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I agree Hariet, whilst it is important to inform pupils about climate change in our local area and beyond, we must also be careful to do so in a way that doesn’t cause angst, upset and fear for children. We wish to empower them into action with the correct mindset.
Reflect on how Climate Change is impacting on your own local area and how you would engage your pupils to explore this further. Suggest three actions that you can do to make the world a better place and slow down climate change.Post a reflective piece (150 words min) on how you would do this in your classroom to this forum as a reply to this post.Please also comment on at least one other participant’s post.Then, recollect on how the Development Education modules in this course can feed into School Self-Evaluation (SSE) at your school
There is no denying the obvious changes in our climate especially noticeable in the last few years. When I was reading further on this I found some interesting information on spunout.ie related to coastal erosion. If sea levels continue to rise, experts predict that cities and towns built in low-lying coastal areas like Cork, Dublin, Galway, Wexford and Limerick ( where I live ) will be most at risk.In class we could measure rainfall for a set period and compare against the national average for that time of year. Temperature changes, Food security and extreme weather events were other topics I read up on. Because we are living in a time when climate change is having a visible impact, small changes / actions in the class and school can have a positive impact as a collective e.g. giving weekly class jobs to pupils : turning off lights when we leave the class, turning off switches the the end of the day, keeping an eye to ensure rubbish is in the correct bin. ese activities teach responsibility and teamwork while showing how small actions make a big difference. The Development Education modules in this course tie into the School Self-Evaluation process through action in response to a worldwide problem. Understanding that our actions, no matter how small have a ripple effect on a universal level.When researching this topic, I found the following information: In Limerick, the non-profit organization Doras provides support and advocacy for refugees and migrants, particularly those in the International Protection system or with Temporary Protection from Ukraine. They offer assistance with immigration matters, housing, and accessing rights and entitlements, and can be contacted at their headquarters in Limerick or through their website DORAS.org. Additionally, the WHO Collaborating Centre for Participatory Health Research with Refugees and Migrants at the University of Limerick focuses on improving the meaningful involvement of refugees and migrants in health research. An idea a school could undertake to welcome people into the school community would maybe be to consider some trauma informed training for staff to develop awareness of some situations like the example of the boy and his brother that came from Afghanistan. Another could be simple as a coffee morning where families would get to meet teach other, chat and hopefully create some connections within the school and wider community.
What an amazing and sad story about the boy that came to your school. It is wonderful to hear that he is doing well with his foster family and that he and his brother are together. I can imagine that he has left an impact on staff and pupils alike.
Hi Louise, I agree that introducing such concepts even in a junior school develops a much needed awareness related to sustainable awareness using a school community approach. The younger pupils develop such awareness and get to see some change in action in the school community and at home the better going forward.
Choose a topic related to the Sustainable Development Goals and consider how children might be affected by it at both local and global levels. Post your response (150 words min.) as a reply to this post on how you would encourage your students to take action to support the SDGs in Ireland in support of ESD to 2030 Priority Action Area 5: Accelerating Local Level Actions
Please also comment on at least one other participant’s post Think about School Self-Evaluation (SSE) and how Development Education can feed into SS
The topic I would choose related to SDG would be SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. I think this would a topic of high interest especially to the senior classes. The area I would focus on to inform the pupils would be ‘fast fashion’. We would look at the mass production of cheap clothing, where it is mainly produced, conditions it is produced in, cost etc.. and then where the clothes we throw away ends up and the impact of this on the environment. We would look at alternatives on a greater scale e.g. the use of websites ‘Vinted’/ shopping in second hand shops. We could also look at the option of a school based initiative: a clothing swap day/ uniform day at the end of the school year where old uniforms are donated for others to take.
Another area related to this area that could be looked at would be where our food comes from. This would be as simple as lo9oking at place of origin of certain fruit/ vegetables when out food shopping with parents. Discussions related to the carbon footprint involved in transportation of these foods. We could also look at growing certain fruit/ vegetables that we necessarily don’t have to import. Maybe a school garden/ vegetable plot with simple grown vegetables maybe an option as a Whole School Initiative.That’s brilliant about the doll house in your classroom. Such learning for everyone even for us teacher through observing the initial reactions and subsequent interactions.
Module 2- Assignment
Reflect on how gender stereotypes might affect your students already at a young age. Describe a scenario you’ve seen in the classroom where gender stereotypes are present and post a reflection (150 words minimum) in this forum as a reply to this post, on how development education methodologies could help combat these stereotypes.
Gender stereotypes I believe can affect students from a very young age in terms of gender norms, expectations and how they view themselves. I believe that certain gender norms can be instilled from a very young age and even as a parent myself, I realise that despite awareness we can still share these beliefs with young children and impact their beliefs going forward.TV programmes, books etc.. can also have an impact on this. In the class I have seen from a young age interests, games, TV programmes being labelled as either ‘for boys’/ ‘for girls’. I feel that when gender stereotypes filter into emotions, discussing / displaying these, it can negatively affect emotional maturity, acceptance of our own feelings and of others. Development Education I think can highlight the commonality of emotions of others and the contributory causes globally. It can highlight the common thread of these feelings despite gender and the importance of expression of these. I would think this could lead into lessons on the importance of expression and benefits despite gender norms that have been imparted onto us already.Hi Orlaith, Some great ideas for the classroom and |I especially like the idea if including it in the newsletter to parents, involving the school community.
Module 1- Assignment
Review the paper: ‘The Role of Global Citizens in Today’s World’ (Ehigie, 2021) and consider why Development Education is important and how you would try to include it in your own teaching and encourage colleagues to plan development education activities throughout your school
I found the paper by Ehigie as a read that left me thinking about my own approach on how to teach development education in my class and bring it to the pupils in a thought provoking, balanced and informative way. I think it is also important that pupils are encouraged to become aware and encourage a grateful mind-set for the privileges we have been given due to where we live in the world (a peaceful country, a democracy, education, healthcare) but not for them to feel guilty about it in comparison to where other live. Development Education has an important place in many areas of the curriculum, I believe that its first home in my class would be in developing skills in areas of personal growth and awareness such as empathy, moral code, compass/ direction, awareness of self but also of others. Empathy can be taught as a skill and in terms of DE, helping pupils understand that we are all connected in the world as humans with the same thoughts/feelings etc… a common thread between us all and that the inequalities that are imposed on others affects us all on a emotional and worldwide manner. I feel to ignite and develop this mind-set in young people is something that they will hopefully carry going forward in a proactive and balanced way5. Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky? For example: Look up President Michael D Higgins’ “StardustSongs: I have to say that I struggled with thinking or being familiar with songs that connect us to the night sky. I thought of ‘Twinkle Twinkle’, one of the first songs children are taught at home, The Planet Song, A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay and made more famous recently by Johnny from Sing the movie!. Another participant mentioned S-Club 7 – Reach for the stars, a lovely catchy number! “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra, Catch a falling star and out it in your pocket and at Christmas ‘Silent Night’.
Poems:
‘Star light , star bright’,
Stardust by Michael D. Higgins ‘Stardust’, read by President Michael D. Higgins – YouTube
Art: Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh
The Starry Night Over the Rhône by Vincent van Gogh
Different version of the northern lights which can be recreated in class.Such a brilliant idea to set up a motion-activated camera to capture wildlife in the school grounds so that children can be engaged to consider the variety of species that are native to their locality.
4. How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity
As part of our school’s effort to support our local biodiversity we have adopted a no mow approach to the grass areas surrounding the school building and in other areas near the school. This year in particular the wild flowers bloomed and ‘wildness’ of it created a natural beauty that I really had never seen before. It brought with it a range of insects, bees etc.. We have all become so accustomed to perfectly mowed green areas and ‘tamed’ flowers! Each year a local biodiversity consultant spends two days in our school. He usually takes the classes to different areas e.g a local stream where pupils use nets. Later he identifies what is caught e.g. skater flies, eels, caddisfly, spine stickleback to name a few. It is one of the best experiences of our school year.
I think being able to continue on from the last topic in Module 3 on light pollution and looking at the possible impact on local biodiversity would be a nice progression. I think examples of how light pollution impacts on plants and animals is a good place to start. I have read that many insects are drawn to light, but artificial lights can create a fatal attraction. Declining insect populations negatively impact all species that rely on insects for food or pollination (darksky.org) and nocturnal animals like foxes can be seen walking in major cities under street lights. I think this will further consolidate the learning and impact of light pollution further.