Global Citizenship

Pupils from two Scottish secondary schools are visiting Colombia to see and hear first-hand about the societal and environmental impacts of the illegal Drugs trade. Citizens in both countries suffer from the effects of drugs such as cocaine, and anti-drugs campaigns are important to change behaviour. The students and their Headteachers were invited by the Vice President to make the visit, in recognition of their work on a schools project ‘Shared Responsibility’ led by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.

Girvan Academy in South Ayrshire has been involved in this work with the SCDEA for several years. A news release gives background and more detail about the things the visitors will experience, such as finding out more about cocaine production, alternative crops and drugs misuse at the community level.

Portobello High School in Edinburgh has joined the project, and a BBC news story reports on their involvement.

Scottish aid agency SCIAF has produced a new online resource for teachers about Archbishop Oscar Romero, who championed the rights of the poor in El Salvador. It combines text, photos, and video clips of young Salvadoreans expressing their views. It also provides teachers’ notes and worksheets, targeted at teachers of Religious Education and also Modern Languages as many elements of this resource are in Spanish. Teachers covering global citizenship themes within Curriculum for Excellence, such as Human Rights, will also find it valuable.

Romero lived and worked in El Salvador during the period of Civil War, speaking out for people’s rights against the military, and was assassinated in 1980.

The Prince’s Rainforests Project for Schools aims to raise awareness and stimulate discussion in schools about the importance of rainforests and their role in mitigating Climate Change. The project is running two competitions for pupils which offer opportunities for creative activity.

The ‘Sony World Photography Awards / Prince’s Rainforests Project Schools’ competition invites pupils to take and submit a photograph on one of four themes, such as ‘what climate change means to you’.  The contest website has full details, and the closing date is 23rd October 2009.

And the ‘Frog competition’  offers the chance to design a ‘look’ and colour scheme for a large fibreglass sculpture Frog. Closing date is 15th October.

An article entitled ‘From Renfrew to Riyadh’ in last week’s ‘Times Educational Supplement’ Scottish edition focuses on the benefits of teaching overseas, using the examples of Scots working in International Schools in the Netherlands, Italy and Saudi Arabia.

Two exhibitors at this year’s Scottish Learning Festival offer other opportunities for Scots excited by the prospect of a period teaching in another country. Voluntary Service Overseas offers volunteer placements of between 12-24 months for experienced teachers and managers, usually in Asia, Africa and South America. And the VIF Program recruits teachers for schools in a number of US States on paid contracts. SLF 2009 provides an opportunity to speak to both organisations and find out more.

Our annual educational conference and exhibition, ‘Scottish Learning Festival 2009‘, is open for registrations through the event website. As usual, its in Glasgow at the SECC, and offers a great variety of international presenters, expert workshops, and an exhibition of educational services, products and experiences. This year’s dates are Wednesday 23rd September and Thursday 24th September.

Last year LTS welcomed over 7000 visitors to the show, mixing teachers, managers, trainee teachers, consultants, education companies and foreign educators.

Within the keynote and seminar programme, there are many opportunities to find out more about International Education, Education for Citizenship and Sustainable Development, all key contributors to the successful implementation of ‘Curriculum for Excellence’. Aspects of education in Brazil, China, Colombia, France and the USA are just some of the seminar themes.

Sign up online for this free Continuing Professional Development opportunity, and make your bookings for the best of the seminars.

Drugs education and its impact on communities is the theme of a very interesting collaborative project involving Girvan Academy in South Ayrshire and a high school in Colombia, South America. It has active Police support through the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, and support from LTS too.

An article in ‘The Herald’ titled “Pupils get lessons on cocaine trade” describes the work. And Gareth Rae, the teacher leading the project at Girvan, will be presenting a seminar about this activity this September at the Scottish Learning Festival conference in Glasgow. You can book online for a place at this free event.

The Guardian also covered the Girvan project in an article titled “Cracking Cocaine“.