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Robyn, I agree with everything you’ve posted here. I applied for solar panels (PV) for our school last spring and it’s beyond frustrating to have it held up by the DES – ‘still at out to tender stage’ – whenever I check in w/ the school hub. We also have committees meet monthly and speakers visit regularly. We regularly see the impact of climate change in localised flooding events and the increased number of general weather Code Red ‘events’ in recent years, sadly. However also, as you’ve stated there’s its impact on nature… Irish peatland habitats are important for carbon storage, yet many of our bogs are been planted w/ conifers or converted for agricultural use, thereby excluding native species such as heathers.
When it comes to climate change, I always try to empower children to ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’; and take small, meaningful actions which can become habitual/embedded in their daily lives. These can range from as simple as saying no to single use plastic and carrying reusable drinks bottles/keep cups to GIY in the school garden – taking what we grow in our raised beds and polytunnel (garlic, peas, onions, strawberries etc) and cooking w/ these ingredients in the Home Ec room, thereby demonstrating minimum food miles. Recently they are even more incentivised when it comes to local litter pick ups…armed w/ our Picker Pals, we check for the R symbol on plastic bottle litter and they get cents back at their local store.
Being a city-centre school, when not walking, we take the public bus as much as possible, whether it’s to local museums, libraries and/or bowling and sports events. They are therefore reminded of the need to reduce their carbon footprints (as well as the fact that WOW Days, COW Days – walking/cycling are dually beneficial for their physical and mental health).
As a Green School Coordinator of fifteen years plus, I know that I constantly model all of the above actions, not just in my school community, but in how I live generally. This lesson lends itself to all kinds of cross-curricular work – from maths – counting and graphing the deposit return scheme – art – posters/slogans to raise awareness around the school – English/Geography – looking at case studies in Nat. Geo kids or reviewing hard-hitting documentaries such as A Plastic Ocean – Science – Last year we participated for the first time in the Globe Air Quality Campaign and so on.
I therefore feel that all of the above is already embedded in our SSE. Since we completed our initial Travel Flag (and more recently our Global Citizenship Travel Flag) Fair Trade Tea and Coffee are available in our staff room (as well as holding days such as Africa Day/International Day etc) to maintain Developmental Education front and centre too.Michael, that is a lovely (and obvious!) idea to have a welcoming booklet. We have it for Droichead and for substitute teachers. Prospective pupils come on Open Days and for visits (if their enrolment applications are successful) – I’m making a note to put together a booklet also which can be readily translated – thank you for the tip. 🙂
I think the key skill to teach when studying this topic is that of empathy. With the Far Right increasingly spreading misinformation, inciting violence and seeking political power worldwide, children also need to be somewhat media savvy and taught how to differentiate truth from fiction (something that can also be covered in digital literacy – see the wealth of suitable resources on http://www.webwise.ie).
When it comes to refugees, I thought the YouTube clip ‘Who do you think I am?’ (created by Rania Ali, Syrian refugee and journalist); was really well done and effective at getting the viewer to put themselves in her/the refugee’s shoes. We can sometimes hide behind overwhelm in the face of the crisis, rather than looking at what we CAN do to help.
I would use the example of a Ukrainian girl integrating into a school I know locally, as a case in point. When she first arrived in 2022, she had PTSD and required the services of NEPS (and Google Translate) initially. In the classroom there were additional challenges of not just learning a new language, but learning a new alphabet/written characters also. All of this in tandem with the trauma of having everything you knew previously upended, escaping to a SAFE country on the edge of western Europe – but where the food, school, culture etc.differ greatly. I would elicit from the pupils how they can volunteer their time, friendship, unwanted clothes, gifts or other necessary items… they could share their homes, knowledge and choirs/music/sports etc are generally universal languages.
In recent years in my own school we’ve held annual Global Citizenship Days, such as Africa Day on May 25th, where children are exposed to multifaceted aspects of different cultures (food-tastings, music, dress etc) in the interests of increasing knowledge of Ireland’s rich and diverse population.
Hi Nicole,
Your points on how to get our children to empathise with others who are less fortunate in the Global South (latest term learned on this course which I am striving to embed into my lingo and practice!) are very eloquently made. I totally agree with your final paragraph on marrying best practices w/ SSE goals.
I love the idea of looking at case studies and empowering pupils to become active citizens, whether via reducing food waste in schools or sending leftover school lunches (ours will be provided, from September) to local food banks for homeless shelters, or equivalent. Personally I also like to align good nutrition with good outcomes – if we eat less processed food and spend a little more on real food, we are not only sustaining farmers locally and internationally, but we are maintaining optimum health in our bodies.
I’m choosing SDG no.2 as it’s one I’m going to be focusing on during the next academic year regardless, as part of our Green School’s Global Citizenship Food & Biodiversity Flag. This goal strives for a world free of hunger by 2030. In reality, sadly, this isn’t the case – there are huge inequalities at play – as demonstrated so ably in some of the YouTube videos in Module 3…whether Malala introducing ‘The World’s Largest Lesson’ (one I would use in class as a super introduction to the SDGs); or the ‘Until we are all equal’ clip – which was simple, easy to follow and packed a punch in terms of the hard-hitting message. I would also use the Step Forward Game, to remind the students just how rich/privileged they are on a daily basis, most of which they take for granted. I have similarly used the Categorise as a Luxury or Necessity List Game to good effect in the past. Jumping back to SDG no.2 the cost of living crisis in recent years has affected how many shop in the Western World. Climate change is affecting growers and conditions everywhere. We will continue to GIY in the school’s polytunnels and raised beds, and we’ll highlight Fair Trade and Food Miles as previously. As Global Citizens we’ll show that making changes if we can, be it at home, at work or in the community—by supporting local farmers or markets and making sustainable food choices, supporting good nutrition for all, and fighting food waste – doesn’t just affect our own physical and mental health, but is better for the planet and fairer to everyone.
Cora, that’s a brilliant point re: fitness looking good on everyone, indeed; and the likes of Rhasidat Adeleke being an inspirational athlete and role model. She herself has stated that she wants her legacy “hopefully be able to inspire people, especially young girls, to do sports and to stay in sports, and to be be a good role model, and have a good image.” There are so many benefits to being fit and strong, mentally and physically, across all the sexes regardless of gender – not least that when our young people/teenagers are invested in sport and all the positives that go hand-in-hand with maintaining a healthy lifestyle; they are then less likely to abuse alcohol, drugs etc.
I know of a young boy who has been on the receiving end of smart comments for both his interest in knitting and for bringing plants into the school garden. Both interests were perceived as being too ‘girly’. It’s hard on kids to deviate too far from gender norms in primary school, I think…as has been previously stated on this forum they like to fit in rather than stand out. To that end, I found Emma Watson’s 2014 address to the UN in NY outstanding and refreshing… my main takeaway being (and I’m paraphrasing here): “Why shouldn’t we all be defined by our interests as opposed to our gender or sex at birth?”. It is immediately more liberating and freeing. On a practical level it opens up wider subject choices in schools and consequently, more career options. Development Education should smash through the various gender biases and stereotypes which can become ingrained in early childhood, therefore allowing our children/students to choose a field they can both excel in and love (as opposed to ‘traditional’ models such as teaching vs engineering, to name but one example).
I agree that the theme of DE/Global Citizenship is naturally incorporated into SSE via Green Schools.
Ehigie’s 2021 paper ‘The Role of Global Citizens in Today’s World” highlights the importance of education and our collective humanity. Rather than eight billion humans thinking that they cannot make a difference vis-a-vis climate change/global warming, wars, pandemics and the myriad of challenges facing us all in the 21st century, we need to be empowered to work together and do what we can.
I teach fifth and sixth years in a special school where I am also Green School’s coordinator. I see Developmental Education projects as a key part of the curriculum, of looking outwards as they transition from being citizens in their school and local communities, to responsible young adults in the wider world. I emphasise leadership skills, teamwork (via committee membership and on the student council); self-advocacy, empathy, sustainability and using their voices through walking debates, project work, mini-enterprises and fundraisers, as applicable. Colleagues are generally informed in advance via staff-meetings or CP hours; and are very supportive of their efforts. We also hold annual Global Citizenship Days to raise awareness of the particular theme/topic at hand, to which parents are invited.
