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Important to try and get over the initial novelty of just having a day off! We need to present it very different to a snow day!
We actually have a large return bin in school at the moment and the money can be used towards plants etc. and peat moss for our garden.
It is clear that the ongoing and substitutable effects of climate change are having a direct impact on my local area similar to what we have witnessed at a national and international level. The increasing number of storms for instance as well as other extreme weather conditions. Last year, storm Éowyn caused significant damage in my area with a number of fallen trees causing severe damage as well as a death on a main road within 10 miles from where I live.
It is clear that Climate Change is being discussed in pockets directly and indirectly at school as well as being documented in different ways however there is a need to deliver concise information to children as well as adults on the impacts and the progression of change over time. This may in some ways increase anxiety around world issues but it is necessary in order to see change. One teacher mentions the ‘Climate change – a worldwide view’ video. This is vital and very important that good quality material is included in quality first teaching. We need to hook children into the idea by presenting it as What we can do to make a difference in the world rather than the fear concept in order to be as proactive as possible.
Some actions that can be taken at school and community level are the reduction of waste, transportation change and the demand of action from local authorities. We need to minimise waste by reducing what we use and recycling consistently as well as shopping responsibly for what we need rather than what we want. Also cooking and planning food meals at home can be a way to reduce food waste as well as using leftovers for lunch! Showing children how clothes can be altered and mended is a great way to support buying less. Also showing how clothes can be sold e.g. Vinted App, as well as other items such as books. By choosing other methods of transport such as cycling or walking can help to slow down climate change. Car pooling in schools is also a great option for teachers to try. Speaking to or writing to local representatives to advocate change shows how important it is to have your voice heard.
The School Self Evaluation process looks at what can be done in school to encourage and improve best practice. This help motivate staff to take action and identify areas of improvement. Development Education can be part of the process using SMART goals schools can use a structured framework for achieving objectives.
This is a great idea. We got funding recently through an Arts Project- not sure of the name however I am thinking this would be wonderful idea to get everyone involved. Thanks for sharing this.
I recall seeing a picture last week of children from Donegal attending the Foyle Cup in Derry just over the border from where I live. It was reassuring to see the children from all communities (within our now diverse county) being represented. Having subbed in a few different schools I definitely noticed that all children participate in all sports, regardless of their cultural, religious identity including GAA- great to see !
I am located in Donegal, often referred to as the forgotten county however there are, thankfully, several organizations in County Donegal, including those in the Ballybofey area, which are heavily involved in supporting refugees and asylum seekers. Mainly the support is centred around housing. My school is located in Stranorlar a stone throw away from Ballybofey- known as the twin towns. Although not the largest town in Donegal the support in the Finn Valley area in particular in very good. Key organizations include the Donegal Intercultural Platform, which focuses on inclusion and equality, the Finn Valley Family Resource Centre, which provides community support. This centre is within walking distance to my school and we are lucky to have many resource centres throughout the county especially in some of our border towns and more disadvantaged areas. The Donegal Refugee Resettlement Project offers resettlement support. Additionally, Donegal County Council has a dedicated Refugee Response team and a Community Integration Forum to coordinate support. The council’s support has been key over the last few years especially with people who came to Donegal from Ukraine requiring housing. Donegal County Council’s experienced Ukrainian Refugee Response Team were and still are very dedicated in making sure the process of matching, meeting and placing people in housing as smooth as possible for the homeowner and individual. The integration and migration team see ‘the future we all want to live into, something that will integrate us’. The Community Integration Forum is a multi-agency Forum which brings together representatives of both Statutory and Voluntary Agencies operating across Donegal ensuring commitment and consistency in terms of service delivery. The Forum coordinates a community led response in the provision of assistance and support to all new communities resettling in Co Donegal. It is intended that the information contained will be a useful resource for individuals agencies and members of the public who are seeking information on services and help available in Donegal. Our School Home Liaison Officer does have regular contact with them when supporting families who have just arrived or are seeking more suitable alternative accommodation.
I have extensive experience of working in schools that were diverse in London. Over the years I have been directly involved in many different activities and events to welcome and celebrate all people. There are many ways that we as a school can take action to welcome refugees into our school community. Creating an inclusive and welcoming environment is key. We can create a classroom that celebrates diversity for instance by holding assemblies for different cultural events or religious festivals. This helps refugees feel involved in the wider school community as well as represented. Displaying different language across the school. Having a language of the month and using words on displays from this language. Asking parents from the wider community to come and talk to the children about the different countries and maybe having cooking and food for different cultural days.
I agree with encouraging the students themselves to action the changes that will take place. The integration of climate action projects into the classroom through cross-curricular learning is a great idea as then it is not seen as an additional topic that needs to be squeezed in to a packed timetable but linked to the learning that needs to take place. I like the school-wide initiatives you have suggested and tree planting is always a hit with every age range. Connecting with other schools abroad to exchange ideas and experiences would of course build empathy and a as you say a global perspective. I am glad you mentioned this as it does support ESD to 2030 Priority Action Area 5 by embedding sustainable practices into everyday life.
To support the Sustainable Development Goals- in particular SDG 13- which is Climate Action I believe that firstly helping children to understand how climate change is taking affect here in Ireland is key. Additionally, they need to learn the affect that is taking place beyond their locality and country considering other countries and communities around the world. An example of this is looking at the more prolonged drought we have experienced although small in significant to other countries it has had impact for example farmers needing to buy irrigation systems and provide water to animals. Compared to the past we are lucky as many farmers in Ireland primarily now provide water to livestock through a combination of infrastructure improvements and sustainable practices. In some areas larger farmers utilize solar-powered water pumps and nose pumps to deliver clean water to troughs, reducing reliance on direct access to watercourses. This enables better management of grazing and prevents pollution from livestock access to water bodies, which is also more prevalent than in the past. The children might look at rising temperatures over the last few years and how sometimes, although for a short period, the temperatures can increase and water shortages can occur. The children could look at what they can do as a school community to reduce water use and make people in the local community more aware.
As well as this we have also seen rainfall and flooding in Ireland, It would be interesting for the children to compare this to the impact of droughts or wildfires in other countries or even some continental regions. Through the use of digital tools such as interactive climate maps, and videos they could explore not only the causes but also the effects of climate change.
In the rules for national schools I remember reading that males were not allowed to teach the infants! Development Education might be further developed in schools by ensuring all staff have the opportunity to work across the age ranges. Typically principals at a time were all male as they were seen as authoritarian figures and females being softer were sent to the nurturing role of teaching the younger children. This has changed significantly however if for instance there is a tough class the idea is that as a female you would need to be quite strong minded and more dominant to fulfil the role.
I think baking is a great one to encourage the boys earlier to become involved in. Unfortunately in the local boy’s secondary schools, in my time, Home Economics, for instance, was not a choice. I am unsure f this is the case now. It would be great to encourage the boys by helping them recognise that some of the top chefs in the world are male – something which breaks gender typical stereotypes.
This is so true how often we associate certain task activities with boys or girls. Even from a very young we typically think of girls as neater especially with colouring in.
It is true to say that gender stereotypes can begin to mould children’s beliefs, behaviour and ideas from a very young age. This often happens with no intention or realisation from the adults involved. The typical selection of coloured baby grows at birth and the pressure to continue with this so that people will recognise that the baby is a boy or a girl.
I recall a lady who worked as a child counsellor in a school I worked in tell the children that she was bullied from a young age because she was a girl with a name that was typically seen as a boy’s name. It feels that we live in a society that is a little less rigid in it’s ideas but elements of gender stereotypes most certainly still exist. Someone in the comments mentioned a boy with long hair and I think this can typically happen even in school where a teacher from another class might ask is that a ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ innocently. If such a conversation was to take place in the playground between the children the impact would be significant for the child involved. Certainly I believe that gender expectations are ingrained from a very young age and we do for example cut boys hair and grow girl’s hair without even realising that hair is just hair. Therefore we need to remind each other alongside the children that narrow definitions can create an environment where it almost appears wrong to be an individual or be different. We need to encourage and demand acceptance and respect. It si therefore important to emphasis there’s no one way to be more of a boy or a girl. Choosing text to break gender norms and offering praise for kindness. One such book is Bills New Frock this book concerns a young boy, Bill Simpson, who wakes up one morning to find he has transformed into a girl. He was then forced to go to school in a pink dress and unfortunately for him discovers one of the worst days in his life is about to unfold. Baffled by the way things are just different for girls. Fine’s book is not about the construction of gender identity (the narrative refers to Bill by male pronouns throughout, even though both he and other characters acknowledge that he is a girl), and in fact Bill’s male gender identity is shown to be irrelevant to the treatment that he then receives.
Every stereotype however big or small may seem irrelevant but they can have a huge impact on how children view themselves as well as others around them. I believe it is important to explore gender identity in detail in order ensure that children feel safe being themselves and learn to value each other for who they truly are. Minimising the importance of how they look or what other people expect from them.
Hi Ailish,
I really like how you have discussed Developing Education being incorporated into themes such as Wellbeing, Inclusion, and also Pupil Voice. Also merging it in SESE, SPHE and Oral Language lessons can certainly help reflect on its impact, as you say, and promote empathy, which is so important as well as critical thinking and respect. Both of which are key indicators in any quality school evaluation. I like how you have talked about encouraging whole-school uptake with shared planning time, and creating a visible Global Injustice noticeboard to celebrate pupil-led initiatives, this is certainly something I would like to try in school.
Thank you.
I am complete agreement with Eric Ehigie’s idea that there are lots of positive things in regard to how far we have come ethically as a global society. Also I believe that it is true to say that we are still plagued by the existence of many issues such as shortage of food, poverty of one kind or another, disparity and political volatility. Therefore we must work towards appreciating the role that we can play to improve the reality for us as individuals, as well as our global community. Eric discusses an innate common humanity and how we can ‘become distracted from the fact that we are living in a global village that we all have a stake in’. Development Education is certainly of more significance now as we are in a time where many things no longer remain certain. For many they may feel destitute in order to make a change. Through the encouragement of critical thinking we can help children cultivate a system of self that Ehigie discusses. This is fundamental if we wish to persuade children in some ways to take social action however small (although for some it may appear insignificant now).
As with any development activity in school, sometimes it can be a challenge to encourage other teachers to become involved as it appears an additional task or activity that has to be squeezed into the timetable. As the workload continues to increase teachers find it difficult to put time aside to plan however using monthly meetings and other CPD time is a good starting point. Beginning the conversation around global citizenship should consist in firstly helping staff recognise its importance. Stressing that Development Education should focus on process rather than progress is huge also. Development Education feeds naturally into SSE. It is a lifelong educational process which aims to increase public knowledge and understanding of the rapidly changing, interdependent and unequal world in which we live. By challenging stereotypes and encouraging independent thinking, development education helps people to critically explore how global justice issues interlink with their everyday lives. –Irish Aid Development Education is about really getting to the root of inequality and injustice in the world today and doing something about it. Educating the staff about this first is key. SSE focuses on how to improve learning environments and uses a collaborative approach to achieve this. By helping our pupils to develop their independent and critical thinking skills we are actively contributing to this improvement. Children and young people in Ireland are regularly exposed to global issues via television and the internet. Misinformation and misrepresentation is rife. Within the educational setting we have a duty to ensure learners have the tools to critically analyse the information that they receive. Most importantly, children should be made to feel that they can make a real difference significantly in the world, and that they can take action, however big or small, on local and global issues that matter to them.
