People of all ages are fascinated by heroes. There are heroes, legendary and historical, from every country and culture on Earth. The most revered figures from our past often are our heroes. Movies, books, newspapers, plays and television shows often present historical and fictionalised information about our heroes. The appeal of heroes knows no geographical or cultural boundaries and we can identify characteristics shared by many heroes around the world. In this section, learners will look back at heroes from the past, identify current heroic individuals and consider how they might become future heroes and leaders.

Yesterday’s heroes came from civilisations around the globe. These icons and their cultures are the subject of Project 10: World Heroes Hall of Fame, in which learners learn about the features of cultures around the world and then nominate candidates for a new Heroes Hall of Fame. Learners will analyse the contributions of these leaders to their societies and determine which heroic individuals best represent their culture and deserve recognition.

Project 11: A Great Book of Great Thinkers focuses on South African recipients of Nobel Prizes to examine what kind of people qualify as today’s heroes. After learners complete research on men and women who have won this high honour in medicine, literature, economics, peace and other categories, they publish a children’s book that includes biographical information, as well as the opinions of the learner researchers who write and illustrate the book. The process that leads to the publication of the book includes research, class discussions about the importance of the Nobel Prize and its recipients in our society, and an analysis of the Nobel laureates and what characteristics these leaders possess.

A look at current community problems begins a discovery process that has learners develop a plan to solve a specific problem in Project 12: Local Leaders, Tomorrow’s Heroes. Learners are tomorrow’s leaders, so the activities in this project emphasise current, real-world leadership issues. Teams examine leadership challenges, create an action plan to address a specific problem in their own community, study budgetary issues concerned with how to fund a solution, learn how to project effective leadership to implement their plan and create a presentation to provide information to community leaders. As learners assume leadership roles to solve a problem affecting their own lives, they prepare to become the heroes of tomorrow.