Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
In my locality we are seeing many of the effects of climate change such as increased storms and flooding and a change in temperature. This has an effect on agriculture as well as on people’s mental health as the weather is constantly changing.
I think organising visits for students to local coasts and farms to see the effect climate change has had in terms of erosion and agriculture would be a hands on way of getting them to see the effects for themselves.
Three actions which students can take in school to make the world a better place and slow down climate change are:
1. School Garden/Polytunnel – in my school we have a polytunnel which the children use to plant fruit/vegetables and it’s a hands on way for them to learn about producing crops themselves and we also have a beautiful school garden which the children help to plant and maintain.
2. Recycling – encouraging the students to recycle and making them part of initiatives such as the bottle/can deposit return scheme teach them about looking after their environment and reusing items.
3. Energy Saver – giving the students responsibility for making sure the lights are turned off and switches are off shows them how to conserve energy.
As part of the school’s SSE we can look at ways the school community is looking after the climate and actions we could take to help. We can also plan ways to integrate development education throughout the school and make the whole school part of the learning and planning.
I love all of those ideas that your school used for the Ukranian students Eleanor. It must have made them feel so welcome.
The closest facility to my school would be Tralee International Resource Centre which provides a drop-in facility and services for asylum seekers, refugees and the broader international community.
I think educating the students on the countries and lives the new students have come from is so important. EAL classes for the students will help integrate them into the school as well as helping them to learn the language. A buddy system would also be very useful. Having clothes, toys, school supplies donated would also welcome the students to the school.
During the year hosting international days for each culture would be a great way of celebrating diversity within the school and would make all students feel valued and accepted and would let the students share information about their lives and cultures.
As part of the school’s SSE parents and students could complete questionnaires on how they have found the transition to their new school community and could share ideas which may help in planning.
Your ideas for health and wellbeing promotion are great Fiona and I use many of them myself. My students really enjoyed the Lust for Life programme and found the breathing techniques very useful for regulating. We also use sound therapy in my school as a form of relaxation and regulation and the students really benefit from it.
SDG 13 is the one that I would choose to focus on in my classroom as it’s one that is so important globally and is one which will continue to impact the lives of our students. This SDG is also one which I feel I could adapt easily to suit the level of the students in the special school I teach in. I would begin by focusing on the weather and getting them to talk about and observe the different types of weather they observe in Ireland compared to the weather they expect to see in each season. We would look at recycling and reusing items and sustainable living which are all topics my students would understand. I would get them to take part in projects looking at climate change and the part they can play to reduce their impact on the climate. Last year my students really enjoyed collecting plastic bottles and cans for the deposit return scheme and walking to our local supermarket to return them.
As a school we could organise initiatives for recycling and litter collection such as the picker pals and hold competitions to encourage the children to make changes at a school and community level. By continually enabling the students to see the difference they can make to the SDG’s and making them part of their learning it will hopefully encourage them to keep doing their part throughout their lives.
I agree that stories are a great way to introduce diverse role models and alternating tasks in groups is a great way to give students the experience of a variety of different roles.
Gender stereotypes are evident among children from a very young age, just this morning I heard a mother tell her daughter in a toy shop that she couldn’t get a tractor because she wasn’t a boy! I teach in the post-primary end of a special school and we have a number of students from the travelling community. The boys will not take part in Home Economics classes and the girls cannot understand why they have to do woodwork. Last year we set up a school shop and the boys in my class all gravitated towards the role of shopkeepers handling the money while the girls assumed the roles of the ‘shoppers’ purchasing the stock and setting up the shop. This was something which happened naturally as they were given the option of doing whichever job they would like. As a mother of 4 boys I have tried to make sure they have been given a range of toys for any gender and they have loved playing with toy kitchens & dolls buggies etc, just as much as they have loved playing with toys seen as more typically for boys such as balls and cars. Teaching development education would teach students that they are capable of doing any job or task they would like regardless of their gender and that there are no ‘girls’ or ‘boys’ toys or jobs. Everyone is different and everyone is entitled to like whatever they want.
Ehigie’s paper : ‘The Role of Global Citizens in Today’s World’ highlights the importance of development education for all members of society. Ireland’s society is so diverse now that it is important that our students learn about issues facing everyone in society and in the world. Students need to learn empathy and the importance of doing whatever they can to make a difference to these issues. We need to make students aware of issues such as inequality and poverty and the importance of everyone trying their best to improve these issues and to make other people aware of them.
Students can learn about global issues through subjects such as SPHE and SESE and can collaborate on projects to develop their understanding of the problems faced in different countries around the world. Getting guest speakers in and hosting days in school to raise awareness of what is going on can all help to raise interest and awareness and make the students part of their own learning.
Arranging CPD for staff in developments education and getting them to collaborate and take part in different events would be very beneficial and as part of the schools SSE staff can reflect on what the school community is doing to promote development education in the school and wider community.