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It’s great your school has so many supports for new students. The EAL teacher, IT help, and buddy system really help them settle in. I like how you let them integrate quietly. With more foreign nationals in schools, these supports are essential for making everyone feel welcome.
I work in a small school in County Mayo and honestly I’d no idea of what groups there are in my area that support refugees. From researching I found that there is a Refugee Resettlement Programme that is paving the way for new refugees to integrate into community life. Our school could partner with them to create welcoming initiatives, especially with families that have young kids
One idea would be to organise a “Welcome to Mayo” morning where newcomers and our students share stories and culture with regards to language or art, showing solidarity and empathy. Our senior pupils could become language buddies, offering casual English conversation sessions while learning about other cultures. We could also invite a speaker from the organisation to run a short workshop for staff and students on cultural sensitivity and inclusive practices, they could explain to children how best to show inclusion.
I have 5th and 6th classes so one idea would be to assemble “Welcome Packs” for newcomer children with locally made maps, stationery, friendly notes and helpful numbers or tips to resettle. Small, thoughtful actions like these would show that our school is not just a school, it’s a welcoming community, ready to support new people of different backgrounds.
The zero waste rule during lunch is a really good idea and one I’ve suggested to members of the school many times. I will go back to suggesting this again once the school year recommences.
A Sustainable Development Goal I would explore with my class is on the topic of Climate Action and Change. This topic is becoming increasingly relevant for children, both locally and globally. In Ireland, many students are noticing changes in weather patterns, such as stronger storms, heavier rainfall and longer intense heat spells. Some pupils, such as the children in the school I teach, also have personal connections to global climate challenges such as children with farming backgrounds.
To align with ESD’s Priority Action, encouraging action at local level, I would focus on practical, child-friendly projects. Our school has already taken steps, we have renewed our Green Schools flag, we’ve introduced a greenhouse and we’ve focused our attention to actions such as recycling and energy savings, this next school year, as we’ve recently had solar panels installed, I plan on using this to build a2areness and teach of energy savings.
Using art, storytelling, and digital platforms, students can share their learning and actions with the wider community—helping them feel empowered and showing that even small actions contribute to global change. I would also have the senior classes do show and tells and teach the younger classes what they have learned on the topic as a way to influence the younger classes.
I fully agree with your point about the powerful influence of media on reinforcing gender stereotypes. It’s so true that children are often exposed to limiting ideas about gender roles through TV shows, adverts, and even toy packaging, before they even get to school.
Gender stereotypes can begin to influence children’s thinking and behaviour from a junior infants age, or younger. I’ve observed this in the classroom when a group of boys laughed at a male pupil for choosing to play with the dolls during Aistear time. I witnessed it another time when a boy in senior infants was being mocked for wanting to sit at a station full of girls. These kind of interaction reinforces limiting beliefs about what roles or interests are acceptable for each gender.
Development Education methodologies, such as critical questioning, discussion-based learning, and role play can challenge these assumptions by encouraging pupils to reflect on fairness, identity, and equality. Stories from diverse cultures and real-life case studies can also help students understand that gender roles differ across societies and are often socially constructed.
This approach links meaningfully to the SSE by promoting inclusion, wellbeing, and student voice. By embedding equality and justice themes across the curriculum, schools can foster a respectful, reflective culture that values diversity and challenges stereotypes from an early age.
I completely agree with your perspective on the importance of Development Education in schools. I agree that it goes beyond simply teaching facts—it’s about nurturing values, critical thinking, and a real sense of global responsibility. I feel the emphasis on student-led initiatives and real-world partnerships give students ownership of their learning and can make the impact so much deeper and more lasting.
Ehigie’s The Role of Global Citizens in Today’s World reinforces the value of Development Education in fostering not only knowledge but also key dispositions like empathy, global awareness, and social responsibility. As global challenges such as climate disruption, inequality, and displacement increasingly affect young people, education must help them understand global interdependence and their capacity to contribute positively.
In my classroom, I aim to embed Development Education through topics that cut across subjects, like sustainability, equity, and human rights, making space for critical thinking and real-world relevance. Inquiry-based projects and discussions on current global issues can deepen pupils’ understanding and promote meaningful engagement.
To promote whole school involvement, I would encourage shared planning for events like Global Goals Week or Intercultural Week, and use guest speakers or digital tools to bring diverse perspectives into the school. Development Education also links well with school improvement goals, supporting inclusion, wellbeing, and active student voice through reflective, participatory practices.
I think the research question, ‘How does climate affect all animals?’, is a particularly good one as it appeals to children. Most pupils in my school come from farming backgrounds or may have animals as pets. Other children have a general interest in animals, using this interest as part of the research question inspires interest before the lesson even begins.
Research idea: How Deforestation Impacts Local Weather Patterns and Wildlife.
To encourage pupils to participate in this research project, I would start by explaining the significance of understanding climate issues at a local level. We would begin with a discussion on local weather patterns and wildlife and why or why not they think deforestation might affect these things.
To further engage children in the research I would use the EO browser mentioned in the previous module to show how areas with deforestation have changed over time. Focusing on how the landscape and possibly the weather patterns have been affected. We would then discuss the impact on wildlife, for example, loss of food and habitat through deforestation.
Finally, I would have the class brainstorm solutions using their ipads and explaining how each solution impacts the research topic.
I must download this app myself, even though I did activity 3. It is an app I would find really interesting to look at every now and again in my own time. I love the idea that Elon Musk’s satellites are flying over Ireland too.
The EO Browser offers straightforward access to high-resolution satellite imagery, allowing users to pinpoint specific locations, adjust time-frames, and explore various visualizations. It’s an excellent tool for teachers, pupils or anyone interested in observing the Earth in space.
Whilst using it in the classroom, it integrates well into the SESE curriculum as it provides an interactive learning experience. Students can explore satellite images of their own area or of other parts of the world. By visualizing the Earth in this way, children can greater understand geographical concepts, weather patterns and environmental changes. The browser can also be used to show natural events such as floods and wildfires, connecting the lessons to real-world events. With deforestation for example, children can compare and contrast images from different times to show change. In this way, the browser can also be used to integrate maths and data interpretation, measuring distances and calculating changes over time.I agree that it is a useful tool when used with senior classes, younger learners could be engaged also by pausing the video at key moments to discuss what they observe and encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings. Eco anxiety is an interesting concept, although we need to highlight the issue of th environment with children, it is important to do it in a way that does not cause stress or anxiety.
“HOME” by Yann Arthus-Bertrand is an interesting documentary that highlights the effects human beings are having on the planet. The documentary conveys the connections between life on Earth and the consequences of our exploitation of natural resources, making it a powerful tool for environmental education. It introduces facts to convey messages about climate change and its effects on the planet.
Some of the most interesting facts explored are that of water scarcity, the documentary discusses this issue and addresses how water shortages are becoming increasingly common in many parts of the world, affecting agriculture, human health, and ecosystems. It also explores the issue of deforestation and how this contributes to the loss of biodiversity, disrupting ecosystems, and accelerates climate change by reducing the planet’s ability to absorb CO2.
Home can be an invaluable resource for teaching students about the importance of protecting the environment. As the video is quite long, I would show different parts of the film that introduce different topics such as biodiversity, deforestation, and climate change. The video could then be paused at key moments to what has been observed. Following observation, this could lead to activities such as creating posters, or written activities that illustrate the environmental issues observed.
