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I think there are many ways that we can see climate change is already occurring in our own area. The seasons have become completely mixed up in recent year with warm weather in January and cold weather in July. When teaching the students about seasons, many of the typical signs are no longer obvious, for example buds are on trees before the spring time, plants are growing at different times of the year etc.
Additionally we have all experienced school closure as a result of adverse weather and the number of storms are increasing.
Three things I would do with the children to tackle climate change is firstly to focus on educating them about the impacts of their actions and our actions as a country on the poorest people in the world with regard to climate change. Secondly to focus on reducing and recycling our own waste and consumption. This. Oils be done on a school or local community level. And thirdly to look at what we can do to mitigate the affects of climate change, perhaps raising money to plant more trees on the school grounds or in the community.
I work in a DEIS school and we have many children from families who have migrated to Ireland. I think one of the most important things we can do is to foster a culture of inclusion so that when new children join the school, refugees or others, they are made to feel welcome. Helping children to feel that they are in a safe environment and giving them access to any resources needed such as EAL or learning support, as required, is also vital.
I think it is really important that children get a chance to share their culture and past experience, if they so wish. For example a culture day in school would give children a chance to take about and educate others on their culture.
Also I think it’s important to recognise important festivals from other religions or cultures such as Eid.
I really like the idea of a buddy system, children, especially young children are always happy to be given responsibility and I think many would really embrace this.
I think this is a great idea, lots of communities/ people in Ireland seem to be unaware of the amount of disadvantage in our own country, as well as around the world.
There is huge scope to consider all of the SDG with classes and I think it’s really important that we help children to understand that we all have a role to play in trying to achieve each of the goals.
Goal number 13 is to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. I think it’s really vital that we help our students to understand that the people who are suffering the most as a result of climate change are the people who are doing least to cause it. Poorer people consume less, produce less waste, are less likely to have cars etc. but their lives have been so harshly impacted by the change in climate.
Children can work at a personal, school and community level to contribute to the achievement of this goal. We can encourage them to think about their own consumption and habits and look at small changes that can make at home and in the classroom such as being aware of and reducing energy consumption, reducing single use plastic etc.
As a school we can take part in the Green schools initiative and students can run initiatives to encourage our whole school community to cut down on waste, recycle as much as possible and reduce energy use.
I’ve seen many ways that gender stereo types affect the children in my classroom, in Aistear for example I notice that in construction tasks the boys are more likely to take or be given a lead role. In the role play area the girls are more likely to be given or take on a caring or nurturing or even serving role. I’ve also had a young class where both a boy and a girl were excellent football players but he was always assumed to be slightly better than her.
However, I’ve also seen lots of examples where girls in particular are very naturally and organically not conforming to gender stereotypes; where they are taking more leadership roles in the classroom, where they are competing more and winning in sporting situations and in STEM subjects.
Development Education can help to break these situations firstly by naming them and giving the class a chance to discuss. It encourages the students to critically analyse why these situations arise and to challenge them. It can help everyone to realise the potential of both girls and boys and that neither should be limited or restricted.
Development Education is hugely important in helping children to understand their role in society, how interlinked we are and how we are all obliged to contribute to society. It helps us to understand and value difference. It helps children in Ireland to see how privileged we are and how we have this privilege at the expense of others. Importantly it gives them options as to how they can contribute to creating a more equal world and helps them to have real empathy towards others. I think there’s lots of opportunities to include development education in our teaching, starting with how we treat each other and how the children treat their classmates. Also by constantly being aware of gender issues and challenging gender stereotypes we can ensure that both boys and girls have every opportunity to achieve their potential and to enjoy and do well at a range of different experiences. In my school we also have lots of children who come from different countries and learning about their experiences and culture is really valuable.