their age with an excellent critical thinking skill. It was really a great experience! My intervention was even covered by the local newspaper L’est Républicain!
See English version
