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I think SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production is very relevant to the children I teach. As mentioned by other participants, they are constantly being encouraged to over consume and buy cheap, disposable products from online shops. They also feel under pressure to keep up with fads and trends. The current craze for Labubu teddies is a perfect example – children are acquiring huge amounts of them at present, for them to inevitably go out of fashion in a few months and ultimately end up in landfill.
On a local level, children can be encouraged not to engage in these trends, or to find more sustainable ways to shop. All the boardgames I buy for my class come from charity shops and I always promote these shops as a viable, sustainable way to shop.
On a global level, I would encourage the children to look at the materials used in just one product, a Labubu teddy for example. They could then research where and how these materials are sourced, and the labour involved. This would help them to understand that what might be a nice accessory for them could have actually involved unsustainable farming practices, or child labour.
In my own experience, I have seen gender stereotyping when I have approached the teaching of knitting and crocheting with a senior class. Some of the boys thought it was ‘unfair’ that they had to learn something ‘girly’. When we explored the issue they discovered that the girls had no natural advantage and that acquiring new skills, in any area, requires patience and practice from everyone.
Development education can help with this issue by investigating these issues before they arise. They also teach children empathy and help them to appreciate that formal education is a privilege they may not all receive across the globe.
The school in which I teach was traditionally a girls’ school. It was only last year we had both girls and boys across all year groups. This led to a lot of reflection among the staff and we realised that some of our practices would have to change in order to be more inclusive and encourage gender equality. It has been a hugely positive move for the school. We realised that having a single sex school from such a young age was encouraging all the children, and some adults, in the community to embrace gender stereotypes.
Hi Orla,
I have seen exactly this form of gender stereotyping in school – boys being asked to lift boxes, while girls are asked to sweep up. I try to combat this by having a rota for jobs – whoever is next on the list gets the job, regardless of gender.
Hi Aideen,
I think this would be such a good use of Croke Park time. So often we have these discussions among staff as we discuss current political issues, it would be great to have some formal time for this idea sharing.
Development Education seems to be more important than ever, given current global situations. We are all part of a symbiotic relationship, rather than individuals working alone. Children in our classrooms are used to working in groups and as part of teams. We can use these experiences to illustrate to them the importance of playing their part in the larger scale of being a global citizen.
As others have mentioned here, the children we teach often have unlimited access to information. Unfortunately, this information is not always reliable, or the author may have their own agenda for writing it. The formal education that we can give children in the classroom must not just foster desire to be active, positive global citizens, it must often counteract some of the disinformation they have already acquired.
It was encouraging to read that Ehigie’s personal experience was reported to have been mostly positive and, from his own perspective, that the Irish cultural attitudes towards racism seem broadly positive. I don’t think the role of teachers and education should be underestimated in this development.
There are some great examples of references to the sky in the arts on this forum. I would like to focus on Starry Night by Van Gogh, and the connected song Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) by Don McClean.
The painting is so striking, with such wonderful swirls and loops. Children could examine the painting in small groups and pick out features. They could then use this as inspiration for their own painting of a night sky with a slight difference – perhaps the silhouette of iconic buildings from their own town in the foreground.
Before introducing the song I would explain a little about Van Gogh’s life to the children and how he was considered insane. We could then listen to the song and discuss its lyrics. Do they think Van Gogh have been treated in the same way in Ireland in 2024? Why/why not? What do they think the song writer is trying to say about Van Gogh’s life?The connecting feature in all this is that the sky is available to all of us, regardless of age, location, or year. Staring at the night sky is a shared human experience. It can calm, inspire, create a sense of awe and encourage creativity in all of us.
Such a lovely post Anne! Thanks for sharing these great quotes and references. The sky is such an inspiration for so many of the arts.
Biodiversity
Eventhough my school is in an urban area, I think the children would be surprised to discover how much variety there is in the nature around them.
I would start by exploring the school grounds, and then extend this to a walk to the nearest park.
The walk could be part of a scavenger hunt where children tick off certain plants/animals as they see them. This could be a nice experience to repeat a few times a year to help children experience the changes in nature with the changing seasons.Back in school we could discuss how light pollution from artificial lights might impact the plants and animals we spotted. I think a nice idea to generate discussion could be to plot each plant/animal on a spectrum ranging from little impact to large impact from light pollution. The children could watch short video clips to help them understand this better, if necessary.
Children could then brainstorm any reasonable ways we could help to limit the effects of light pollution in the area. For example, I have now decided to turn off my sensor light in the garden at night time as it is probably impacting negatively on the nature in the area.
What a lovely idea to set up a night camera on the school grounds. I think children of all ages and classes would enjoy this. It might also be possible for some children to view this from home and to bring the conversation about nocturnal animals and light pollution into their own homes.
That’s a very interesting point, Patrick. so many of our students may never truly experience a night sky. I also grew up in the countryside and took seeing the stars at night for granted. It is sad to think how this might be something children only experience a few times in the lives now.
This module showed me how little I actually understood about light pollution before. I knew the term and how it might affect our own circadian rhythm but I had never thought about the effects on nature before. The maps showing the difference of light pollution over a relatively short period of time really made an impact.
As other participants have pointed out, many of our students have not, any may never, experience the night sky without light pollution.
I have taught 6th class for a number of years. During this module I began to think about how a lesson around light pollution could link into our history plans on World War II. The children are always fascinated by the idea of the ‘glimmer man’ whose job it was to check that lights were not burning outside of certain times, and the concept of black outs to prevent light being seen from the sky. I think this could be a good starting point for a discussion around how that job might be carried out today. Would it be in any way practical for one person to monitor an area’s use of light? What lights do we have today that were not there during WWII? Children could possibly talk to older people in the community and ask them what changes they have seen with light pollution during their lifetime.
Students could then compare the amount, and type, of light sources available in 1945 vs 2025, for example, and list the impact for the local area, including the ecological impact. They might include things such as the effect on nocturnal animals, plant life, mental health and well being.My school is situated in an industrial area with many factories. Lots of our students would have family who work shifts, including nights. I think any discussion around light pollution would have to include some discussion about the role lighting can play in keeping people safe and comfortable. We could talk about the different styles of lighting available which have the minimum impact on nature and human well being.
I really enjoyed exploring the Stellarium app. I didn’t realise that there was so much free, up to date, information available about the artificial satellites in space. It is such an easy tool to use and I can imagine many children would love to use it at home in the evening.
Before introducing the app I would spend some time discussing any constellations which the children may already be aware of. I could then model using Stellarium on the whiteboard and ask children to locate these constellations on their ipads in the classroom. Working in mixed ability pairs or small groups would encourage discussion around the topic.
I think it Stellarium is a great way of developing home/school links. Rather than written homework some night, children could be encouraged to use the app and identify constellations in the night sky. It would be important that it is a clear night and that it is dark relatively early. The feature of being able to set the date and time would be helpful here.
As a follow up activity, children could create the Plough using the Curious Minds activity with a star map, black card, wool and tinfoil. These would look great hanging from the classroom ceiling.
That’s a fantastic idea Noreen, I’ll be straight onto the Ikea website! I tried to do something similar with paper maiche a few years ago. The final results were lovely but trying to find space for them to dry in the classroom was a bit annoying. I’ll definitely be using this idea in future.
Create a sundial.
We are very lucky that there is a sundial in a nearby park. To begin a discussion around sundials I would bring the children to examine this and pose questions about its purpose, features and positioning. I would ask them what they think makes a good location for a sundial, and why.
On returning to school we could pick a suitable area to establish a sundial, based on the criteria developed by the children. It might also be interesting to place sundials in various places around the school and observe their effectiveness. The children could then work in groups to create sundials using a variety of materials including card, paper, colours, clay, ruler, blue tac. The children would observe their sundials at various stages during the day and make notes about which structure, and positioning, are most effective, and why.
I have been teaching sixth class for a number of years and I feel that this could be a lovely day’s work towards the end of the school year when it is, hopefully, bright and sunny. We often visit the park and this would give the trip real meaning.
Hi Fiona,
These look like really good, fun lessons. I really like how lessons like this tend to ‘self differentiate’. I think lots of different learning styles would be catered for by the hands of nature of your lesson. It also allows for lots of open ended questioning which could inspire some children to do further research.
Thanks for sharing the videos, always great to have more resources!