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I liked how you linked climate change impacts in Cork to meaningful classroom action. You connect local flooding, storms and sea level rise to hands-on learning like surveys, weather investigations and guest speakers. The three actions of reducing waste, saving energy and raising awareness are practical and achievable, especially when pupils can see their results. Tying activities into Geography, Science and SPHE makes the topic cross curricular and relevant. Your approach clearly empowers students to see themselves as part of the solution.
In Phibsboro, I’ve noticed the effects of climate change in small but visible ways, heavier rainfall causing local flooding, hotter summers affecting green spaces, and reduced biodiversity in our parks and gardens. I taught infants for the past couple of years and with infants, I would explore these changes through simple, hands-on activities they can relate to. For example, we could take nature walks around the Royal Canal or local parks to observe plants, birds, and insects, comparing what we see across the seasons. We could also focus on three simple steps: reducing waste (through recycling and reusing materials in art projects), planting pollinator-friendly flowers in our school garden, and saving energy by turning off lights and devices when not in use. These activities would be linked to stories, songs, and role-play to help pupils understand the “why” behind each action. By starting small and local, children can see how their choices make a difference in caring for our world.
That sounds great how schools in Kildare support refugees through groups like Community Sponsorship Ireland. Welcoming a refugee family is such a meaningful way for students to get involved. Intercultural events and language cafés are excellent for building community and helping refugees feel at home. Connecting these actions to ESD 2030 and School Self-Evaluation ensures the school stays inclusive and improves over time.
In Phibsborough, Dublin, the local community has shown remarkable support for refugees through initiatives like Phibsborough For All. This grassroots group has successfully resettled individuals under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme, providing essential support for refugees from Afghanistan facing persecution. Our school can contribute by collaborating with such organisations to welcome and support refugees. We could organise donation drives for essential items, raise funds for resettlement efforts, or create welcome kits for newly arrived families. Additionally, students can engage in projects that promote cultural understanding and empathy, such as learning about refugees’ experiences and sharing stories through art or presentations. By partnering with local groups and involving students in these initiatives, we can foster a supportive environment that helps refugees integrate into our community.
It’s really important to see how homelessness and housing issues affect kids’ health and wellbeing, both here in Ireland and worldwide. I like your ideas about getting students involved with charities, reaching out to local politicians, and volunteering, these are great ways to make the issue real for them. Connecting local problems to global ones really helps kids understand the bigger picture and why it matters.
One Sustainable Development Goal that deeply affects children both locally and globally is SDG 13: Climate Action. Climate change impacts children’s lives worldwide, whether through extreme weather events, food insecurity, or threats to their health. In Ireland, children might experience more frequent flooding or changes in their local environment, affecting their homes and communities. To encourage students to take action, I would integrate climate education across subjects, using hands-on activities like school gardening projects, waste reduction challenges, or local biodiversity surveys. I’d encourage students to explore how their everyday choices, like reducing energy use or supporting sustainable transport, can make a difference locally. Linking these activities to the broader global impact helps them see their role as active global citizens. In line with ESD to 2030 Priority Action Area 5, I would also involve the school community by organising local clean up days or partnering with local environmental groups building a lifelong commitment to sustainability.
I feel you’ve really highlighted how early and deeply gender stereotypes can occur, even in simple activities like art. It shows how children often already have fixed ideas about what’s “for boys” or “for girls,” which can limit their freedom to explore and express themselves. I agree that Development Education offers a great way to tackle these issues by helping pupils understand the bigger picture of gender equality, both locally and globally.
Gender stereotypes start shaping children’s perceptions from such an early age. I have observed this from teaching infants through to fifth class. I’ve heard girls saying dolls are for girls to a boy that wanted to play with them, and I’ve heard children saying things like pink is for girls. I’ve seen boys in the older classes shy away from creative subjects like drama or art because of outdated ideas around masculinity, while some girls hold back in sports or active play, worried about fitting into traditional “girly” roles. These stereotypes limit kids’ confidence and prevent them from fully exploring their talents and interests. Development Education offers a dynamic way to challenge these norms by embedding themes of equality and diversity across the curriculum. We can bring this to life by highlighting inspiring role models from history and contemporary society in subjects like SESE and SPHE. Using collaborative, inclusive activities encourages respect and breaks down barriers. Linking this work to School Self-Evaluation (SSE) helps schools embed gender equality as a real, ongoing commitment, creating a culture where all students feel empowered to be themselves and pursue whatever sparks their passion.
I really like how you connected Ehigie’s idea of “common humanity” to real, practical ways of bringing Development Education into everyday teaching. The student-led ideas are great, especially linking up with schools abroad to build intercultural understanding.
After reviewing the above article, I’m reminded that education should not only prepare students for academic success but also equip them to engage ethically, compassionately, and responsibly in our increasingly interconnected world. Development Education is essential because it nurtures empathy, critical thinking, and a strong sense of shared responsibility for addressing global challenges such as inequality, climate change, and human rights. In my teaching, I would integrate global themes across a variety of subjects, for example by exploring environmental sustainability in SESE Science and promoting cultural diversity and intercultural understanding through Art and Drama activities. I would also collaborate with colleagues by sharing resources, co-planning cross-curricular projects, and developing activities that make Development Education engaging, relevant, and age-appropriate for all pupils. Through the School Self-Evaluation process, we can monitor how effectively these themes are embedded in our practice, set measurable whole-school targets, and ensure that Development Education remains a meaningful, reflective, and sustained priority across the school.
That sounds like a fantastic way to get kids genuinely interested in climate science. I really like how you’re mixing real-world data from Met Eireann with the pupils’ own memories and experiences of storms. The interviews with community members and farmers is a great idea and will also give them a sense of how climate change is affecting people where they live. I agree that a collaborative approach is so important and beneficial for the children across all areas of the curriculum.
Research Question: How has the increase in extreme rainfall in Phibsboro affected flooding along the Royal Canal and surrounding streets, and what local actions could help reduce the risk?
In the classroom, I would start by linking the project to places they know well. We would discuss the canal in Phibsboro and how there has been flooding here in the past. We could begin by walking to local spots that have flooded in the past, taking notes and photos. Pupils could collect rainfall measurements using a simple rain gauge at school and compare them with Met Éireann data. They could also use the EO Browser to view satellite images of the area and see how water levels and land use have changed over time. Talking to local residents and businesses about their experiences with flooding would make the investigation feel even more real. The children could engage in group work and pupils could design solutions like planting more greenery or improving drainage. Sharing their findings with the community would help them see how science can have a direct impact in their own neighbourhood.
This sounds like a really good way to get kids interested in weather and climate. I love that it is hands on and shows how space technology relates to real environmental issues, making it a more fun, engaging way to learn about this topic. It also corresponds with the curriculum and helps build STEM skills, it is definitely something I will look into for my lessons.
Please see below five satellites that passed over Ireland lately:
1. ISS :This is one of the most well-known ones. It’s about the size of a football field, orbits Earth every 90 minutes, and carries astronauts doing experiments in microgravity. It is very bright, easy to spot.
2. Black Knight : It is said to be likely an old piece of space hardware or debris that’s still in orbitIt doesn’t have much purpose now but it’s trackable.
3. Starlink-1481 : Part of SpaceX’s satellite internet network. Helps provide broadband to rural and remote areas.
4. Starlink-1526 : Another Starlink from the same launch batch. These low Earth orbit satellites work together to beam internet across the globe.
5. Starlink-32576 : Yet another Starlink and apparently when several pass in a row, you get that “satellite train” effect.
Satellite Tracker is a great app where you can catch all of them with exact timings.I like how you plan to show the easy, animated videos first and then short clips from ‘HOME’. This will help pupils understand the big film better. I agree that the pictures and music in ‘HOME’ make it powerful and interesting. Asking open questions after the videos is a great way to get pupils thinking and talking. I also like your idea to use projects, art, and local action so they can link what they see in the videos to their own lives. This makes the learning fun, creative, and real for them.
