What is Wealth?

During our exploration of the issue of poverty in Year 8 this term we have been discussing what it means to be wealthy.  This discussion was sparked by our study of William Wordsworth's 'I wandered lonely as a cloud' poem in which he describes the sight of the daffodils dancing next to the waves on the lake as bringing him great wealth.  Some very astute students equated this moment in the poem to joy and made the link between joy and wealth.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

William Wordsworth

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
          That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
          When all at once I saw a crowd,
          A host, of golden daffodils;
          Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
          Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

          Continuous as the stars that shine
          And twinkle on the milky way,
          They stretched in never-ending line
          Along the margin of a bay:
          Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
          Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

          The waves beside them danced; but they
          Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
          A poet could not but be gay,
          In such a jocund company:
          I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
          What wealth the show to me had brought:

          For oft, when on my couch I lie
          In vacant or in pensive mood, 
          They flash upon that inward eye
          Which is the bliss of solitude;
          And then my heart with pleasure fills,
          And dances with the daffodils.

It's funny how we often equate wealth simply with money.  It has been very refreshing listening to the students explain that there is much wealth to be gained by enjoying the simple things in life.

Mr McMahon sent me the following link: http://www.globalrichlist.com/

As a class we estimated what a reasonable annual income would be for a a family of four.  We came up with $100 000 per annum, which we put into the How Rich Are You Generator.  The students were quite shocked by where this annual income placed us on a rich list compared to the rest of the world.  We then started to look into who owns the website and what might their purpose be in including such a tool.  This was critical literacy in action and I was really impressed by the higher order thinking and evaluative skills that the students demonstrated.

Is being rich the same as being wealthy?  How rich are you? How wealthy are you? Ask your children what they think.