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I know what you mean about the heatwaves Claire – I used to be so excited about the fine weather but when it’s sunny these days (like it is here today) I have a certain level of anxiety about how unnatural this is and worry about the implications for the future.
We’re definitely seeing the impact of climate change across Ireland as a whole and there are specific areas that are more exposed than others. One of the notable impacts we have seen in recent years is the increasing volume of very powerful storms. Extreme weather events are growing in number with a huge impact on everyone living here. This year storm Eowyn meant that there were power outages across the country, including in my area. Our power outage was relatively brief but I work with colleagues who experienced this for over a week. The same was true in many areas of the country.
As a keen gardener, I’m also seeing the impacts of climate change in our back gardener. Unpredictable weather such as later-than-normal extreme cold, heavy rain or above-average amounts of dry, hot weather all have a massive effect on the plants we choose to grow in our garden and, more significantly, on the native plant life all around Ireland.
Three actions I try to take to reduce the impact of climate change are as follows – first, I try to reduce consumption overall. Whether this means purchasing fewer items, driving/traveling less than I might have or being conscious of energy-use within the household, this is something that really affects my personal impact on the climate. I think that sourcing sustainable energy sources is another way to try to tackle climate change – relying more on solar, wind, etc. Finally, I take account of climate concerns when planning my own gardening – I like to plant trees and plants that promote biodiversity.
It’s really interesting to read about the Crosscare Migrant Project that you’re describing here Claire. Life as a refugee in Ireland must be so overwhelming – being able to connect with an organisation that can provide so much practical support around navigating the bureaucratic and administrative hurdles involved must be very empowering.
The organisations that work to support refugees in my area are those with a nationwide footprint. The most interesting of these, in my opinion, is the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI). I think that the ethos of this organisation aligns closely with some of the principles of the sustainable development goals. Notably, MASI is an organisation whose membership is entirely made up of asylum seekers in Ireland – it emerged from protests about the conditions in Direct Provision in Ireland in 2014. The notable theme here is that it is an organisation that centers the experiences and agency of asylum seekers rather than relying on others to “save” them. This aligns closely with the SDG thinking around refugee activism.
In order to welcome refugee students in our school we need to be sensitive to the experiences and challenges that refugees have endured. This involves the sort of empathy, patience and kindness that staff and students use to provide an inclusive school environment for all our vulnerable students but it also relies on us as professionals to inform ourselves and seek additional training to be alert to the specific issues involved. Training such as this course helps us to learn new information and skills in this area.I think that’s such a natural target to focus on with children. The children we are teaching will experience more profound impacts from climate change than we are likely to see. I also think that a lot of the children we teach have strong opinions about climate change and are inspired by youth activism that they see around the world. It’s important to channel this passion and allow the children to develop a sophisticated understanding about the topic, particularly as there is so much untrustworthy information out there on climate change.
One of the Sustainable Development Goals that I think would help children to draw a link between local and global issues is that of Life on Land. This goal is centered around the sustainable use of land – managing forests and ecosystems sustainably, halting and reversing desertification and halting biodiversity loss.
In our school, there is a large emphasis on creating a sustainable environment to encourage biodiversity. Children can see and participate directly in efforts to increase the suitability of our school environment for biodiversity. A pond has been installed, areas of the grounds are reserved for wildflowers such that the grass is not mowed there and there are a variety of native trees planted in the grounds of the school. Having said that, the school will soon be undergoing expansion and a large portion of the yard area will be lost while construction is underway. This opens the possibility of children debating and considering the competing needs for the land within the school grounds – is biodiversity and wild habitat provision still a priority for them if it means losing access to space they might otherwise use during yard time? This opens up a connection with the global situation in terms of balancing priorities for land use or using land in ways that are sustainable.That’s very interesting Shane – I’ve definitely noticed the same dynamic with regards to boys gravitating towards leadership or construction tasks and girls doing the same for artistic activities. I think what you’re saying about questioning norms is spot-on: it’s definitely something children feel comfortable with! Drawing their attention to subconscious norms around gender is probably a great way to have them challenge these ideas.
Gender stereotypes are very much in evidence even at primary school level. From clothing to toys to hobbies and interests, children are often already pursuing well defined paths based on gender. It is important that children not feel stifled or constrained by their gender roles, particularly for young girls.
A scenario I encountered in the classroom related to games and activities on yard. There was a designated area for ball games during yard and due to space constraints children had to take turns to play in small groups during yard time. One of the girls in the class was very passionate about soccer and played for her local club but felt that she was being excluded or deterred by some of the boys in the class when it came to accessing the ball-playing area on the yard.
This necessitated an intervention in the form of classroom discussion around gender expectations and whether or not some children in the class were holding a view that soccer and sports were activities for the boys on yard and that other activities were reserved for girls. It was actually a very productive discussion and the situation was resolved thereafter.
Having said that, I am also constantly surprised by the nuanced and interesting opinions and values many of our children hold in relation to gender – it is certainly the case that there seems to be much more awareness and sensitivity around gender roles amongst children today than was the case when I was their age.Hi Colm – enjoyed reading your response. I like that you mentioned critical thinking – children can often be highly engaged by material they see online. This can be an excellent motivator for children as they inform themselves about events around the world but it’s probably fair to say that children often don’t have the full complement of critical thinking skills to assess the credibility of sources, etc. Essential that we address this in the classroom to equip them with the information environment they’re living in.
The themes in the paper “The role of global citizens in today’s world” seem very pertinent for young people in our classrooms. Two forces have made this the case – the extreme events of war, poverty, hunger, climate change, etc. and the incredible immediacy of some of these events in people’s lives brought about by the connectivity of modern traditional/social media.
I have found that children in the classroom are very well informed on topics such as the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, the climate emergency and more. This is particularly the case as I teach in a very multicultural school where children may be attuned to developments and events in the countries in which they or their parents were born.
I think a theme of the paper – the importance of action at both a global and local level – is very relevant for today’s classrooms. The overwhelming tide of information and the scale of global challenges can feel oppressive and encouraging local and global action is one way of regaining a sense of agency in a world faced with such challenges. There are many cross-curricular links with this aim – from SESE links with the climate to persuasive writing in English (as part of a letter-writing campaign or similar).
One way that this feeds into school self evaluation is that making children develop the skills to be empowered citizens is a goal of our school – we can reflect on whether the education we are providing is achieving that goal. Do the children feel empowered to take action in their school community (and beyond) to address issues that are meaningful to them? Working with colleagues in the school, we can decide on formal and informal assessments of this goal.
Some great examples there Anna! A lot of really child-friendly ones for the junior classes and then some great poetry to inspire the senior classes.
Describe how you could implement a version of “Design Your own Dark Sky place” in your school/classroom?
I thought that the activity as described would be readily applicable in most classes in a primary school. I think the children might like to research the different priorities they would have as various stakeholders. For example, I think a senior class could get a lot of discussion out of the idea that town planners have to counterbalance the priorities of protection biodiversity through responsible use of urban lighting on the one hand with people’s safety on the other hand. A good extension of this task would be to have the children do some design work to come up with a superior type of urban lighting that leads to minimal light pollution. If children worked in groups, each with an LED torch to model a streetlight, they could work with cardboard, fabric or other materials to try and design a light that produces illumination below but that minimises light pollution going upwards. Having debated the different priorities and uses for urban lighting, this would allow the children to design a solution that aims to address all these concerns.
Hi Tara – that’s a really good point about giving the children the understanding of biodiversity first. We were doing a green flag activity in our school this year around biodiversity and found that exact thing: the first step was establishing whether the children actually understood the concept and then providing opportunities to explore the meaning.
Hi Lora – you’re right about floodlights in sports venues and I feel that the contrast between rural and urban areas in terms of light pollution is growing smaller over time in general with the expansion of streetlighting.
